Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Oregon mist. (St. Helens, Columbia County, Or.) 188?-1913 | View Entire Issue (May 6, 1898)
III? qr I M DOINGS OF THE WEEK What Has Happened In the Civilized World. GIVEN IN THE 1'RESS DISPATCHES A Complete Review of the New of the "t Seven Days in IhU and All roMl(D lutt, Leal nd sugar are advancing rapidly in Lionuon owing w tne war. Secretary Alger ha submitted natt niato of 184,000,000 to cover addition. I army expense to July 1. Thl will b Included in the general deficiency bill." The committee on military affair ha favorably roimrted Uio administra tion bill auspendlng Important law governing the ciunrtormastor'a depart ment in tlia army. The emergency war measure wa pd In the iioitM on the 88th by unanimous consent. It repeal the limitation upon the purchase of qusr . termnater' (upplieadurlng the existing war with Spain, Minister Clayton communicated to the foreign department ol the govern mwnt at Mexico the revolution of the American congress declaring war with Spain. Minister Marfscal, of the for eign department, replied, assuring the American minister on the authority of President Dim, that Mexico will main' tain the etrloUwt neutrality, . Oriental advice received by ateamer In Vancouver, B. C., tell of a shocking in a mho re which occurred near Tiiljw.i, China, at the houae of one Yang Kin hung. A party of over 20 robber entered the house and murdered Yang, Ilia Wife, bia mother and vhildieii and servants, IS perirons In all, who rcalst ed them In tlielr attempt to loot the house and attack the daughter. When the raideri had butchered all the in' mate they act tlia home on fire. The lue packing-houses of the At' lantlo Powder Company, near Dover N. 3., containing high explosive for the Unitorl Btate government were blown op and two men are known to have been killed. Several are missing and a number were Injured. The ex plosion is believed to have been the work of 8panish apina. Suspicion characters bad been aen around the building for several day. The large Spanish steamer On I do, bound from Corumnt for Havana with large cargo ol provision and money for the Kpaniwh tronta, wit captured by the United State monitor Terror. The capture took place 10 milotofl! Car dnnaa, after desperate chase, daring which the monitor Terror und the gun boat Mitch iaa fired aeveral shot, almost blowing the Spaniard' pilot house into the water. One man in the pilot houae wan seriously Injured. It la estimated that with her cargo ahe la worth nearly 1500,000. Eleven people were killed by an ex plosion at the Santa Crua, Cat., powder : work. ' .. , The treaaury department hits ordered the Saturna, a Spanish vessel seized in Itiloxl harbor, released. ' ; In storm off the Atlantic coast an unknown vessel was wrecked. An other vessel wa reported signalling for help. The monitor Terror captured the . Spanish coasting steamer Anibrotio Uollvar with tOO.OOO In silver on board, oil the Cuban coast. Troop are oon lo be landed in Cuba. The plan la to establish base of operations, open communication with Gomes and feed the reconeontrados. Dispatches from Matanzas say an American torpedo-boat destroyer ha twice entered the port of Matanzas. The second time six shots were fired at bur and she retired. , The harbor of Ban Juan Is being pieced in state of defense by the Spaniards. A new battery la sot up at the east of Han Cristobal cuhIIo and aubmarine epxlosives have been thickly planted at the harbor entrance, Secretary Long hits announced hi in tention of purchasing the Holland sub marine torpedo-boat, on Assistant Boo eretary Roosevelt's recommendation. Ill proposition i to utilize the boat in blowing op Morro castle. Secretary Xiong deoluree Havana will not be bombarded until serious dangor from attack by the Spanish fleet Is eliminated. He say the United 8 talcs cannot afford to risk the loss of a war. ship until the armadas are destroyed or are no longer a menace to be greatly feared. , The three days' debate on the war revenue bill begun in the houae Wednesday. Dingloy opened the de bate and waa followed by Bailey, who opposed the measure and proposed to substitute for It taxes on Income and bank deposits and coinage of ailver seigniorage. General Mile and the Cuhan repre sentative held an important confer ence in Washington, D. O., and went over the plan of operation. It is un derstood that the insurgent will be fully equipped by the United States, and will move on Havana, co-operating with our fleet. Minor News tteme. A newly discovered spot on the sun visible now, i said to be 80,000 mile in diameter. - Tho sale of suit is a government mo nopoly in China, which yield a yearly revenue of 111,000,000. Jew have become farmer In Main In such nuiuhors as to be recognized a a fnotor in trading. The contributions to the Jame Ru ell Lowell memorial fund in Boston now amount to 133,078. LATER NEWS, The Spanish admiral of the Philip- tune