The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1899-05-24
SITUATION IN CUBA.
Surrender Of Arms to May.
ors of Cities Was Agreed to
By the Presidents Rep
resentatlVe.


ferment again over the idea that the
Washington administration has deter
mined to take the arms Of the Cuban
troops and to retain them in military
possession This view Of the latest
news from Washington has been tele
graphed 10 the various cities.
Gov Gen Brooke is thus far una
ware, save through the press tele-
grams, of any dissatisfaction on the
part Of. Gen. Alger, secretary of war,
with his (Gen Bcoke's) plan to have
the arms deposited in the care of the
mayors Of the municipalities, nor has
he received any other inkliDg Of the
secretary's purpose to lay the matter
before President Mckinley Conse.
quec.ly, unless instructions to the
contrary are received from the Wash.
ington administration, the governor
generals order respecting the distri.
button of the $3.000,000 as modified,
will be issued tomorrow The secre.
tary of war has been Informed of the
substance of this order, in the usual
course of business.
Habana's midday papers publish
the Washington news, some of them
commenting editorially upon it As
the point about where the arms are
to be kept appears to be thought of
vital Importance ia Washington, the
conviction announced there that the
mayors cannot be trusted with them
is cause of fresh discomfort, just at
the moment when the various com
plica.ions appeared to be unraveled.
The mayors are the appointees of the
governor general, and when the
military assembly dissolved, they
were made it's representatives to re-
ceive the arms
Article 4 of the agreement between
Gen Gomez and Robert P Porter,
President McKinley's special repre-
sentative, runs as follows "The
CubaDs shall surrender their arms to
the Cuban assembly or to its repre-
sentatives.''
Gen Gomez, who at the time of
coming to the agreement with Mr..
Porter had not quarreled with the
assembly, insisted upon this point,
Since the quarrel, he has again raised
the point repeatedly, saying also that
Mr. Porter brought full written au
thority from President Mckinley aud,
in the presidents name, agreed that
the arms should 60 into the custody
of the assembly or its representatives.
At Monday nights meeting of the
society of veterans of independence
organized by former members of
the assembly-the speakers dilated
upon article 4, asserting bad faith,
the presidents plenipotensialy hav.
ing agreed to deposit the arms with
the representatives of the assembly
: while, through the connivance OF
Gomez, they were to be surrendered
to the American army.
La Discussion says Secretary
Alger appears Is wish to provoke a
conflict here He is more distin,
, , guished in the United States as q
business man than as politician, and
his relations with certain syndicates
!, are we'll known. He opposes every.
thing that Cuba wants and favors
everything thst would cause feeling
and provoke excitement. His attl-
tude prompts the question. what
does be want? Does he desire q
war here similar to that in the Phil
ippines !? We are forced to believe
, that he only approves what is unsatis'
factory to Cuba"
Cubans of prominence object to
talking for publication on the subject,
but wherever they have neen inter
, viewed, they say, without exception,
that such an order as is referred to in
the press dispatches from Washing
ton would cause much trouble ard
would still further separate Cuta
from the United States