New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-03-18
NEW SQUADRON FORMING
BATTLE-sHIPS AND CRUISERS TO AS
sEMBLE IN HAMPTON ROADS.
THE ADMINISTRATION TAKES ANOTHER IMPoR-
TANr STEP IN ITS PLANS FOR COAST DE-
rENcE-r7IE MAINE COURTS REPORT

TANT STEP IN ITS PLANS FUR 'oh"i DD
rENcLr4IE MAINE COURTS REPORT
NOT EXPECTED THIS WEEK
TBY TELEGRAPH To THE TRIBUNE.
Washington March 1.-THE most signincah'
step taken to-day by the Administration IN the
development of its Spanish policy was the oe
tachment Of the le-ships Massachusetts, ana
! Texas from the Key West squadron, with ORDERS
| 10 report again to the Secretary Of the Navy
from Hampton Roads. Undue importance Is
likely 20 be attached to this further division OF
| the naval forces now the Atlantic coast, TOT
| critics OF the oversubtle and penetrative order
will be inclined to in this simple strategicai
order signs Of a disposition on the part Of the
| Administration to yield to Spanish remon-
strances against the assemblage Of too for
! midable American fleet within striking distance
Of the Cuban capital There is every reason 10
believe. however. that the division Of the At
lantic fleet into two squadrons. foreshadowed
| by the recall OF the Massachusetts and the
Texas TO Hampton Roads, has no diplomatic
| significance whatever; and that, as Secretary
Long declared to-day. 1t is simply another step
toward working out the plans for coast defence
which have engrossed the attention OF the Navy
Department for two or three weeks past
NEW BASE OF OPERATIONS.
The assembling in Hampton Roads OF a
SQUADRON to be composed OF the bate-ships
Massachusetts, and Texas. the armored cruiser
Brooklyn. the protected cruisers Columbia and
/ Minneapolis. and perhaps the San Francisco ana
one of the smaller cruisers now on thc way from
/ the European Station. will serve 10 create new
| and more convenient rendezvous on the south
! ern coast and to relieve the embarrassments IN
voved in maintaining a single base OF supplies
| on the isolated Florida coast. AS the gunboat
! Annapolis and the cruiser Montgomery are now
! practically a part of the Key West fleet, the
gunboat Helena is on her way from Lisbon 10
! Florida waters and the cruiser Cincinnati and
/ the gunboats wilmington, Castipe, Vicksburg
| and Newport are cruising about the Caribbean.
the detachment Of the Massachusetts and the
Texas from Admiral Scard's command VIII not
materially affect the distribution of naval
strength along the Southern coast. Besides the
eventual appearance of the oregon in West md
ian waters must be considered in any plans Tor
the balancing Of the available fighting power in
the North Atlantic which the Department Is now
working out.
COURT MAY NOT REPORT BY MONDAY
Nothing is yet definitely known about the time
set by the Naval Board Of Inquiry for forward
ing its report on the Maine disaster to Wash
ington Monday is the date now popularity Sc
lected as the earliest on which the report can be
delivered here but there Is every prospect that
the Board will not be able to forward It's con-
clusions by that time
Senator Proctor OF Vermont. took advantage
to-day OF the latitude Of debate allowed on the
National Quarantine bill to detail with some
particularly his experiences during bis recent
visit TO Cuba The Senator's impressions tended
to substantiate all the stories OF destitutloh ana
suffering which have come from Cuba in the last
six months. From political point OF 'ieW'
however the speech was notably conservative
and moderate.
The War Department completed to-day
legislative measure designed TO put the Regu-
lar Army on a war footing Of 100000 men,
Each regimental company, which now consists
Of - men, Is to be increased on the outbreak
Of hostties to 80 men without necessitatlng
n new regimental organization. The measure
is N he introduced in the House Of Representa-
tives and pushed vigorously by the War De-
partment authorities.
sICARD's FLEET TOO UNW1ELDY.
The orders issued to-day directing the battle
ships Massachusetts and Texas to leave Key
West and Join the Brooklyn at Hampton Roads
"for strategical purposes" confirm fully the in
tinratlon published in The Tribune this morn
ing that the assemblage Of vessels under Ad-
roiral Sicard was considered too unwiedy. and
that the squadron would be divided The con-
centration at Key West has developed numer-
Gus embarrassments inseparable from It's geo
rraphical relations to the rest OF the country lts
inaccessibility to railroads, the great dificuities
with which stores for so large a squadron are |
TRANSPORTED to that place, and the lack OF dock |
sacuities having combined greatly to aggra- |
vate Admiral Sicard's embarrassment AT |
uanp,on Roads all these difficulties disappear. |
and the vessels there will be formed into d. |
,.is,op under temporary command Of the senior |
officer present. ready promptly to support the |
arst division. under the Admiral. or to obey |
orders in other directions, while continually |
guarding the Atlantic seaboard. 1t is a remark
ohio fart that Hampton Roads is only 1,29O |
miles from Porto Rico while Key West is 1,o4O |
miles from the same island
prrNry OF FORCE STILL NEAR HAVANA. |
IN tho rearrangement Of the squadron the
Nev-York the Iowa and the Indiana, which re-
main at Tortugas. are distinctly superior TO |
the Vizcaya and the Amirante Oquendo. now in
Havana Harbor the Iowa being a match for the
two combined The division remaining within
ono hundred miles of Havana is therefore not
weakened beyond safe measure of superiority.
The division at Hampton Roads will be tempo
rarilv AT least under command Of Captain John |
W Philip of the Texas. Besides the Brooklyn.
a
vessels will rendezvous with the Texas In |
short time the monitor Puritan. Captain T. +.
Harrington, being ordered to JOIN the Broo1iyn
next Monday to be followed as soon as possible
nv the Columbia and the Minneapolis and the
torpedo boats Rodgers, Talbot and Gwin. The
onr Katabdin will also be added II occasion re-
lures II the situation becomes critical the
Hamnton Roads division will undergo further
change by the detachment or the Brooklyn the
Columbia and the Minneapolis, a. the nucleus
81 the flying squadron. TO which the speediest
auxiIiary cruisers will be added as rapidly as
they can be equipped and sent to sea
GUNS FOR AUXILIARY CRUISERS READY
The activity Of the Naval Ordnance Bureau in
its preparations the last two weeks has resulted