Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-08-10
ITS CAPTURE IS A QUESTION OF
ONLY A FEW DAYS.
MONITOR MONTEREY ARRIVES
AMERICANS ARE NOW READY TO
ATTACK THE CITY.
Scarcity of Food in Manila Now At
fectinE Even the Richest Class
Famine and Heavy Rains
Are Causing an Ep-
idemic.

MANILA. Aug. 4. VIA HONG KONG
Aug. 9.-The long expected monitor Mon
terey, with the collier Brutus, arrived this
morning during gale.
Much relief is felt by Admiral Dewey and
General Merritt. and there is intense en-
thusiasm throughout the fleet and among
the troops.
The capture of Manila is now only a
question of few days necessary to land
the troops of the third expedition.
The scarcity of food now affects even the
richest class in Manila. There is no meat,
bread or flour. except very small reserves,
chiefly laid under requisition for the Span
ish troops
The newspapers. though rigidly censor
| ed. admit that the famine and the un-
| precedented rains are causing an epidemic.
They pretend that the disorders are trivial
| intestinal ailments: but 1t is believed most
I of them are dysentery, due to wretched
food and the dangerous character of the
| water. A number of important persons are
i'll.
An abattoir has been established for
| slaughtering horses and dogs. The news
papers admit that the military bakers are
| reduced to the necessity of using rice. the
stock of which will shortly be exhausted.
The stock of fuel, too, is exhausted, and
| the bakers are burning doors and window
frames. 1t is impossible to eat uncooked
rice.
A decree has been issued authorizing the
entry Of private premises and the seizure
| of cattle and horses there, for a nominal
payment, made in worthless drafts. Sew
| eral animals belonging to British owners
have been taken, though there were plenty
| belonging TO Spanish owners that had not
| been seized. An attempt was made to seize
the Indispensable pony of the consular phy-
sician, and considerable Indignation has
been expressed. There may possibly be
some trouble over 1t.
The British consul. who has been almost
constantly Ill Of late. has been absent for a
week: but the vice consul is unwearyfng
in the energy and tact with which he
smooths away anti-British friction.
There has been some desultory fighting.
The insurgents deny that they have offered
to join the Spaniards against the Ameri-
cans insisting that their offer was only to
avoid bloodshed. in the hope of reconciling
some of the Spaniards to renouncing their
allegiance to Spain by inducing the Ameri-
cans not to lombard the city.
1t is alleged in a dispatch officially pub
iished here that Germany is combining with
Russia to prevent the capture of Manila,
and that, therefore. Admiral Dewey and
General Merritt will refrain from attack
ing the city; that the American resources
are exhausted; that Admiral Cervera. on
issuing from Santiago harbor, was victori-
Gus and captured Admiral Sampson, after
ward bombarding American ports;
that the Cherokees and the ne
groes in the United States have re-
belled; that President Mckinley has been
mobbed: that Admiral Camara is at Snga-
pore; that he is going to land in the South
Philippines: that the allied Spanish fleets
will annihilate Admiral Dewey. and.
finally, that the climate is decimating the
American soldiers.
NEW YORK, Aug. "a copyrighted dis
patch TO the World, dated Manila, August
4, via Hong Kong. August 9. says:
THE United States monitor Monterey
arrived here to-day. Manila will fall as
soon as the monitor Monadnock comes
here. She is expected by next Thursday.
Admiral Deweys ships are stripping for
action. Owing 10 the high wind and heavy
seas, the troops of the third expedition
have not yet landed. Two lighters were cap
sized in the attempt and three natives were
drowned. Immediately after the arrival of
the expedition. General Merritt organized
all his forces for an attack on Manila The
troops were formed into one division under
command of General Anderson. The division
is composed of two brigades.
THE first. under General Macarthur. is
made up of the Twenty-third and Four
teenth regular infantry and the Wyoming,
North Dakota. Idaho. Minnesota VOL
unteers and the Astor battery, the second
brigade. under General Green, Eighteenth
regular infantry, Third artillery engineers.
signal corps and California, Colorado. Ne
braska and Pennsylvania volunteers and
Utah battery.
The two brigades number 5000 men. Ore
Son troops garrison Cavite.
Admiral Deweys fleet commands the
trenches and camps of the Spaniards
The situation in Manila is critical. The
nights of the city are extinguished. All
meats are exhausted. The defenses are a
corcon of trenches. two batteries of nine
siN-inch guns each. the latter on the Ca
front. III
INSURGENTS SHELLING MANIL a |