The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-09-18

returned the admiral's visit. Later he
called upon General Brooke at Rio
Piedras. This does not complete the
list of official visits. The Spanish COM
missioners must return the visit be-
fore the first preliminary of the work in
hand can. be entered upon.
THE DAILY, ROUTINE.
Pending our assumption of posses
sion here the daily progress of this
highly interesting old Spanish town
goes droning on. Every one appreciates
the fact that the curtain is about to
rise upon a new era, but nothing yet
is changed. General diego, who is in
active command of the Spanish troops,
makes his daily tour of inspection of
the forts. batteries and barracks, as if
Spain We're to continue in control for
ever The military band plays three
times a week in the Plaza de Alphonso
XIII. while the promenaders and the
people in the cafes idly discuss what
viii happen when the Americans as
sumo control, and especially whether
an American military band will be pro-
Vided for them. The sentries at the
forts still decline to allow Americans
or others entrance, just as they have
for years. Even the censorship of the
cable is still vigorously enforced and
American correspondents must take all
their dispatches to the palace, where
they must receive the endorsement of
the secretary of the captain general
before they will be accepted by the ca
BILE company.
SIMPSONS COMMANDMENT.
Rear Admiral Simpsons lombard
ment of San Juan in the first week Of
the war, although it dismounted no
guns at Moro Castle, against which
-. IL Il
killed and wounded less than so peo-
pie, bears testimony to the remarkable
gunnery of our jackies. The MORO
and the buildings on the high ground
in its rear and the high scarp which is
built from the sea. are simply riddled.
Great craters are blown out in places
by the II land l3-inch shells, and the
walls are pitted by the hail of smaller
shells. One entire building was blown
to pieces and a whole section of the
Quartet lies in ruins. The fact that
many of the shells were wasted in the
sea wall is not to be wondered
at, because the papapet has embraZures
for guns and from the place where our
ships lay would naturally be mistaken
for a sea battery.
There We're very few modern guns
either in Moro or the more pretentious
fertilization known as San Cristobal A
ment, the remainder being muzzle-
leaders of ancient pattern. Most of the
latter were mounted over parapets of
In fact the defenses of the
town are in opposition to every theory
of modern. military science. They might
have been considered impregnable so
years ago. Today they are not even
And yet, in what would
be considered a desperate fashion if it
were not so manifestly hopeless. Cap
tain General Macias had prepared to
make a show of resistance, even after
his whole army had been driven back
into the capital. The two bridges over
which one must pass to reach the city,
which is situated upon a rocky island,
had been mined and probably would
have been blown up.
Macias would have left himself and
10000 starving on a rock in the sea.
The water of San Juan comes from Rio
Piedrie eight miles away. If the main
was cut the city would not have drop
Of water, save such as could be caught
On the rocks.