acknowledges that his fleet bat ueen oompiotoly demolished. ( It is claimed at Madrid that no Span in warsnip urremloreu, and that majority of them perished. The Span lh losa i estimated at 400 men killed A Hong Kong dispatch say the bom uartimont of Msnlla ha begun. Tho tniiahltatit are fleelnif to the country. The operators in tho cable station in the midst of the forts have fled to save thoir live. Cable communication interrupted. A special to the Chicago Dailv New from Washington yi The president ana cabinet nave received Information that the (Spanish governor-general of ine i'lilllppines lias sent a nag of truce to Commodore Dewey. This act ll Interpreted to mean the capitulation of die Bpanlsli roioes. A terrible storm passed over Booth Dakota and Iowa. South Dakota re ports a death list of 18, and a property lof of 1100,000. In Northwest Iowa, the town of l'rlnghar, Hartley and CurluW wore badly wrecked, Hartley twin almost completely destroyed, Several people In that section are re' ported killed. The town of Macedonia, i. car Council Bluffs, is badly wrecked, but no loss of lite Is reported there. , Governor Lord, of Oregon, ha desig nated the following a field officers of tho regiment of volunteer raised In re spouse to the presidential call for troops: Commander Colonel O. Sum met, of Portia' d; lieutenant-colonel George O. Yoran, of Eugene; senior major 0. U. Guntenbein, of Port land; second major P. G. Kastwlck, of Portland; third major Percy Willis, of Salem'; chaplain W. 8, Gilbert, of Eugene. '' The navy department ha received official confirmation of tho arrival of the battle-ship Oregon at Bio Janeiro. Tliis wa the subject of general satis faction, for it means very material atieiiKth for Admiral Sampson's fleet within a fortnight. The Oiegon baa been making 18 knot, or about 31)0 miles a day, and it ia calculated that she will cover the 8,000 miles between Kio and Cuba in 10 day. She must coal, however, before starting north ward, and this will take aeveral days. Once with the blockading fleet, Ad miral Sampson's first line will be of (our tapcrb battle-ship of exactly the can. a stiength and equipment. Detail of the battle of Manila have been received at the British colonial offloe. They came in two cable messages. Tho first dispatch announced that the American fleet entered Manila harbor at daybreak, stationing itself opposite the city. The foits opened fire on the American ships, whereupon they shifted thoir position to Cavite, Manila bay, engaging in a fierce light against both the forts and the Bpanieh fleet. The engagement here lasted two hours, ana res a I ted -in the annihilation of the Spanish Soot. This dispatch adds that tho American ship withdrew to their mngaxine vessel in the center of the roads lor the puriiose of coaling. One American vessel, name not mentioned, ia said to have been disabled. Alter the naval battle Commodore Deweey requested the British consul to convey message to the Bpanieh gov ernor-general, demanding the surrender of all torpedoes and gun at Manila, and the possession of the cable office, saying that unless these term were complied with, be would proceed to bombard the oity. The Bret cable mea. sage end with the statement that the Spanish official were conferring with the British consul and telcgrapn com panies, and that pending a decision be ing arrived at the cable weie not per mitted to handle message. The tt) ond ra' lo dispatch . announced that the Fpanlsh, governor-general refused to surrender the torpedoes and gun and cable offloes, and that he had pre vented the agent of the telegraph com pany from conferring with Dewey. The senate hits adopted the confer ence report on the naval appropriation bill. The harbor defense plana of San Franoisoo are said to bo in the band of the Spanish. A New York Journal dispatch says the government is preparing to seize several small islands in the South At lantic a a base of supplies. , Blanco, in hi report of the Matanias bombardment says the French and English consul have entered protest on the ground that no previous notice wa given. .- From Key West come the report that the gunboat Newport oaptured the email Bpanisli - sloop Engracia off Cabana, and aent her capture Into port in charge of a prise crew, It was officially announced at Madrid that the fortification of Matansaa have not suffered, In spite of 800 shells fired by the American fleet, and that not one man was killed or wounded thereby. The stories of the bombardment received from the United Stnto are received with ahouts of derision. Spanish mail has been ordered confis cated by the postofflce department. In the first batch received at the dead let ter offloo, the discovery of numerous contraband letters, soma of whioh are of great importance to the naval and mil taty authorities, has demonstrated that the order is not only justified, bnt wise precaution. ' At Roubaix, one of the socialist strongholds