Daily Kennebec journal., 1904-10-13
SPANISH WAR CLAIM
Three Years More Required for
Final Settlement.
420 Cases Now Remain on the Docket.

Chandler is chairman. The comm.
winter will probably see more rapi,
progress, but if this is not the case. The
parties il interest before the t,ib1ln;i
may have some grounds of grievance
The work, however. has been of such :;
nature as to require long preliminary
investigation: it Introduced many new
points of law ana practice.
The time of the commission durinn
The last two years has been devoted
chiefly to questions of law. Assistant
. Attorney General Fuller, representine
the Government threw a heavy broad
side III TO the claimants. at the start
by advancing the theory that state
of war had existed in Cuba prior to
+, our intervention, that Spain and Cuba
We're bona fide cumbatan1s. and that
citizens of the United States who suf-
fered losses in Cuba through military
movements had no claim against
SPAN. 1hty TOOK their chances when
they went to Cuba, us a citizen of
Great Britain would have done in set :
Ting in the South during the Civil
War The claimants. ably represents
cd. c"mbatted this theory. They heln
that state of war i'm the accented
meaning of the term did not exist hu,
rather an inSurrection; that the island
WAS Il part of the sovereignty of Spain.
This question Was debated before
the commission at great length: thou
sands Of pages Of abstracts were SUBJ
mitted, ana every phase Of the matter
argued in detail. The legal battle re-
TOD IN,
United States obtained Il somewhat
adNant"%couS position. The connmis-
sion decided that while technically
Cuba WAS Il part of the sovereign do
mlli"ns q: Spain, ana that an insur.
f"Ctl"h dld exist. the disturbance had
reached such Z Stage that Cuba had
Sllprcd from the grasp of Spain. an,,
That the lnsurrection had dcvclopec,
INTO VAR. Th" commission held THAI
claimants could not Recover for lnsse,
sustained from the movement of en-
ban troops unless it could br proved
that the Spanish authority by the ex-
trcISe Of du" diligence. might have
prevented such lepr"lations. and that
where losses resulted from acts o,
Spanish troops. il must be shown that
these were wantonly committed.
The adoption of this theory natural~
~ opens up vast field of uncertainty
ana Speculation, with much slcupudinc
on individual opinions in the particr-
lar case. Who shall determine. it may
be asked. whether the Spanish author
lily might have prevented the Cubans
from derredations Oh the one side. or
whether the Spanish were Wanton ir,
thelf destruction of the property OF
American citizens. on The other? IN
der this ruling of the commissions ;,
hliitary expert is constantly needed.
ana might properly have Il place on
the tribunal. Some observers believe
mat the commission should be com-
poSed OF military men rather than law
Nefs, now that the legal basis of SET
tl"ment mas been determined In tha
adjudication of the 42O cases now IN
the docket. questions relating to the.
diligence of the Spanish troops in pre-
venting lhe Crb;tlt amy from despoil-
ihS plantations and buildings must be.
decided. ana also TIL. degree of wan
i"llhess' or the Spanish army move
mtnts. In every instance a fine knows
leo%e OF military affni"s will he r..
qulred. 1t is admitted that the clain,-
ant may recover in case either army,
took personal property, cattle or storas
for SuStenance.
The question of naturalization will an
ter largely into many cases before the
commission. Many Cubans il will no ra-
called. became citizens of the limited
States, or at least went through The
f.lif7 IN
American flag. 1t has been discovered in
many Instances that the natlIra iization
was fraudulent, and obtained on mann
iactured evidence. Mr.. Fuller says the
Government will fight these cases to the
ehd. ana where proof can be brought that
naturalization was fraudulently obtained
the case will be thrown out. Already y
considerable number of claims have lost
their standing on this account Most of
le claims are small Fully seventv-1iye
per cent. of the S60000.000 demanded is
represented by perhaps ten pcr cent Of
IN" claimants. Eight interests alone ask
lur $23.u0o,OU0 All the cases will prob
ably stand a liberal pairing down. The
methods OF the Venezuelan claimants
seem to have been adopted in scheduling
the property which was despoiled, and il
IS not expected that more than thirty
per cent of the amounts asked for will
ever ne pald. several of the larger cases
brought by corporations. are now nearly
ready for final settlement. and it is ex-
ptctcd thai at least half of the cases will
he disposed of this winter In the iudg-
ment of Mr. Fuller about three years will
D" required to dispose finally of all the
matters before the commission 1t has
already been at work three years It's
function is technically to adjudicate the
losGcs of American citizens in Cuba
which under the treaty of Paris of 1898
this Government assumed. Under the
act of establishing the commission all
claims We're required to be filed within
one year. Approximately $50 cases were
docketed, representing money demands of
$50. 900 900.
About 13O cases have been disposed of
during the last two years. The Govern |
ment demurred against the methods of
filing in 30 cases. in practically all Of
which the demurrer was sustained. ard
the claimants compelled to reenter in bet
ter form Three or four cases were actu- |
aIly passed on and an award made, the |
last Congress appropriating money for |
navment These were for personal in |
i,Iriae sustained by American citizens |
fbrust into prison in Cuba AS no cor |
troverted leoal questions were involved !
tba commission made decisions promptly |
NearIv 125 cases were thrown out for |
I-ario,is reasons leaving 420 actual claims !
no1r awaiting or under consideration.
u,cH PRICES FOR PIcKERS.