Evening star., 1901-06-07
BATTLE SHIP MAINE
Government to Resist Taking Up
Claims for Damages.
COMMISSION has NO AUTHORITY
Position Set Forth at Consider
able Length.
SETTLED BY SPECIAL ACT

SETTLED BY SPECIAL ACT
The government will resist the PROPOSE
tion that the Spanish treaty claims COM
| mission take up the question of the respon-
| sibility for the destruction of the battle
| ship Maine, which question is involved in
| a number Of claims now pending before the
| commission. The contention will be made
| that the commission has no authority to
go into the subject of responsibility.
| The position which the government will
| take in the premises may be stated sub
| stantially as follows:
| The commission is sitting under a stat
| ute enacted in pursuance Of the last para
! graph of article OF the treaty of peace
between the United States and Spain, rati-
| fed on April II, 1899, which treaty OF
| peace put an end to the war begun, as the
| declarations of war on the part Of the
United States affirms on the 21st day of
April, 1885, the day following the passage
of a joint resolution in the nature of an
ultimatum by the Congress of the United
| States.
In that joint resolution and in the mes
| sage of the President which provoked its
passage, dated the 11th of April, 1888,
|
| forth was:
"The destruction of a United States bat
| tie ship, with 266 of it's officers and crew,
| while on a friendly visit in the harbor Of
| Havana"
Article of the Treaty.
| BY article Of the treaty of peace, all
claims for indemnity, national and indi-
vidual, of every kind, Of either govern
| ment or Of it's citizens or subjects against
the other government, are relinquished.
The government of the United States, by
| the last paragraph of the same article, un-
| dertook Ito adjudicate and settle the claims
Of its citizens against Spain, relinquished
| It is a familiar principle of international
| law concerning and treaties of peace,
that the causes Of war pass into oblivion,
| if not expressly saved therefrom by the
| terms of the treaty of peace.
| War in a sense is punishment for the
| alleged wrongs which are the grounds for
! it. Diplomatic claims founded upon those
| wrongs are merged in the declaration of
| war and extinguished by the punishment
| inflicted by war unless by force of superior
| power the conquering nation sees fit to
| treaty of peace.
It is submitted that it was the intention
| Of the treaty not to provide for, but to re-
| linquish and leave in oblivion as settled in
the tribunal of war, the grievance referred
| to expressly in the joint resolution of April
| 20 as 1.-The destruction of a United States
/
| crew, while on a friendly visit in the har-
Dor of Havana"
The destruction of Spanish lives and the
| loss of Spanish possessions atoned for and
| settled any supposed responsibility of Spain
| for the destruction Of that national ship
| with it's officers and crew.
| Special Act of Relief.
March 80, 1893, twelve days before the
| Presidents message recommending in ef-
| feet the ultimatum which followed, Con-
| gress passed act for the relief Of the
| Sufferers by the destruction of the United
| States steamer Maine In the harbor of
| Havana under which payment was made
| to the families and survivors of the officers
| and crew. and which provided that ''the re-
| lief granted by the provisions of this act
| shall be in. full satisfaction Of any and all
| claims whatever against the United States
| on account of losses or deaths by the de-
| struction Of the Uni.ed States steamer
| Maine
! that the government Of the United States,
| after the report of commission had made
| 1t clear that evidence could not be found
| to prove the authorship Of the destruction
| Of the Maine, decided not to adopt and pre-
| sent claims for money indemnity on behalf
| of it's citizens based upon such destruction;
| and, secondly, that it decided to recognize,
| instead of a claim of that kind against
| Spain, claim against itself on account Of
| the same destruction, which latter claim it
| proceeded to settle in full.
| This action Of the political department of
| the government clearly demonstrates that
| claim for money indemnity on behalf of
| individual citizens was never presented or
| intended to be presented against Spain,
| and that article z Of the treaty, therefore,
was not intended to relinquish any such
| claim on behalf Of citizens against Spain.
The Power of Inquiry.
| Notwithstanding the broad language of
| the treaty and the turisdictional act, it is
not to be supposed that the government Of
| Spain or the Congress of the United States
| intended that this commission, constituted
in a spirit Of reconciliation, to ascertain
| in familiar way the losses of American
| citizens that may have arisen since the
| beginning of the late insurrection in Cuba"
| which was in February or March 1895,
should enter upon an inquiry into the re-
| sponsibility of Spain for the destruction
Of the battle ship referred to, and bring
| in ex parte judgment holding Spain up
| to the obloquy of the civilized world. That
| inquiry had been submitted to another
| tribunal, had been exhaustively carried on,
| had been acted upon by Congress, had been
followed by war particularly based upon
the alleged destruction, and the subject
| had been carefully avoided in the treaty of
| reconciliation and peace.
| Spain had offered to submit to an i'm
partial investigation by some third power,
and had herself made an investigation with
| the same indefinite result, it seems. that
made by the United States. To suppose
tnat TINS commission, aIter all that mas
| been referred to and with the means and
| appliances which have been furnished to it.
! suitable only for the ordinary purposes of
| a claims commission, was intended to open
up and undo and do over again this in
Quiry into the responsibility Of the Spanish
| government, with the result of disgracing
Spain on the one hand and on the other of
| discrediting the government of the United
States, Is entirely unreasonable.
If the commission shall be in doubt upon
| this subject so obviously unthought of in
| the constituting Of the commission. SO far
| beyond its power to act upon adequately,
and involving the sensbilities Of a friendly
power, its doubt should be resolved in
! favor of leaving to the political department
| Of the government a business which has
already SO long and seriously engaged it's
attention.
Lieutenants Forced to Retire.
The Secretary OF the Navy today ap-
pointed a board of adrnirals to select ofB-