of France, the 11,000 pub lic school children reooivo free food and olothing jat the expense of the town. The late Mr a. Julia W. James, of Boston, left nearly all her estate, val ued at 1543, 0G9, to theMusenmnf Fine Arts and the Institute of Technology. Cores' first railway, SB mile in length, i being constructed by Amer ican contractor. It is to extend from Chemulpo, on the Yellow sea, to Seoul, th capital. SPANISH DEFEAT Met With Heavy Loss at the Philippine Islands. AMERICAN LOSS WAS LIGHT Three Rpanlih CruUers Destroyed Only Nwi Comet Through Madrid and Is Colored American Ships BuoMeded In Lauding Their Wounded. Madrid, May 8. Advice from Manila aay that the American squad ron, nnder Commodore Dewey, ap peared ' off tho bay of Manila at 5 o'clock thl morning and opened a strong cannonade against the Spanish squadron and fort protecting the har bor. The Spanish second-clas cruiser Don Juan de Austria, was severely damaged and her commander was killed. Another Spanish vessel was burned. . The American squadron re tired, having also sustained severe damage. A second naval engagement followed. in which the American squadron again differed considerable loss and the Spanish wasship Mindanao and Ulloa were slightly damaged. , During this engagement the Cavite forts maintained steadier and stronger fire upon tho American squadron than in the first engagement. Admiral Berraejo, the minister of marine, has expressed himself a highly pleased with the heroism of the Spanish marines, and ha telegraphed congratu lations to Admiral Montejo and the valorous crew of the Spanish squadron under fire of superior warships. The Uffielal Report. The following it the text of the offi cial dispatch from the governor-general of the Philippine to the minister of war, General Correa, a to the engage ment off Manila: "Last night, the batteries at the en trance to the forts announced the arrival of the enemy, forcing a passage under tho obscurity of the night. , At day break the enemy took up position, opening with a strong fire against Fort Cavite and Tardenal. Our fleet en gaged the enemy in a brilliant combat, protected by the Cavite and Manila forts.' They obliged the enemy, with heavy loss, to maneuver repeatedly. At 9 o olocK the Americans took refuge behind the foreign merchant hipping on the east aide of the bay. Our fleet, considering the enemy' anvwii'inrttt. natnrulltt liiffftMil a anVdrt ' loss. The Items Crlatina is on fire, and another ship, believed to be the Don JuRn de Austria, waa blown op. There was considerable loss of life. Captain Cadareze, commanding the Belna Cris- tina, is among the killed. I cannot now give further detail. Tne spirit of the armv, navy and vohinteera is ex cellent," When the United State fleet arrived at Subic, at 4 o'clock yesterday after noon. Commodore Dewey sent scouting vessel to examine these waters for the enemy, and Immediately sailed In tne direction of Manila. Notwithstanding the severe damage the Spanish snip suffered, naval om cer here consider that the future oper ation by the American squadron will be oondnoted under great difficulty, owing to their having no base where they could repair or coal, or obtain fiesh supplies of ammunition. Another account Bays the Mindanao and Dlloa were severely damaged in the second engagement. Mutterlnsa In Madrid. The town is greatly excited by the serious news from the Philippines, and there i an immense crowd gathering the Salle de Savilla. The civil guard on horsebaok were called out to preserve order, and all precautions have been taken. There ia much mattering, but np to the present, nothing more serious has occurred. Late official telegram say Admiral Montejo be transferred his flag to the cruiser Isle of Cuba, from the cruiser Iteina Cristlna, whioh is completely burned. According to onicial tele' grains, the spanisu oraiser Castllla was also burned. The other ships retired from the com bat, some being sunk to avoid their falling into the enemy's hands. The second engagement was appar ently begun by the American after landing their wounded on the west aide of the bay. A cabinet minister speaks of serious but honorable losses." SPANIARDS' CRUSHING DEFEAT. That Is About All the Dlapatehe Make - Clear. London, May 8. Whllo it is quite clear that the Spanish squadron has offered a ornehing defeat, the d la patches do not leave clear the interest ing question whether the American squadron ha suffered damage. Probably, therefore, the United States squadron will be obliged to make for Ban Franoisoo, as the entrance to Manila bay wa heavily mined with torpedoes. . Commodore Dewey displayed great pluck and daring in making for the nnor harbor. According to private advice reoelved from Madrid, the Uni ted State cruisers Olympla, Raleigh d two other other vessels, the name of which are not given, entered the har bor. No dispatches give detail as to the vessels engaged on either tide. ST. HELENS, OREGON, F1IIDAY, MAY END THE WAR. The Probable IITact of Dewey's Victory at Maulla. Washington, May 8. Washington is rejoicing tonight. Dot since the dark day of a third of century ago have tho people of thl city been to pro foundly moved by war new a they were this evening. The first battle of the Bispano American war ha been fought and vic tory lie with Admiral Deweey' squad ron under the Stars and Stripes. That was enough to set the people of Wash ington almost in a frenzy of enthu eiustio rejoicing. For days, they, in common with the people throughout the country, have bo.