Crisis In Conference

   London. Oct. 18. --- A despatch to a London news agency from Paris says: "To-day [Monday] the conference [of the Spanish-American peace commissioners] reached a crisis for the first time. Judge Day presented the demands of the American commission in threatening words. He said that delay was the only possible object attainable by the persistent efforts of the Spanish commissioners to saddle the United States with the Cuban debt, and would be tolerated no longer, as the United Slates would neither assume nor guarantee any part of the debt. The Spaniards replied that this placed Spain in a position of repudiating or of reducing the face value of the Cuban bonds from fifty to sixty per cent., paying only half the stipulated interest on the reduced value. Before they would adopt either alternative, they would surrender to the United States the entire Philippines.

         Gave the Dons Another Shock.

    "Judge Day responded that the surrender of the Philippines would probably be demanded irrespective of the Cuban or any other debt. This, to the Spaniards the first intimation of the intentions of the United States as to the Philippines, resulted in a whispered conference, followed by a request for an adjournment in order to communicate with Madrid. Judge Day said that President McKinley had instructed him to demand the entire surrender of Porto Rico tomorrow [Tuesday.]"

         Sovereignty Over Cuba Rejected.

    London, Oct. 18. --- The Paris correspondent of The Times says: "At the sitting of the peace commission this [Monday] afternoon, the American commissioners officially --- and it "would seem definitely --- rejected the idea of accepting sovereignty over Cuba for the United States. The Spanish commissioners there upon remarked that Spain, having abandoned such sovereignty under pressure from the United States, and the United States having denied that sovereignty henceforth belongs to them, Cuba is de facto in a state of anarchy, as an intermission of sovereignty cannot be viewed in any other light. The American commissioners rejoined that, without accepting sovereignty, the United States considered themselves deputed and bound to maintain security for all the inhabitants; that they would not fail to introduce and uphold order, and in short that they would do all that was necessary to put the island as speedily as possible in a state of normal organization, to be transformed at the earliest moment into a legal regularity satisfactory for the security of all.

            Rejoinder of the Dons

     "Upon this the Spanish commissioners, with what seems striking logic, promptly replied that by the fact of the declaration just made them, and of the United States undertaking to restore legality, order and security, the United States were invested with veritable sovereignty, and consequently could not refuse to accept the consequences of such sovereignty, seeing that they admittedly could not tolerate the relapse into anarchy of an island placed under their supervision and direction. Notwithstanding these striking objections, the American commissioners persisted in their refusal, and officially declared that the United States cannot be considered invested with sovereignty, and that they [the commissioners] could not deviate from this definite declaration.                                       -----------------