Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 March 1900 — AMERICA’S AID ASKED. [ARTICLE]

AMERICA’S AID ASKED.

Kruger and Steyn Request This Government to Communicate with Britain. The first direct effort to aid the Boer republics to secure the services of the United States Government in the direction of bringing about peace in South Africa has been nAde with some degree of success. After endeavoring, apparently. in vain, to induce the continental powers to tender to Great Britain their services as mediators, President Kruger and presumably President Steyn have turned to the American Government with a request of such character that President McKinley and Secretary Hay found that they could comply with It without conflicting with their declarations that the Government would not mediate between the belligerents unless invited to do so by both.

Through Adalbert 8. Hay, the United Btates consul at Pretoria, the Boer governments have asked the Government of the United Btates to place before Great Britain a statement of the terms upon which, the Boers are willing to negotiate a treaty of peace and to ascertain terms which Great Britain may deem it expedient to offer. The United States Government has thus been placed as a channel for the transmission of communications between the two belligerents without being called on to assume the initiative in any phase of the present aspect of the situation. President McKinley directed that' the communication from Pretoria be transmitted to the British Government. The terms which the Boers hare proposed as a preliminary to the arrangement of n peace treaty are regarded as tentative and to serve merely as an entering wedge to securing Great Britain’s consent to discuss a general proposition for n peace arrangement or the selection of n mediator, which is certain to be the United States Government. Aa the war between Great Britain and the Boef republics is regarded aa a purely foreign, matter, the President, bound by the pledge given at The Hague peace , conference, could not, if he desired; take the initiative in steps to bring the war to an end. t -•* . :'<!' ‘ tw. - * --‘. ■ Our pension bureau estimates that, there are 1,032,418 surviving soldiers at the civil war, excluding deserters. About 812,000 of these are unpenaioned. The average age of the survivors is 60 years. Representative C. A. Boutt-lle of Maine has so far recovered from his recent JUaess, which made- it necessary to send him to Boston for treatment, that he has decided to seek re-election. , aa -wv- ,5;-. i- ■ 'f The Russian press was virulent over Oroaje’s surrender and suggested a diversion against Great Britain.