Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-03-24
NEAR AT HAND.
Feeling Prevalent That Crisis
Cannot Be Long Delayed.
MANY CONFERENCES.
Party Leaders of Congress Con-
suit With the President.
Maine Affair and Cuban Situation to be
Treated separately-McKinIey May
Recommend Intervention ON
Humane Grounds.

Humane Grounds.
Washington, March 23-The feeling
was universal throughout official circles
today that the Spanish crisis was near
at hand
With the report of the Maine court OF
inquiry only little while off, with the
White House the centre of long and
earnest conferences between the presl-
dent and the party leaders of congress-
and with exceptional activity towards
| emergency preparations in the war and
navy departments. there was abundance
of evidence that definite results regard
ing the Maine disaster and the Cuban
question in general were about to be
| reached. Among the presidents callers
were Senators Cockrell Turpie and
Foraker. Gen. Dan Sickles, former
| United States minister to Madrid, and
Representative William Allen Smith of
Michigan, who has recently returned
from trip to Cuba. The call Of Messrs.
Cockrell and Turpie was regarded as
particularly significant, as they are rep
resentative democrats in the senate, and
their visit followed that of Senator Cor
man yesterday 1t was generally under
stood that in the present emergency, the
president desires patriotic unity without
reference to party.
| Secretaries Long and Alger also con-
ferred with the president during the
day. Secretary Long said later, that the
Maine report probably would reach
! Washington tomorrow night. If, how
/ II r1nt hpfnrA
Thursday evening, Mr.. Long said he
probably would not receive it until Fri
| day morning, when 1t would be laid be-
1 fore the president Immediately. The
secretary did not think the president
would give the document any consider
alton at a late hour.
There has been no change in the plan
of sending the report to congress early
next week, probably Monday, 'accompa--
MED by message from the president.
1t is definitely settled, however, that the
message and the papers accompanying
1t, will relate exclusively to the Maine
disaster. The message will not take up
the fearful condition of affairs in Cuba
as shown by the reports of United States
consuls, these being reserved for sub
sequent action and a later message to
congress.
/ Secretary Long determined today to
order the double monitors Puritan and
| Terror to Key West, where they will re-
| inforce the squadron in those waters.
| He also determined to bring into service
| the eight single turretted monitors at
League Island navy yard, two of which
will be sent to Boston, two to New
York and four held in reserve at Phil
adelphia The Puritan and Terror take
| the place of the battleship Massachu-
setts and Texas recently withdrawn
from the squadron at Key West.
1t was stated at the navy department
that this move was in accordance with
a program previously agreed upon, al
though this program has not been an
nounced heretofore. The Puritan, by
many eXpertss is regarded as the most
formidable fighting machine in the navy.
In addition to its other preparations for
possible trouble, the navy department
today took steps towards utilizing ten
of the sea going revenue cutters for use
along the Atlantic coast.
Capt. Shoemaker, chief of the revenue
cutter service, conferred with Assistant
Secretary Roosevelt during the day, on
the plans of turning over these cutters
to the navy. They will be first sent to
Norfolk, where additional guns will be
mounted, and will then proceed to Key
West and become a part Of the squad
ron there Their main service, how
ever, will be as naval pickets, chain
of these fleet cutters being maintained
outside of the cruisers and battleships.
The revenue cutter service now has
ready for instant and active service 124
line officers "a engineers, 900 enlisted
men and 10 vessels. of which fourteen
are on the Atlantic coast. Two other
vessels are in course of construction at
Cleveland, and, with rush work, can be
completed and ready for sea in from 80
to 45 days.
The Manning, the Gresham, the AL
gonquin, the s0nondaga, and the Win
dom, are all new, fast and efficient yes
sells, and could go anywhere and perform
any service that any vessel of their |
class can perform.
The Manning is considered an Is knot |
boat. All of them, i is said, could be con-
verted into torpedo boats or dynamite |
cruisers. Whether this last move will |
be done, is not yet definitely decided. |
Secretary Long said today that it had
become evident that torpedo boats could
not be bought abroad, and could not be
built soon enough in this country, 50 |
that we might have to equip other
craft with torpedoes.
The navy department opened bids to- |
day for extensive improv venlents at Dry |
Tortugas and Key West, formal |
transfer having been effected as re-
CARDS Tortugas, which passes from the |
treasury to the war department. These |
piers to be constructed at Dry Tortugas |
with two extensive coal sheds and |
elaborate mechanical equipment for
loading naval vessels with coal At |
Key West the improvements consist of
a steel pier and two coal sheds with |
similar machinery for loading warships !
with COAL The bids ranged from ST. |
ISL 900 for the entire work done, to |
about $46O, 600. The bidders for the Dry |
Tortugas piers and coal sheds were as
follows:
Phoenix Bridge Company, Phoenix
vile, Pa, $4O5 100; Michael ]. Dady, |
Brooklyn $507, 900; S. s. Leonard Com |
pany Jacksonville, $274, 700; Union |
Bridge Company. New York, $3.50, 600; |
Sanford & Brooks, Baltimore, $639, ,000 !
New York Dredging Company, $414, 000 |
r. G. Packard New York, S669,000
The bidders on the Key West work |
were: Phoenix Bridge Company, $780, |
900; NJ. J. Dady, $4,000; S. S. Leonard |
Company, $1SS.0O0; Union Bridge Com. |
pany, $4,000; Sanford & Brooks, $445,- |
900; S. P. White, $273,OO0; r. G. Pack
ard, $542, 900.
Two bids were made for the entire |
work at Tortugas and Key West, as
follows: r, G. Packard, s1,151. 600, and |
Grattan & Jennings, New York $751; |
0OO Other bids were made for the ma !