The record-union., 1898-06-02
Government
PLAN OF
CAMPAIGN
Is Now Semi Officially
Made Known
Through a Letter From AIger
to Speaker Of the House.
Discloses the Purpose Of the War
Department.
Seventy thousand Men to Be Sent to Cuba,
Twenty Thousand to Start at Once
Troops Also to Be Landed
in Porto Rico.

first time since the beginning of hos
tilities there appears to be something
in the nature of an official statement
Of the plan of campaign of the United
States Government. This is contained
in a letter of Secretary Alger to the
Speaker of the House, transmitting GER
tain recommendations and statements
of General Ludlow, which disclosed the
purpose of the War Department to send
10000 men to Cuba, 10000 to start at
once. and the remainder just as soon
as they can be made ready for depart
ure There was an estimate for estab
fishing electrical communication with
the army "in Cuba, Porto Rico and the
Philippines" showing for the first time
officially an implied intention on the
part of the Government to land troops
in Porto Rico.
OF course all these movements have
been anticipated by the press, but new
ertheless a strong element of doubt ex-
lists, and therefore an official statement
of the Governments purposes, made
even in this indirect fashion, created a
profound sensation here. The three are
to go together, Cuba, Porto Rico and
the Philippines, and pass into the Mill
tary occupation of the United States
troops.
Inasmuch as the Secretary says that
the second contingent of troops is to go
forward as soon as they can be pre-
dQa1 of MT a
tached to an order that was made to-
day at the War Department providing
for the organization of 1900 addition
al volunteers called for. The order Off
cially established the statements here
tofore made in Tuesdays dispatches
are to be used TO fill up the existing
regiments of volunteers, which, in most
cases. are deficient in numbers.
1t is to be presumed from to-day s
order that the volunteer regiments coll
lected under the first call will be de-
tained until they are fIleu III, TINS
fashion, SO that the order has some
bearing upon the plan of campaign.
The naval officials have been consid-
erably mystified throughout the day
by the reports of an engagement off
Santiago Corroborative evidence COM
ing from many quarters, including the
official announcements from Havana
and Madrid, led the officials to concede
late in the day that some engagement
had taken place, although they did not
ranard ~ &c cariouc ono No bulletins
were issued by the department during
the day and at the close of office hours
it was stated that no dispatches from
Commodore Schley had been received
during the day. There is reason to be-
lieve. however. that the department re-
ceived indirect advices through the
State Department, possibly not bearing
out the detailed press dispatches, but
sufficient to indicate that an engage
ment of some kind had occurred at
Santiago.
The impression is that in execution
of the general instructions to all COM
manders on the Cuban coast to prevent
the construction or strengthening of
batteries by the Spanish, Commodore
Schley, observing work of this kind
going on at MORO Castle, had drawn
his fleet up close enough to stop il. II
is not believed that he made any real
attempt to enter the harbor. but while
engaged in the task of shelling the
shore batteries, seeing the Cristobal
Colon In range, he could not resist the
temptation to try few shots at her
The statement from Madrid in what
seemed to be an almost semi official
form Of the acuteness of the financial
strineency there, and the plain intima-
tion that the Bank of Spain, and con-
seouently Spain, was nearing the end
of their resources. was regarded at the
State Department as of more real sig
nificance than many of the stories oi
battles that have been coming over the
cables for the past few weeks Ihe ei-
feet of this notice may be to hasten
the operations against Porto Rico, lest
the prize slip from our grasp through
a sudden and unexpected termination
of the war
An additional evidence that the actuai
forward movement of the army and
navy has begun was given in the ac-
tion Of the foreign naval and military
observers. They have been sojournlng
In Washington for some time, hut IN