The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 16, 1898, Page 1

Call e VOLU SAN FRANCISCO, SATURDAY, JULY 16, 1898. SANTIAGO NOT YET IN UNCLE SAM’S POSSESSION HITCH IN THE NEGOTIATIONS FOR SURRENDER Spaniards Now Demand to Be Per- mitted to Retain All Their But the Dons Are Informed That They Must Yield at Once or the Army and Navy Will Re- new the Bombardment. as follc to secure the fall of that city. 1 fused. tiago. cult position in which he is pl ¢ 00000000000 OCHOONO00O0O0R00000000 PANIARDS MUST | | SURRENDER OR FIGHT} o WASHINGTON, July 16.—Dispatches received at the War Department from General Shafter late last night con- tained the disappointing news that the arrangements of the Spanish and | American commissioners for the sur- | render of Santiago had come to a stand- | still through the insistence of the = fards that they be allowed to retain | their arms. | Orders were telegraphed to General Shafter not to grant any concessio beyond those agreed to in the first in- | stance—transportation of conquered army to a Spanish port. The ins tions sent to General Shafter were em- phatic and imperative. After an extended conference with | the President last night at which three other members of the Cabinet present Secretary Alger was asked if it | was not the expectation that when it was known that no otner terms would | be granted the. surrender would take | place and replied that such was the| case. In any event no other concession | would be afforded by this Government. | It was nearly 1 o’clock when the con- ference at the White House adjourned. | Besides Secretary Alger there were present Secretaries Bliss and Wilson and Postmaster General Emery Smith. Adjutant General Corbin was present during the last hour of the conference. General Shafter will be immediately | instructed to carry out the determina- | tion of the President, with whom the | matter has been thorcughly discussed. Secretary Alger did not say how much time would be allowed the enemy to | reach a conclusion, but it is known that the administration will make it very short and submit to no further parley with General Toral. The next move is surrender upon the terms which the United States Gov- ernment propeses or immediate attack upon the Spanish forces by the army ahd navy. ANXIOUS WAITING AT WASHINGTON ruc- were WASHINGTON, July 15.—There was a long and anxious wait to-day to hear further news from the Commissioners who had been charged to make ar- rangements for the surrender of the Spanish army at Santiago. For eight- een hours no word came from either General Shafter or General Miles, al- though there was the keenest desire on the part of the President and the Cab- inet officers to learn what was to be done and whether the actual surrend- ering of Santlagq and the Spanish troops had been carried out. When the Cabinet met at 11 o'clock there ~was nothing from the front which would serve as a guide for the deliberations. It was thought that the vs early this (Saturday) morning: ident to thus state the situat back to Spain with the troops. General Toral must surrender on our own terms. | Gizpatches from General Shafter Weapons. ion: rom land and sea and occupied by American troops.” aced.” cable had been uiry of General officer. gava assurance that t particularly inquiring as to how far the surrender had proceeded. No an- swer came while the Cabinet was in session. In the meantime, General Greely had cabled, and he was the first to hear from the front. A dispatch from Lieutenant Jones, military censor at Playa del Este, reported that the mes- sage from the Secretary of War to General Shafter was only six minutes in passing frog Washington to Playa del Este. The message received by General Greely came at 2:23 p. m. and indicated that negotiations were still In progress, but as the dispatch was submitted to the President no details were given out. Toward the middle of the afternoon I and General Miles began to arrive, in re- sponse to Secretary Alger’s dispatch. They were not given out in full, but such portions made public showed that the negotiations were still as were | in progress and that the Spaniards had raised some rather unexpected ques- tions. Most important of these was an, insistence that the Spanish troops should retain their arms when they re- turned to Spain. There was an entire willingness on the part of General Toral to turn over the arms to General Shafter at the time of the surrender, but with this was to be the understand- | ing that the arms were to be restored to the .Spanish troops when Spanish soll was reached. This was a condition which had not been anticipated. The authorities here did not regard it as | serious or as likely to overcome a final settlement, as it was attributed to the Spanish sensitiveness against the hu- miliation involved in the laying down of their arms. One of these dispatches, after specifying that this difference had arisen, added that a settlement would be reached before the day closed. Gen- eral Shafter himself summed up the situation by saying: “I cannot be pos- sible that there will be a faflure in com- pleting arrangements.” Here are the official telegrams from the front: “PLAYA, Baiquiri, July 15.