The Friars Must Leave the Philippines
In reply to the last note from the vatican on the friar question in the Philippines, the President is reported to have taken the position emphatically that the friars must be eliminated entirely from the islands. Advises from Rome indicate that there is a disposition on the part of the vatican to take advantage of the Philippine question to forward its desire for the establishment of diplomatic relations with the United States. The purchase of the friars' lands and the payment of the large sum of money involved it is thought will render some such relations indispensable, and by reserving the question of the withdrawal of the friars, the vatican hopes to prolong these relations.