The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-05-14
PROSPECTS OF A BATTLE
SIMPSONS SQUADRON MAY INTER
 CEPT SPANISH VESSELS.

SIMPSONS SQUADRON MAY INTER
 CEPT SPANISH VESSELS.
 Strength of the Squadrons-WhiIe the
 Vessels Have the Advantage in the Re-
 spective Number of Armored Ships and
 Guns-The Spanish Torpedo Boats,
 Almost Untried Elements i'm Actual
 Warfare, May Prove Dangerous Foes.
 Washington, May 13-A complete change has taken place in the offensive plans of our government. The receipt of the news from Admiral Sampson re- garding his attacks upon the forts of San Juan and the news of the actual 1 presence of the Spanish flying squad ron off Martinique, only few miles away from Sampson and less than one thousand miles from Havana, caused the dispatch of the flying squadron, un- der Commodore Schley, and the delay of the army invasion of Cuba. It be- came necessary to defer the departure of the militia from Florida until the Spanish fleet is met and crushed or driven from Porto Rico. The navy department wired Sampson of the ap- proach of the Spanish fleet and directed him what to do, and another flashed to SchIey, who had been eating out his ot Iop ton dS in hiS IT, ness to get into the fray, to start with his vessels at the earliest possible mo- nent. The commodore took no chance of cancellation of these highly desira- ble orders but at 3:45 o'clock had put himself beyond the reach of any tele- graphic recall. What is expected of him cannot be disclosed at the navy department and naturally is purely matter of conjecture.
 The squadron consists of the flagship Brooklyn, the f1rst-class battleship Massachusetts, the second.class battle ship Texas the protected yacht Scor- pion and the collier Sterling. Commo- dore Schley received his order from Washington at 1 o'clock this morning. He has refused to divulge the destina- tion of the squadron. The combination of battleships and cruisers is considered very formidable and the calibre and number of guns are both in excess of any similar squadron as to number in the world The New Orleans and Min neapolis it is believed, will leave later and catch up with the flying squadron.
 Considerable speculation has been ln- dulged in to-day at the navy as to the prospects of a sea fight between Ad- miral Sampson's squadron and the Spanish Cape Verde squadron. It is believed that Admiral Sampson will be able to intercept them should they make dash for Cuba, but if they should get past his vessels they would make it warm for our ships on block ade duty off Cienfugos. The latter could not stand for a moment against the big Spanish armored cruisers, and yet are not fleet enough to escape if they are sighted The Spanish ships are faster than anything in the Amer ican squadron with the possible excep- tion of the New York.
 If Sampson should fall in with them, however, and find the Spaniards in a fighting humor, he would have the best of it, as far as chances can be calcu-
 
 armored ships and guns. The big bat tleships Indiana and Iowa though 25 per cent. slower than the Vizcaya class far overmatch them in defensive and offensive power. The New York, how ever, is inferior in both offensive pow CT and armor to the Spanish vessels. If Sampson had taken his whole fleet, the monitors Amphitrite and Terror would make up more than balance of power against the Spaniards, allowing the cruisers Montgomery, Detroit and Mar blehead as a force sufficient to take care of the Spanish torpedo boat de- stroyers. The latter, however, are al- most untried elements in actual war fare and some naval officers fear that they are much more dangerous foes than the ordinary strategists allow in their calculations.
 Much regret is expressed among naval officers at the delays experienced in communicating with Sampson. It has not been learned yet at the navy department whether the admiral has actually received up to this moment the dispatches as to the movements of the Spanish fleet. Doubt on this score is founded on the experience the depart ment has had already with the cables received to-day from the West Indies It was stated positively at the close of office hours that no word had come during the day from Admiral Sampson save the one telegram sent out this morning regarding the attack on the forts at San Juan. It can be stated that this is good ground for the belief that the admiral has achieved all that