-n waiting news from the Philip pines, as everything pointed to a battle at Manila that might be a derisive con flict of the war. When the news came, indicating a great victory for the American squadron, the enthusiasm of the people was let loose, and the streets of the city have rang with cheers throughout the night. , The first news of the battle received in Washington came in a brief cable gram to the press from Madrid about 8 o'clock tliis evening. As the night wore on, the cable continued to sing the now of victory tor the squadron of Admiral Dewey, and the interest grew into tremendous exoitement. As bulletin after bulletin woe posted in front of the newspaper offices,: each successive one conveying information more gratifying than it predecessor, the crowds in tiie street became up roarious. Good, a well a bad news. spread rapidly, and by 10 o'clock, the streets were crowded with people, all discussing the one exciting topic of the hour. Hundreds gathered in front of the bulletin boards, end evry scintilla of news and It wa all glorious was reeeived with eutbosiastio cheers, While victory had been expected, the news of it, coming, as it did come. from SpnniBh sources, gave a vent to the! patriotism of the people, which has been pent np for days. It was a spontaneous outburst of patriotic feel ing that scarcely knew no bounds. ; Ad miral Dewey's name was on every lip, and ills praise were sung in the re joicings of the people. The absence of any statement of spe cific injury to the American vessels in the Madrid advices was constured as convincing indication that they had not suffered appreciable injury and this was especially pleating to the students of the news. - Not only was the preservation of the American ship and men considered in itself a happy outcome, but waa com mented upon aa Indicating clearly that Admiral Dewey and bis associate offi cers and the men under their command had discharged spendidly their several duties in directing and executing the fight. in this connection it was x)inted ont aa little Ices than marvelous that the American sqnurdon escaped withont ieveie injury, because, notwithstanding J ,t- l i .L. the diaparity in the naval forces, the Spanish fleet, assisted by the (bore batteries, should have been able to effect severe damage before it wa de' Stroyed. its failure to do so waa ex plicable only upon the hypothesis of perfect and swift work by the American squadron. May End the War. An opinion freely expressed tonight by naval officers is that the very de cisive victory of Admiral Dewey's fleet will mean probably an early end of tbe war without further naval battles of importance. The American fleet, it is suggested, is now supreme in the waters of Spain's Pacific possession, and indi cations point strongly toward the wrest ing of the Philippines from their con trol. It Is said that only by acceding to oar demands in Cuba could tbia loss possibly be averted. Spain, it is argued, is confronted with a situation which promises naught save disaster in case he elects to force more fighting. Tbe superiority of tbe American fleet has been demonstrated in tbe Pacific, and the same it is contended woujd be inevitable in the Atlantic in case the clash come. From whatever point of view it is considered, the policy of more fighting on tiie part of Spain promises nothing but more Spanish misfortune. Navy officers think this view mast prevail with the Spanish government, and be lieve an end of the war, on the basis of Cuban independence, in to follow soon, and that, too, without further notable opportunity for the American navy to prove its power and distin guish itself. It is regarded by some as likely that the decisive victory gained by Admiral Dewey' squadron may open the eyes of Spain to the seriousness of the con flict upon which she has entered. In official circles it iB regarded as al most certain that resalts of a most serious nature will oonfront theSagasta oahinet within Spain's own borders. It is laid that the Spanish people have been led to believe that their navy wa invincible, and the bitter disappoint ment over the first engagement of the war Is likely to precipitate internal dis 6enaion, if not revolution. I'robable Result at the Victory. Another result of Admiral Dewey' victory, it is thought, may be action on the part of the power of Europe to in duce Spain