The times., 1898-04-20
READY TO STRIKE.
The Result of Two Months of Sleep
less Preparation.

less preparation.
Immense contracts for war material are
still being made. Last week one hundred
of the new Driggs-Seabury guns. rapid
firing. were contracted for. These guns
have caIiber of two and one-half inches.
The rapid-fring gun has its powder and
projctile in long copper cartridge case
The charge of a rapfd-fring gun looks
precisely like a gigantic pistol cartridge.
1t is fred just as the small arms car
fridge is, by an explosive cap, set in the
base of the cartridge case. Rapid-irinS
guns are now built up to an S-inch bore,
and the cartridges can be piled by the side
of the gun and handled like sticks Of cord
wood
The guns purchased in Europe are just
arriving, and with them 39.000,090 car
tridges for the Maxim. NordenfeIt and
Vickery- Maxim 65-Dounders. There are
now in America two hundred and fifty OF
these guns, running from 65-pounders TO
6-pounders, for field service anu as sec
ondary batteries in the military tops OF
warships.
The present crisis has been a most i'm
pressive object lesson 10 the United
States. When the s5o0e 900 was voted for
national defense there was not on hand
five rounds per gun for our ships of war,
and even less for heavy batteries in coast
defenses. There were less than $4,000 OF
the new Krag-Jorgensen rifle, adopted by
the United States Army, in cur arsenals.
Today there are nearly 800 new rapid-fire
guns on hand and abundant powder of
brown powder in Jumps like bits OF choco-
late an inch square for the 5. 10 and p
inch rifles and our new mortars. Nearly
every size of gun has its own particular
brand and kind of powder, from which
it's greatest effectiveness can be attained.
| Thanks to the energy of our military and
naval staff corps, and the intelligence,
activity and professional skill of the ma
val and military attaches abroad, the
United States is fairly well equipped fer
war and infinitely better off than it was
in 1851 The eight Atlantic cables have
| been wonderful eXDeditorS, and the Wa,
Department telegraphic bill for Apri
will be over S25, 600, mostly for cable
| grams.
| Last week the Government desired L
| contract for 100000 military canvas tents
and tent ducking to the amount of 50,
| 600 yards. Not expecting any such de-
mand. the dealers in America did not have
| anything like the quantity required, and
| what they had has been bought for the
| National Guard of New York, Massachu-
setts, Illinois, Pennsylvania and the New
| England States Cotton spinnerS produc-
| ing the yarn from which this duck is
woven are working at fun head. and the
| weavers that can make the yarn into
| duck are overwhelmed with contracts for
/ work months ahead.
The country owes much TO the courage
| and presence of mind of a young South
! ern naval officer who recently was q
| member of a party of English officers
| that were permitted to visit the Moro
| Castle works and the Punta forts on the
| point opposite the Moro The Spanish
| authorities never dreamed that Yam
| kee' was one of the party, which was in
| civilian dress.
| The young American kept his eyes wide
| open. and when he got away. back to
| the hotel he made an excellent sketch
| of the interior of the forts. and accom-
panied it with a complete description OF
! the inner works. This report states that
| the land side of the Moro is absolutely
| unprotected even by earshworks; that
| of 120 guns in position not more than 80
are at all modern He says that there
| are a number of and 10-iHCh breech-
| leaders in the Moro. but there are neither
| carriages nor emplacements ready for
| them. and they are lying out exposed TO
| rain and dust
From the sea front he states that the
castle Is well defended. and all the mod
| ern guns are there. He regards the
Punta as the most formidable of all the
| Spanish defenses in Cuba. if attacked
from the sea. but thinks it could be car
| ried without great loss by a combined
| land and water movement as the guns
| have but q limited degree in variation
| pf is he very effecriv A
| unless the objects of their aim are right
| in front He also states that the quar-
| ters of officers and men are just as they
were 100 years ago, and dirty and in the
| highest degree unsanitary in their fit
| tings
4 plan of campaign for the capture
| Of Porto Rico is under consideration Ii
| Is singular circumstance that hardly
| any reliable information is ObtainabIe
| touching this island. It is less known
| than any of the West Indian group and
| vet in the matter of climate and pro-
! ductiOn of the staple crop-sugar-it is
| easily the most valuable of the islands
| of it's size. San Juan. its chief town and
| capital. is one of the most beautiful of
| Spanish cities. 1t is defended by two
| forts that were built early in the cen
! tury. As to their present condition. guns
| and other defensive means, nothing posi-
| tive is known. The best harbor of the
| island is Manayaguez. on the west end
| Here there is water enough for vessels
| of tweuty-eight feet draft. San Juan
| has an artiicially made harbor which is
| kept open by constant dredging The en-
| tire cOastwise waters are shoal. and have
| not been very thoroughly charted of late
| years. CubanS here say that Porto Rico
| have been in full sympathy with their
| efforts for independence ever since the
| initia loutbreak at Yara in 1852 and would
| gladly welcome any change that would
| yaI