The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-05-18
TO ISOLATE BLANCO
Cable Lines by Which the
Blockaded General Talks
With Madrid.

WASHINGTON, May Is, 1S9S.-The COM
plete isolation of General Blanco from the
outside world is now looked upon by
leading military and naval authorities as
an essential move to be executed at the
earliest possible moment The pressing
need of this has become more evident
within the last few days, since General
Blanco is known to have been in constant
cable communication with the admiral of
tho Spanish squadron and also with
Madrid He has thus been an inter-
mediary between the Government and the
admiral, informing them of mis- own needs
and advising them on matters of policy.
The authorities here feel the need of
bringing this communication to an end
and official inquiry has developed that
there will be little difficulty in isolating
Captain General B1anco II the necessary
steps are quickly taken and energetically-
Havana s communication with the out
side world is carried on by means of five
distinct ca Die lines Two of these run
to the United States and are of course
closed against General Blaneo. The re-
naming three cables exits from Havana
are by way of Santiago on the south coast
of Cuba. Havana is connected with two
land lines with Santiago. and also by one
shore cable with Santiago. The actual
departure of the cables from Cuba occurs
at Santiago, two of the lines running
thence to Jamaica and one to Hayti.
When a message has once left Cuba by
one of the three lines still OPEN it has
no less than six different cable routes it
can adopt after. leaving Jamaica or Hayti-
From Jamaica one route goes to Colon,
Pernambuco, Cape Verde Islands and
Bermuda, Halifax, and thence to Spain;
a third route goes to Venezuela, Pernam-
buco, Cape Verde, and thence to Spain;
fourth route goes to the Windward
Islands, Dutch Guiana, Pernambuco, Cape
Verde and Spain. From Hayti there are
two routes, one to Venezuela, Pernam-
buco, Cape Verde and Spain; and second
by way of the Windward Islands to Brit
ish Guinia
The authorities here have with much
labor figured out all of these various
means by which General Blanco can keep
up his communications. They are satis-
fed that the three cables running to
Santiago are the routes from which all
these various branches spring, and that
If this triple root is cut the entire system
of communication between Cuba and the
outside world viii be at an end.
Santiago is not strongly fortified
little danger attending the cutting of the
three cables at that point
The right to cut these cables Is not
doubted by the authorities here although
most of them are British cables. The
chief signal officer. General Greeley first
advanced the principle that in time of war
the right existed to destroy property
case of cables, that the right existed to
destroy them within the three marine
leagues constituting Spain's jurisdiction.
This principle has now been accepted and
is the policy on which the Government
is acting. When the cables at Santiago
will be cut is not disclosed, but there is
strong pressure towards having the work
done Immediately, for until 1t is done
General Blanco maintains his commune
cations and is thus enabled to embarrass
the operations of our military and naval
forces.