to abandon what ia regard ed as a hopeless contest. In the dispatches from Madrid, the statement was made that Admiral Dewey effeoted a landing on the west side of Manila bay for the men of his fleet who were wounded In the engage ment. A soon as the junction of the American and insurgent forces the one at tea and tne otner on land is effected, a demand is likely to be made tor the surrender of tho oity, and, in the event of refusal, combined attack will be made on It. MAY C, 1898. A DASH TO CUBA Transports are Char- tered to Take the Army Across. MAY LAND AT MAIANZAS Secular Troops How on the Way to Tampa Object Is to Strike a De cisive Blow Before the Rainy geaeoa Sets Ia Work In War Department, Washington, April 80. A rather striking signification of the invasion of Cuba was made today in the charter ing of eight large steamers, of an aver age capacity of about 3,000 tons, and able to carry from S00 to 1,000 passen gers each. These are to be need as transports for tbe conveyance of the first military expedition to Cuba. Tbe names of tbe bout are the Olivette and the Flordia, of the Plant line, now in the Gulf; the Southern Pacific Com pany' steamer Aranzaa; the New York & Texas Company's vessels Comal, now at New York, and Alamo, now en route to tbe Golf, and three fine ships of the Boston Merchants' Sc Mariners' line, in Baltimore, the Allegheny, Berkshire and the Decatur Miller. The price paid for those vessels is from $10,000 to $15,000 for the 30 days for which tbey are chartered. They will be taken charge of by the quartermaster depart ment at tbe earliest possible moment. ' General Shatter, in command of the troops now concentrated at New Or leans, has been in consultation with the Officials today as to the execution of plans of campaign, but tbe orders given him cannot be made public The president and cabinet will con sider the large number of applications that have been made for the appoint ment to the posts of major-general and brigadier-general, and there is some ex jiectation that be will be able to nouii nate a few of these officers soon. General Fitzhagh Lee arrived here today, after a 10 days' visit to Vir ginia. With him came Miss Cisneros, tbe young Cuban girl rescued from Ca banas, who has been the guest of Miss Lee. Tbe general shared the keen pub lio interest in the report of the shelling of Matanzas. He has visited that city frequently, and was familiar with tbe lay of the land and defenses. He said tiie batteries were antiquated and were no longer able to offer any formidable resistance. Every endeavor ia being put forward by the war department to organize the volunteer army and increase the regu lar army to it fall strength. Muster-ing-rolls of the companies of the volun teer army have been prepared in the war department and sent, to tbe offi cers who have been detailed to form ally induct the state troops into the service of the government. With a few modifications they are the same as those used in the late war. Tbe question of arms and equip ments for the volunteer army is now receiving the attention of the ordnance department and tbe quatermaster-gen-erul's department. As soon as infor mation is received as to the exact num ber of aims needed for the volunteers, they will be shipped to their state rendezvous for distribution. The three independent regiments of cavalry authorized by the volunteer army act, and which are to be com posed exclusively of frontiersmen, are to be known as the First, Second and Third regiments of United States vol unteer cavalry. They are to be com posed of 18 troops eaoh. Off tor the Front. Chickamanga National Park, Ga., April 80. Tbe two companies of tho Njnth (colored) cavalry, which arrived in Chattanooga late this afternoon. were stopped after having started to Chiokamauga, and switched into the; Western & Atlantic yards. Orders are said to have been received to have the troops proceed as rapidly as possible to Tampa, Fla., to which point tbe troops from Mobile have also been ordered, and tbey will leave before morning. It is currently reported that the com panies of the Ninth regiment now in camp here will be shipped at once to Tampa, as well as the Twenty-fourth infantry (colored). Offloers of the Ninth have been making every prepar ation for departure. Another Letter Held Cp. Washington, April 80. The poet-" office department has information of another letter being held op because it contained treasonable matter. The postmaster at Santa Crua reported that a letter to Senor Sagasta, Spain; had been mailed there, and, under direc tion of Assistant Postmaster-General Tynan its contents wore examined. It was mailed by a woman who gave an address wheie an answer -would,, reach her, and contains information in regard to the fortifications of San Francisco, where guns are located, etc The let ter will be referred to the war depart ment " Bnsaeoted Spanleh Spy. Laredo, Tex., April 80. When the Geat Northern