The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1898-05-06
W ashingtOn Letter.
From our regular Correspondent

WASHINGTON, d. c.. May l, 1898
President Mckinley hopes the war
with Spain will be short, but he is not
allowing his hope TO prevent his max
ing all necessary preparations to fight
it to a victorious end, long or short.
His call for l25 900 volunteers specifies
that the men shall volunteer TO serve
for two years, unless sooner discharged
and the war revenue bill, prepared un-
der his direction by the Ways anG
Means committee of the House, which
is now before Congress and which will
be put through without any unneces-
sary loss of time, is another indication
of his intention to be prepared for any
emergency. 1t provides for an addi-
ton of $100,0O0,O00 a year TO The
revenues of the country by internal
revenue taxation; for the issuing OF
$50OO00,O0O in 3 per cent bonds, TO
run for twenty years, or to be redeem
ed after ten years at the option OF
the government, and authorizing the
issuing of 3 per cent certificates of in
debtedness by the treasury for any
portion of $1O0OO0,OOO that may be
needed. Congress is responding TO
the wishes OF the President in a high
ly creditable manner. 1t promptly
passed the bill authorizing the forma-
tion of volunteer army, and the bill
for reorganizing the regular army,
which authorizes its increase to 10000
men, and as soon as the President
asked it declared that state of war
existed.
The blockade of Havana and other
Cuban ports, of which notice was
given to the world in a proclamation
by the President as soon as Spain
virtually declared war by sending our
Minister away from Madrid, will be
maintained until Cuba is captured,
but no land operations further than
the landing o. small force of marines
at some place on the coast and estab-
fishing o. base of supplies for the
Cuban army is contemplated until the
900 volunteers, now being mobi-
lized, are ready for embarkation. It
is impossible to Say just how soon that
will be-some say not more than ten
days, while others whose opinions are
entitled to weight say it will take at
least a month to get the new army in
to a condition to be effective-but no
time is going to be wasted. The men
who are to have charge of the inva.
sion of Cuba know their business.
They are not going to move until they
know that they can make short work
of driving the Spanish out of Cuna.
They know that the men can be train
ed and put into proper fighting condi-
ton much better in the United States
than in Cuba.
Meanwhile the people must not al
low themselves to become impatient.
Our navy will while the army is get.
ting ready continue the work of block
aiding and of picking up Spanish mer-
chant vessels, which has been 80
auspiciously started by the capture of
valuable ships. The blockading squad
ron will not attack Havana for the
present, unless the forts there first at
tack them. There are all sorts OF re-
ports as to what Spain is doing and is
going to do with her warships but it
looks as though she is afraid to send
her big fleet of ships to the assistance
of Cuba, and is keeping them on the
/; other side of the Atlantic, where their
most dangerous occupation, until we
have captured Cuba, will be the cap
ture of American merchant ships.
Our Aslatic squadron has orders which
will result in a naval battle off the
Phllilplne Islands.
The U. S. will use balloons in actu-
al military service for the first time
in Cuba, although their usefulness
has been fully demonstrated some time
ago, by experiments in this country
and by actual service in Europe. Each
of the two U. S. armies which will be
used for the invasion Of Cuba will
have complete balloon outfits and
corps OF experts to work them. These
balloons will be sent up high enough
to make thorough observations in
radius of twenty-five or thirty miles
and each of them will carry signal
officer to report to the commanding
officer. They will. of course, be con-
trolled from the ground by nfesns of
ropes.