The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-05-26
SIMPSONS FORCES STRONG.
EVERYTHING THAT CAN STEAM
AUGMENTS HIS FLEET.

News of the Elaborate Prepare
lions Come Only in Hints, Cores
pondents Placed on Their Honor
10 Reveal Nothing of Benefit to the
Enemy-WashingtOn Awaiting the
Pages Sampson and SchIey VIII
contribute to the Country's His
tory.
New York, May Pa special to the
Times from Washington, says: Letters
from Key West, arriving late or becoming
public TO a limited extent long after they
have reached Washington, convey the in
formation that about everything that can
steam sail or be towed has been forced
INFO the service to assist Admiral Sampson
and Commodore Schley to box up Admiral
tervera and force him to give battle, if he
has not escaped.
Not a word of the elaborate prepara-
tons, except by way of roundabout hints
has come from Key West, the newspaper
correspondents having been put on their
honor not to give limitations of operations
that can assist the enemy in the slightest
particular.
''Al the talk in the meeting of the cab
administration in the early receipt of good
news from Admiral Sampson.
lone cabinet officer who expressed the
greatest eagerness to hear from Sampson
and Schley and who has no doubt that
the news, when it comes, will be great"
admitted that the outside limit of time in
which it was expected that the vessels of
the United States and Spain must meet
had passed. and that official information
might arrive at any moment either that
Cervora was bottled up or that his fleet
was at the bottom of the ocean.
Z do not look first for unofficial infor-
maticn," said he for the reason that the
commanding officer of the United States
forces has concluded that he can get along
quite as well and without as much posi-
bility of injurious observation if ne ex-
cludes newspaper boats, as he has done
1.-THE administration is determined that
If Cervera will not fight but manfests a
determination to get away and return 10
Spain, to follow him up and "kill' his feet
before it can reach its own side of the AT
landc To do this might require the send
ing of coal ships along with the United
States fleet for some distance, but if any
accident should happen to any of the
Spanish vessels or the supply of coal
should lun out, Admiral Cervera would
have to run the risk of destruction or less
abandon a disabled vessel in the hope Of
getting off with the others or perhaps be
overtaken by single ships until the whole
feet was gobbled up.It is calculated by ma
val officers that the Spanish fleet has now
about exhausted its fuel and that it can
not undertake the difficult task of retreat
ing. The only honorable outcome to Spain
is for SPANS ships to try conclusions at
once, while the coal bunkers and the food
supplies are not completely exhausted.
There will be no news from Sampson
Schley until one or both of them has
tested the inclination or ability of Cerve-
IA 70 fight Naval officers laugh at the
suggestion that if Cervera should give the
United States ships the slip the vessels
of SIMPSONS and Schley's fleet would be
again Withdrawn to Key West to be used
as conveys to protect the transports in
moving the army TO Cuba, leaving Ger
vera to stay in these waters or to return
as ne pleases
Admiral Sampson" said naval officer
OF experience and spirit, sis reasonably
free 10 move and act as he chooses. He has
the opportunity to carve a place in our
history alongside that of Dewey. You will
not catch him coming back empty handed
10 hear the jibes of a disappointed people
Explanations will be of no avail if he does
not render good account of himself under
MS instruction to seek and destroy the
Spanish fleet If he does that, explana-
tons Will never he asked for by any body
And l think that tomorrow will bring the
opportunity for us to cheer for Sampson
and Schley along with Dewey"
In addition to the belated policy of cen
sorship adopted in regard to the transmits
n anYt- sNfV, rr,1
eSraph 1t appears that the navy depart
Inent has decided to dispense with the at
tendance of newspaper dispatch boats up
on the fleet in Cuban waters.
Inc information reaches here that be-
1ore the beginning of the recent opera
ions Of The squadrons of Sampson and
ochley against the Spanish fleet notifica-
tion was given to ali the newspaper boats
which have been watching and reporting
the blockade that they would not be al
lowed TO follow the warships on their
cruise. The notice was peremDtory il is
understood and its strict enforcement IS
supposed here to account for the lack of
news from the fleet which has amounted
TO famine for the last week Had the
81 newspaper boats been with Sampson and
ochley on their cruise in pursuit of he
spanish flying squadron, it is reasoned
tilat the Geographic censorship at Florida
points would not have prevented the re-
ceipt Of information by other routes from
SUIhe OF the many cable stations in the
West Indies
Inc permission given by the navy de-
partment TO the dispatch boats to follow
the meet on previous cruises has been very
severely criticised here as inimical to the
pest interests of the service and altogether
an undgnifed proceeding. 1t has givel
rise TO considerable unfavorab BILE comment
abroad also, and has been the particular
oult OF sarcasm from the German EN-
pefor, who is said TO have derived consid-
etaoie amusement from the spectacle of a
meet of warships attended by a convoy OF
newspaper boats. Whether these criti-
cisins nave resulted in the decision 10 eX-
crude the boats is not known but the de-
clsion is generally commended as a wise
one"