mail train arrived this evening a stranger on the train was ar rested by an officer from Fort Mcintosh, and from what could be learned he is thought to be a Spanish spy, who has been under surveilanoe all the way from New York. He was bound for Mexico. The prisoner ts at the post. but nothing further of a definite nature could be leajrnod tonight. WAS IT A SPANIARD? BunoilDe; Attempt Made to Torpedo Beate. Blow C . Portland, Or... May 2. A bungling attempt to set Are to the shop or fright en the workmen on torpedo-boat 13 and 18 wa made nnder the wharf of the Wolff & Zwicker iron work about 11 o'clock last night Wliile nothing could be learned of the perpetrator, a Spaniard or a Mexi can who was seen hanging about the place all day and who had been several times ordered away is suspected by tbe police. The late workmen, wb't were just quitting the building, were startled, as the whistle blew, by a dull report ap parently just below the wharf on which the torpedo-boats are building, which shook the structure to its foundation. The Madison street bridge night watch man also beard the detonation ami saw a blinding flash directly nnder the torpedo-boats. Three of the workmen seized lantern and hurried beneath the whaif. Just as they reached the ground, a second report, like that of a shotgun or re volver, was heard, and they saw a light flash for an instant, but that was all. Groping about by the dim light of their lanterns, tbey were unable lo find any thing which could have made an ex plosion, and tbey finally decided to abandon the quest till daytirenk. The Spaniard whom the police sus pect of having set off the explosion, either with the deliberate purpose of blowing up the torpedo-boats or set ting fire to tbe building, or thinking to terrify the contractors, had been slink ing about the place all day. Whatever was the purpose of the man who set off the explosion, be failed to do any more barm than to set the town agog, for the wharf and boats were unscathed. ALLEGED GERMAN NOTE. Rumor That She Will Not rrr.nlt the Boiubardineut or Manila Madrid, May 2. A great impression has been produced here by a rumor that the German government has is sued a note declaring that it will not oppose the landing of troops in the Philippines but will not permit a bom bardment, owing to the important Ger man mercantile interests in all the towns of the island. Germany's omision to declare neutrality is bold to be the cause of the rumor. . - Japan has requested permission for Japanese naval officers to watch tbe operations in the Philippines from the Spanish headquarters. The United States fleet is not expect ed to reach Manila until Tueslay. Tiie Spanish fleet has been divided in two. It will be reinforced by a large auxil iary cruiser. According to dispatches from Ma nila, the Voa Espanoia describes the port of Manila as impregnable. Tbe paper also says that the forts of Mule ton, Sud Malatea, Pastel, Mirallas und St. Lucia Pilar bristle with gnns, chiefly Kruppe. PORTUGAL'S NEUTRALITY. Officially Announced In a Proelauiatlon In X.libon ..I Lisbon, May 8. The official gazette today publishes the neutrality decree of Portugal in the war between Spain and the United States. It is similar to the decree ifrsul at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war, and contains the following six ar ticles: First Forbidding the equipment of privateers in Portuguese waters. Second Forbidding ' the entry of privateers into Portuguese waters. Third Permitting belligerents ' to make a short stay in Portuguese ports, Fourth Defining legitimate trade as regards the belligerents and forbidding trading in goods consider contraband of war. Fifth Warning Portuguese end for eigners in Portugal against - action contrary to the security of the state. Sixth Refusing protection to any infringers of the decree. COST OF THE WAR. Bon Needed for Additional Anny . , ..Expenses. Washington, May 8. The secretary of the treasury today received from the secretary of war estimates of defi ciencies in appropriations for the ex penses of tbe war for the remaining two quarters of the present fiscal year, aggregating $34,019,987. In his let ter. Secretary Alger says that the nets of congress approved April 22 and 28, 1898, authorizing the enrollment of a Volunteer army and placing the regular army on a war footing, will necessitate this increase for the organization, sup port and maintenance of the new forces. This estimate, which will be trans mitted to congress, is entirely inde pendent of the allotments made by the president to the war department out of the-$50,000,000. This will indicate that np to July I next (two months) the incieosod expenditures on account of the war will be approximately $90, 000,000. . The Spanish government officials are bewildered at the attitude of . Great Britain. , Tbey believe the government and people of Great Britain hold divergent opinions, and that the official acts of Great