The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-07-17
AMERICAN WARSHIP NEAR
 SCENE OF POSSIBILITIES
CRUISER MARBLEHEAD AR- RITES AT LA LIBERTAD,
 FROM PANAMA,

Offered to Central American BeIliger-
 ants for Their Peace Conferences Task of Arranging the Meeting Left
 Almost Entirely to the American Le-
 gations in the Various Countries. | Washington, July 16.-tThe navy de- partment was informed this afternoon | by. cablegram from Commander Mulli- gan of the arrival of his ship, the Mar blehead, at La Libertad from Panama, which port he left last Friday night. Before sailing Commander Mulligan was instructed by the navy department to report to the American minister, Mir. | Combs, at Libertad, which is the port near San Salvador, the capital of Salva- dor In the absence of Mi. Combs, who is detained at Champerico awaiting next Fridays steamer, MT. Brown, the American secretary and charge in Sal- yador, will communicate with Com mander Mulligan, and that official will place his ship at the disposal of the American legation, so that Mir Brown will be in a position to carry out the in structions, which were cabled him to- day from Washington, to proffer to the governments of Salvador and Guate- mala the use. of this American warship as a place of meeting for the peace commissioners.
 Acting Secretary of State Adee has not attempted, at this great distance from the scene of trouble, to arrange all the details of the meeting of the peace commissioners, but will leave that task to the American legations, It is | stated that neither Minister Merry nor Messrs. Combs and Brown will act in | the capacity of a peace commissioner | to either country; they are charged simply, as good friends to both parties, to endeavor to bring the hostile nations into friendly relations without further loss of blood. To that end they will in- terest themselves in the selection of peace commissioners by the govern | ments to which they are respectively accredited, and will probably conduct these commissioners to the Marblehead l anu SO Mllil luClll pCJ OllQ llAN LIAN1 mile limit to sea, and, if called upon, will advise them in a friendly way. This is not the first time the deck of a | United States man~of-war has been the scene of a peace conference; the Mari etta was thus employed six or eight years ago in bringing about peace be- tween Costa Rica and Salvador, the Philadelphia played similar part at Panama during the revolution there about ten years ago, and more recently Commander Dillingham; brought the Monti Cristi insurgents and the Domin- ican government agents together off Monti Cristi and secured peace on the deck of the Detroit.
 It is believed that the Marblehead will take on the Salvadorean commits sioners at La Libertad and then pro- ceed to the nearest Guatemalan port, San Jose, where the agents of that gov- ernment will board the ship, which will then go to sea beyond the three-mile limit until the conference is over.
 The important development of the day aside from the offer of the Marblehead was an assurance to the state depart ment from President Cabrera that Gua- temala would refrain from further hos tilities If Salvador would undertake to do the same, which news was promptly communicated to Minister Merry at San Salvador in order that he might trans init the proposition to the government at that place.
 Another point developed was that Salvador and Honduras had entered into an alliance the nature of which is not certainly known, but it is believed by the officials here that the purpose is to agree upon the terms of peace that shall be proposed by the two countries to Guatemala. This news came to the state department from Charge Brown al Guatemala City.
 still another cablegram, this one from Ministry Merry, informed the state de- partment that the government of Hon. duras insisted upon being considered along with Salvador, in the peace nego. tiations with Guatemala. Altogether the prospect of the peaceful termina. ton of the present difficulty is believed to have frightened considerably durins the day.