The evening times., 1898-05-23
HIS FORMIDABLE FLEET
When Reinforced Cervera's
Will be a Powerful One.
THE ADVANTAGE IN SPEED
II IL Not Believed That Spain VIII
Send Her Home Squadron to the
Monitor Monterey to Manila Was
Only Precautionary.

While the Monterey has been ordered to
proceed to Manila, It does not necessarily
follow that the authorities have conhrma-
tory Information OF the reports that thI
Spanish feet is bound for the Philippines.
As matter Of fact. the dispatch of the
Monterey was in the nature of a precau-
ton With her In the Philippines. sup
ported by the five protected cruisers and
three gunboats. Rear Admiral Dewey
will be able to defeat any force that
Spain may collect and send against him.
The authorities do net believe that Spain
win send her home squadron to the Phil-
ippines. The sailing orders which It is
said It received require It to come west,
1t is believed. and Join forces with Ad-
miral Cervera's feet.
If this be true then the officials expect
that Admiral Cervera will carry on a
waiting policy. avoiding battle with the
armOrclads of this Government, as he can
do in view of the speed of his ships pre-
venting the dispatch of an army of In
vasion by menacing the troop ships and
appearing at points where necessity will
compel the dispatch of armorclads, and
playing in general a hide-and-seek game
until he is REINFORCED.
So far as the officials can learn, the
only effective re-enforcements he can
expect are the battleships Pelayo, the ar
mored cruiser Carlos ", the pro-
tected cruiser Alfonso XIII. and the tor
pedO boat destroyers Audaz. Destructor.
Piuton and Prosperina. On account of
the Inconvenience of conveying torpedo
boats those in Spanish waters will prob
ably be retained, with the second-class
battleships Vitoria and Numancia, for
the protection of the coast.
When his re-enforcements arrive Admi-
raj Cervera will have a formidable squa-
dron under his command. There will be
the battleship Pelayo, the armored cruis-
ers Carlos V. Infanta Maria Teresa, Cris-
tobal Colon, Nizcaya and Almirante
Oquendo. the protected cruiser Alfonso
XIII and seven torpedo boat destroyers.
Against this force Rear Admiral Samp-
son can oppose the battleships Iowa, In
diana. Massachusetts, and Oregon. the
second class battleship Texas and the ar
mored cruisers Brooklyn and New York.
besides some protected cruisers and tor
pedo boats. Rear Admiral Sampson will
therefore have at his disposal seven ar.
morClads. superior to those of the Span
iards both In number and formidableness.
and his protected cruisers will, 1t is
hoped. be able to take care of the de-
stroyers.
But the great advantage which Admira,
Cerveras vessels will have will be their
speed. even the battleship Pelayo being
able TO steam at a greater rate than any
of the American battleships. her speed
being more than sixteen knots an hour.
She has just come from a dry dock. and
is therefore fit to fight the battle of her
life.
No recent information of value has
reached the authorities concerning the
armored cruisers Cardenal, Cisneros, Co
taluna and Princesa de Asturias. but it Is
known that they are under construction
and will be ready for service within thq
next few months. 1t will therefore be ne
cessary for the fleet of this Government
to destroy the Spanish fleet before the
three vessels named shall be ready for
service.