The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-01-16
AL IS HARMONY.
Moroccan Conference Opens
With Every Promise of Peace.
Duke of AlmodOvar Unanimously
Chosen to Preside.
HE FAVORS OPEN DOOR
And Is Seconded by Both France
and Germany.
Ambassador White Is Pleased
With the Situation.

Algeciras, Spain, Jan. 16=The Mo-
rocean conference has opened The
duke of AImodovar. of the Spanish
foreign Office, delivered the speech of
welcome. 1t was noticed that the
French and British delegates drove to
] the conference together. Great ami
nation prevailed The American dele
CATION arrived at the town hall follow
( ing the Spanish, French, German and
British delegations.
Herr Won Radowitz, chief of the Ger
man mission proposed the duke of Al
modovar as president of the confer
ence and the other countries repre-
sented, including the United States,
seconded the proposal.
The duke was unanimously elected
president and the conference adjourn
( ed at 3;55 p. m. until tomorrow morn
ing.
Ambassador White was well salts
1 fed with the result of the meeting as
1 the duke of Almodovar emphasized |
| the necessity for the independence of
/ Morocco and the open door in which /
he was Immediately and strongly sec
onded by the French and German
Great activity prevailed as the hour !
for the opening of the conference ap- /
preached. On all sides there was much |
gong and coming as the final official |
gates to the conference. During the |
morning the British and French dele |
gates held a lengthy meeting, which is
commented upon as showing close co
operation between Great Britain and |
France. The representatives of France |
and Germany naturally are objects of
curiosity, but the picturesquely garbed |
Moroccan delegates, headed by the
venerable MOhammed EI Torres. foreign !
minister of Morocco, shared hOnors with
the French and Germans.
Guns Boom.
In the bay the International squad
rOns kept up an intermittent booming
of guns as ambassadors came and went
The American squadron lies across the
bay inside the Mole of Gibraltar. From
the windows of Ambassador Whites
room here, the stars and stripes on the
Brooklyn the agship of Admiral Sigs-
bee, are plainly visible.
MIR. White and Minister Gummere
occupy apartments which command a
magnificent sweep of the bay of Gibral-
tar and the distant African coast.
MessrS. White and Gummere received
the Moorish delegates by appointment at
! noon The Avuntamiento or town hall
of Algeciras is elabOrately fitted up for
the conference. The marble stair case
is carpeted with red velvet and lined
with palms and the assembly room
where the delegates collect is wains-
. coated with heavy walnut and brilliant
with curtain and carpet of red. The
! table at which delegates sat down eX-
tends the entire length of the hall. The
: arrangement of the positions of the
delegates is somewhat significant. On
the presidents right are the Germans,
Herr Won Radowitz, ambassador to
Spain, and Count Won Tattenbach, min
I lister to Portugal, then came the two
Belgians, separating the Germans from
the French delegates headed by NJ.
/ Revolt chief of the French mission. At
/ the presidents left are the Austrians
, and then Ambassador White and Minis
/ ter Gummere. The United States is thus
: fanked by Austria on the right and
! Portugal on the left. The plan followed
in seating the delegates was the alpha
beticaI order of the countries modified
for convenience. There are two large
religious pictures in the hall, one at each
end and electric lights and typewriters
give the place an appearance of being
supplied with modern conveniences. The
presidents private room is handsomely
furnished and hung with paintings, in
Guiding a portrait of King AlphonsO. The
American and other delegations have
been allotted private conference rooms.
What It Is All About
On the eve of the Moroccan confer
2 ence it is we'll to define the essential is
( sues presented as these viii clearly indi-
cate the general scope of the meeting
and the chief danger of the issues in
vO1ved.
On September %. last, NJ Rouvier for
France and Prince Radolin, for Ger
many, reached an agreement on the ex-
! Z act programme the conference. IQ1S
? programme is quite short as it was part
Of Rouvier's skillful diplomacy to bring
the conference within the closest possi-
bic limits The programme agreed upon
was as follows:
s.The two governments are in accord
in proposing to the sultan the following
programme:
ssf-Organizatfon by international ac-
cord. of the police, except on the Al
9 gierian frontier.
Surveillance and repression of con-
traband arms except along the Algerian
.ssEFinancial reforms with the crea-
ton of a state bank with the privileges
Of issuing currency
\ "-Study of the customs, and new
s means of raising revenues
+ The agreement contains some other
= minor features, but the foregoing are
p the essential questions to be presented
4 to the Morocco conference. France
: F throughout the controversy and up to
n the opening of the conference has main
+ | tained that she had a special or priv
4 ! iIeRed position in Morocco. This is the
vital question, about to be considered
for the questions of contraband and Gus
toms are largely detail If the special
position of France is recognized then
the coming conference Will turn over to
France the organiza ton of the police
and military and the surveillance OF con-
n traband In short all of the questions
involved hinge upon the main question
as to whether the special position of
France is to be clearly recognized BY
l. the foregoing agreements Germany has
j. recognized the need of some outside
n supervision over Morocco. It remains to
s. decide who viii exercise this supervision
=. Germany viii doubtless contend for in
# terna tional supervision, in which she
g and all other powers shall take equal
a part, something like the International
S administration of Macedonia and Crete.
on the other hand, France consistently