The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-02-08
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 Notable Extracts from !, the Big Dailies' corre- ; spondents- 1,
CREAM OF THE SPECIALS
rresa an this subject.

sress on this subject. Instead of such a proposition there was an offer by the United states to
 purchase the island. MT. Chandler says. was too proud to accept. the former | Senator declares. was made by Minister Woodford at Madrid without the sane tion or the knowledge of the government
 The denunciation of Minister woodford for alleged improper methods IS the fea- ture of the letter. MT. Chandler insists that full independence for Cuba could
 have been secured by peaceIui nne'hoos' with the consent of Spain.
 'The assertion that Spain would have done this" says MT. Chandler, 'has been many times made by those who opposed the declaration of war in April, 1858. They make 1t, not as an interesting
 and possibly valuable expression Of their
 opinion, but as a reproach against the
 successful advocates of immediate war
 1t Is not easy to refute the opinion. It
 Is easy to repel the reproach.
 "The advocates of war were willing
 to walt the answer of Spain to request
 made as a condition of peace that she
 should yield independence to Cuba. But they could not learn that any such re-
 quest had been or would be made In
 fact, it never was made.
 Tn all the correspondence between
 Washington and Madrid the principal
 demand of the United States was only
 TOT peace. SHOWS tnTOuSnOut tHdt 4hih-
 ister Woodford had a plan of his own
 for settling the troubles, and not in ac-
 cord with that of the State Depart
 ment, which was the granting Sof inde-
 pendence to the island.
 The dispatches show that while MT. Day suggested request tor Cuban in- dependence he did not instruct Minister Woodford to make 1t. and the latter did not make 1t because he was unequivo- cally against Cuban independence and in fAx 4f NAt tnfn Cttha fnr States by purchase. This, he declared in
 hia dispatched to the President, was the only way to secure peace in the | island. Mir. Day finally was prevailed up- on to permit the Minister to treat with
 Spain on this basis but without any authority from Congress.
 Mir. Woodford must have been almost
 unbalanced, mentally. to press these
 views upon Spain without the slightest authority from home. Yet that is what he did.
 no alternative presented to them. and 1t must be admitted they acted with dignity
 and honor. Whatever else we do. we
 will not be mercenary; we will not sell for money the Queen and the Ministers
 said. They yielded to every other de-
 mand made upon them even to the proc lamation of an armistice; too late it is
 true, to avert the war. But the unau-
 thorized requirement of MT. Woodford of the sale of Cuban to him, which they did not know was unauthorized, they
 would not agree to; and so war came and
 ITO expect Spain to yield to the de-
 mand was absurd. After the lofty
 ground which she had always maintained 1t was an utter impossibility that the proud Queen should come down to vul- gar bargain and sale of the island to a government, however great and power tul, whicN was threatening her with
 war. for purpose so selfish and merce-
 nary. She had subdued her pride in a great measure; she recalled General Weyler; she yielded to every other de- mand made upon her-the repeal of the | reconcentrado orders with permission to the United States to send food and sup plies to her avowed enemies-and, with out any request from the insurgents, she proclaimed an armistice and stopped her | war against her rebel subjects What | other one thing was demanded of her? This: that she should sell Cuba for money to the United States. This she could not | bring herself to do, and rightly refused
 to do .,.. .so demand for a sale of Cuba was being made-unless it was Senator Teller,who seems to have known it when he insist ed on inserting in the declaration of | war a clause pledging the United States | in favor of independence. President Mo l Kinley dreaded war and strove to avert | 1t, but it is clear that he wished to have Spain told either CD that she must as condition of pea.e grant independence to Cuba or (2) that she must grant an ar
 mistice and agree that he should be the final arbiter between Spain and the Gu bans.
 Unfortunately, as frequently happens
 in government. the highest official was
 baked by the refusal of his subordinate at a distance to obey his orders, so that war came without either request being
 made"
 Woodford Explains His Action New York; Feb. 5.-A copy of ex-Sen- ator Chandler's article reviewing the diplomatic incidents which preceded the Spanish-American war was shown to General Stewart L. Woodford. ex-Min-
 ister to Spain, and after reading 1t he said:
 T have no idea that the public will be interested in this matter of ancient
 history. If so, the simple answer Is: It Is true. I never demanded tndepend-
 ence. It was absolutely impossible 10 do so It would have resulted in my being ordered away within twenty-four hours, and have precipitated the war sooner
 than it came. I never had any instruction
 to demand independence. The only thing looking to it was suggestion of the President for my own guidance an swered that independence was, under the
 Spanish Constitution, impossible without
 prior sanction of the Cortes.
 AS to the purchase, the thing never
 was in the remotest way suggested to me
 by the administration On my own hook
 I sounded one or two person in Madrid,
 and found that as impracticable as the
 suggestion of independence. And so l
 never suggested it to the Spanish gov
 ernment.'