—Secre- tary of War. Washington: Commis- sion on behalf of the United States was appointed, consisting of Generals Wheeler and Lawton and Lieutenant Miley, to act with Spanish commission to arrange the detalils for carrying into effect the capitulation. I will reach Siboney to-morrow. MILES.” The second dispatch 1is signed by Jones, a signal officer in charge of the terminus of the military line at Playa, and is as follows: “PLAYA, July 15.—The commission appointed to arrange the detalls of the surrender beld & meeting yesterdav) the Spanish army is to be sent back |safetv of American seamen and Amer- NEW YORK, July 16.—The correspondent of the Herald at Washington telegraphs An assault upon Santiago may yet be necessary The terms of surrender have not yet been fully agreed upon. At 1 o'clock this morning, as Secretary Alger was leaving the White House in company with Secretary Bliss and Postmaster General Smith, he said he was authorized by the Pres- The Spanish general does not want to lay down his arms. He desires to carry them This proposition has been positively and emphatically re- Otherwise the city will be attacked Thus it appears that the question of allowing the Spanish troops to take their arms back to Spain is the one point standing between the peaceable or forcible taking of San- One of the members of the Cabinet with whom I have just talked expressed the opinion that when General Toral recéived our ultimatum he would yield. Another expressed doubt, and suggested that General Toral’s negotiations for peace were solely for the purpose of delay to enable him to strengthen his position by reinforce- ments from other points in the Santiago district. : “As diplomatists,” this Cabinet officer remarked, “the Spaniards can beat us, and it looks a little as if General Toral, realizing his inability to cope with General Shafter on the field of battle, had resorted to trickery in the hope of finding some escape from the diffi- interrupted, but in- | lasting until a late hour. Greely, chief signal | agai1. this morning at 9:30 o'clock, and cable | it is supposed the terms will be settled | was intact. Thereupon Secretary Al- | to-day.” | ger sent a dispatch asking for the sit- | | uation up to the latest moment and | (via Playa), July 15.—Adjutant | | Wheeler, Lawton and Miley on the part | mediately raised by the Spanish com- 0000000000000000000000000000000000 They met “HEADQUARTERS, SANTIAGO Gen- eral, Washington: Sent you several telegrams yesterday as did General Miles, in regard to the surrender. Gen- eral Toral agreed yesterday positively to surrender all the forces under his command in Eastern Cuba upon a dis- tinct understanding that they were to be sent to Spain by the United States; this surrender was authorized by General Blanco, and it was agreed that its submission to-morrow was merely formal. The commissioners to arrange details were appointed— of the United States. Points were im- missioners. The discussion lasted un- til 10 o’clagk last nizht. My commis- sioners think the matter will be set- tled to-day and met at 10:30 o’clock this morning. There are about 12,000 troops in the city and about as many more in, the surrounding districts. Twenty-five thousand in all will be transported. General Miles was present, and said the surrender was as absolute and complete as possible. It cannot be pos- sible that there will be failure in com- pleting arrangements. “Water famine in the city is immi- nent. Have the supply cut, This was told Lieutenant Miley by the English commissioner. Will wire frequently when conditions are proeressine. “SHAFTER, “Major GeneLal Commanding.” SUBORDINATE OFFICERS PREVENT CAPITULATION NEW YORK. July 15.