Britain are due to a secret oompaot with the United States. Washington, May 2. Secretary Al ger this morning issued a most sweep ing order directed to all bureau chief of the war department and all officer on special duty, from highest to low est, instructing them, under no cir cumstances, to give information to the press on any subject connected with the war. A similar order already ex j ists in the navy department Manila, May 8. The government i has forbidden the use of cipher dia patthes. . , . ...,'r ; V.' '". . i NO. 20. FORT BOMBARDED New York, Puritan and Cincinnati Fire on Matanzas. SPANISH RETURNED THE FIRE Great tamae;e Pone to the Fortifica tions of the Cuban Tort Believed There Wa Aim Loee of Lire No Dimie Hone to American Xt arehlpe. On Board the Flagship New York, off Matanzas, April 29. The New York, the Puritan and tbe Cincinnati bom barded the forts at tbe month of Matan zas harbor this afternoon. There were no casualties on our side, but it is be lieved that tbe bail of iron which pounded in the forts must have caused loss of life to the Spaniards, though nothing ia known definitely. The engagement commenced at 12:57, and ceased at 1:10. The object of the attack was to prevent the completion of the earthworks at Pnnta Gorda. -i A battery on tbe eastward arm of the bay opened fire on tbe flagship, and this was also shelled. About 12 8-inch shells were fired from the eastern forts, but all fell short. About five or six light shells "wero fired from the half-completed battery. Two of these whizzed over the New York, and the others fell short. The ships left the bay for the open sea, the object of discovering the" whereabouts of the batteries! having been accom plished. , v In the neighborhood of 800 shot were put on land from the three vessels from a range of from 4,000 to 7,000 yarda. - Bear-Admiral Sampson, when asked if he was satisfied with the result, said: . .-. "Yes, I am. I expected to be." The half-completed Spanish earth works and battery were apparently blown up by the shells. All the ships engaged showed ex jellent markmanship throughout tbe engagement, and when they were firing at the shortest range, nearly every shell took effect The forts which were bombarded were on a low-lying point, and were considered merely earthworks. They did not make a good target, yet when tbe big buns were fired at tbe shortcut range, ' portions of the forts could be seen flying in the air at trvery shot.. The flagship returned to Havana, and the Puritan and Cincinnati were left on the Matanzas station. . " Department Kot Informed. Washington, April 29. So far ai could be learned, the officials of the administration were not notified of tbe bombardment of Matanzas yesterday afternoon. The navy department keep a telegraph office open in tbe building all night and a confidential official re mains at tiie department all night to translate the messages ga receive. There was considerable business done over the wires till tbe early morniuit hours, but none of the dispatri.es were sent either to tbe Whits. House or to the secretary of the navy. . ; BOMBARDMENT OF HAVANA. Mot the Preeent Purpose of the Government- : 1 i Washington, April 29. The war sit uation la substantially tbia: ' The blockading squadron remains passive before Havana, with no present purpose of bombarding or of drawing tbe fire of the shore batteries. , The strategic purpose of an effective block ade of the Cuban coast is being accom plished to tbe entire satisfaction of the authorities here. There is no indica tion that a part of the Sent will be withdrawn for the purpose of affording additional protection to North Atlantic ports. . No word had come to the department up to the close of office hours of the ar rival of the Montserrat at Cienfngos. The offloials are inclined to believe that if she has gotten into port site did so before the blockade of Cienfugoa. had begun. ' The very faot that the Madrid offi cials have rather ostentatiously de clared that the Spanish fleet has Railed to bombard the cities on tbe North At lantic coast is taken as a certain indi cation at the navy department of the ntter improbability of such a movement. If this were contemplated, the Spanish officials would be the very last to inake their purpose pnblio. The navy department, as yet, iias made no arrangements for the care of prisoners taken by our warohips, but tbe legal officers of tbe department think they should be sent to Boston naval prison. - , The state department posted notion today, stating it bad been officially ad vised of the issuance of neutra'it or ders by Italy, the JJetherlauda, Switzer land, Norway and Sweden, Itussia end Colombia. It is 'supposed airo that official notice of Great Britain's and Franco's neutrality will be received by tomorrow. Including Frauce and Owiit Britain, four of the tlx great powers of Europe, have dmtiared tnelr neutroHty Great Britain, IuUJ, i u. .' t ", I?W85il. '.-.'
