The Monmouth inquirer., 1898-04-07
LEE is RECALLED.
The American Consul Ordered
Home From Havana.
MEASURES FOR HIS SAFETY.
To Remain at His Post Until All
Our Citizens Quit Cuba.
wcoDFORD TO LEAVE MADRID

Oar Minister In Spain Likely to Be Or
dered Home within Few Hours His
Family Has Left AIready-Our DiPlo-
matte Relations With Spanish Govern
mont Practically at an End-The First
war order Has Been Issued-The Fly
ing Squadron to Move Against the Span
ish FIotilla and Fleet.
washington. April 6.-How close
Spain and the United States have now
come to war may be judged from the
fact that Consul General Lee has been
recalled from Havana as a precaution-
airy measure for his personal safety.
The other consular representatives IN
Cuba will also be directed to return to
this country and it is expected tnat
Minister Woodford and the American
Diplomatic and consular representatives
in Spain will be ordered home within
the next "a hours.
The government has sent General Lee
instructions to see to the SAFETY OF
American consuls and all Americans in
Cuba, and has given him full authority
to go to whatever expense is necessa-
ry, including the hire of vessels, to Sc
cure this end.
1t is stated that General Lee has ca
bled the state department that he can
get all the Americans out of Havana
by tonight.
A dispatch from Key West says:
1.-TWO steamers reported in the offing
coming from the south are supposed to
be the Bache and Mangrove, from Ha-
vana. Later dispatches to the Plant
line agent say positively that General
Lee is to come this afternoon on the
Mascotte."
A dispatch from Madrid says;
THE families of Minister Woodford
and Mr. j. r. Macarthur. second secre-
tary of the American legation, started
for Paris last night Mrs. Woodford
gave her usual reception yesterday aft
ernoon 1t is understood that General
Woodford has asked the British embas-
sador in the event of his own depart
are becoming necessary. to take charge
of American interests and properties in
SPAIN
The First War Order.
The flying squadron, under command
of Commodore Schley will move on the
Canaries within "a or 4S hours This is
the programme of the navy department.
1t is a reply to the dispatch of the tor
pedo fiotilIa and fleet of cruisers toward
our shores and preliminary to a decisive
blow at the sea power of Spain.
This is the first positive war order is
sued
Yesterday Commodore Schley, on the
flagship Brooklyn, dropped down the
roads to point opposite Fort Monroe.
in obedience to dispatches from the de-
partment and there awaited the receipt
of emergency orders. They were sent
last night and the commander of the
fiying squadron now knows that he is
to make the first move and will be ex-
pected to strike the first blow of the
war with Spain. He has announced that
he is ready to move at a moments no.
tice
The plan of operation. so far as now
determined is as follows: The flying
squadron will not await the actual dec
laration of war, nor the recognition by
congress that a state of war has exist
ed since the blowing up OF the Maine.
nor even the adoption by the two houses
of a resolution authorizing the forcible
Intervention of this country in the af-
fairs of Cuba.
The department and the cabinet rec
ognize that war is now question Of
hours. 1t may come by this afternoon;
it may be deferred until the next morn
ing; it may even be deferred until Fri
day. but no one in the navy department
expects that it will be or can be post
poned beyond that.
The department and the administra-
ton are now so confident that it must
come within that time that they are
preparing to strike the first blow and to
make it decisive.