—The Tribune’s ‘Washington correspondent telegraphs: General Toral is ready and able to sur- render the city of Santiago and the forces immediately under his command at that point, but in his corps there are between 8000 and 10,000 men, under regi- mental officers, constituting the garri- sons of Guantanamo, Baracoa and other places, which seem to be in open rebellion against the Spanish general. They have appealed to Madrid, declar- ing they will not passively lay down their arms, but will fight to the last. From the failure’of Admiral Sampson to send any of his ships into the har- bor, the authorities here fear that the garrisons of some of the harbor forti- flcations are among the recalcitrants. General Blanco is known to be encour- aging rebellious colonels to resist, since he learned that yellow fever had broken out among the American troops. Comdl tia TRANSPORTATION IS A DEEP PROBLEM NEW YORK, July 15.—A Washing- ton- special to the Herald says: How PRICE FIVE CENTS. HEADED FOR HAWAIl @N D TH E PHILIPPINES. Out Through the Golden Gate Yesterday Sailed the Foqrth Expedition, Composed of the Peru and City of Puebla, Laden With Land Forces to Co-operate With Rear Admiral Dewey at Manila. The Peru Carries Major General Otis, Who Will Probably Give the Troops a Stay at Honolulu During the Flag-Raising Ceremonies. to Spain has proved to be a serious problem to the administration. It has to-day been the chief matter under consideration. It has brought together at intervals for. conferences the ' offi- cials of the various departments, among them Mr. Meiklejohn, Assist- ant Secretary of War; Secretary Alger, Surgesn General Sternberg, Commis- sary General Eagan, Adjutant General Corbin and Colonel H. J. Heckner, Chief of the Bureau of Transportation. President McKinley has been kept informed of these'conferences. “Such a thing,” said an army officer, in the War Department to me to-day, “has hitherto been unheard of in mili- tary annals, and while the new situa- tion is curiously interesting, it is never- theless perplexing, Health, food .and means of transp tion have been the chief points of consideratién, and-the ican ships has not been neglected. For example, Colonel Heckner has advised, I am told on excellent authority, that ‘American bottoms be not considered. This suggestion nearly prevailed, and in the proposals for bids only neutral bottoms will probably be considered. For it is frankly admitted at the de- partment that American transports would require convoys. It is suggest- ed that neutral bottoms would have a right to put these prisoners off at any port in Spain. Another point consid- ered was as to who should feed the men. It was at first suggested that this contract should be turned over to steamship companies, but it was de- cided that mo risks should be taken of having the prisoners half-fed; that it would not be worthy of this nation, and that this Government must under- take:the problem of rations.”. “.The printed formula of a ““Cuban ra- tion” is upon the * desks of those in charge of this matter, and the calcu- lation now is to furnish to the commis- sary of each transport rations for 800 daily for fifteen days. This is the basis of the food solution. NO ‘ENGLISH GUNNERS “IN' DEWEY’S. SQUADRON Captain Crowninshield . Ridicules Cunningham Graham’s Allegation. NEW YORK, July 15.—A Washington special to the Herald says: . Indignant de- nial is made by navil authorities of Cun- ningham Graham'’s allegation that Eng- lish gunners on men-of-war of the Asi- atlc squadron were responsible for the victory of Manila. Captain A. 8. Crown- inshield, chief of the.Bureau of Naviga- tion, told ‘me'to-day" that, in the first place, -no' commander-in-chief nor any other officer of the navy had at his dis- position funds which would enable him to pay men to desert-from foreign men- of-war and enter into the American serv- ice “The report is ridiculous,” continued Captain Crowninshield. “Rear Aamiral Dewey’s men were enlisted by him in the United States, and the muster rolls fail to show that he has made any enliste ments on the Asiatic station. The meS attached to his squadron were practie cally au Amerfcan citizens. They were trained gunners, because they had de- voted much of their time to target prac- tice, and they fought so well because they had plenty of American grit. -—— Velasquez Takes the Eclipse. LONDON, Tuly 15.—Lord Rosebery’s 4- year-old bay colt Velasquez won the Eclipse stakes of 1000 sovereigns at the Sandown Park summer meeting to-day. The Duke of Westminster's Batt was sec- ond and Leopold de Rothschild’s Goletta third. Among the starters was James R. Keene's St. Cloud TI. The Cobham plate of 200 sovereigns was won by Sir Ernest Paget’! Kenwyn. The Lorillard-Berea- ford’s Belisma was third.