The herald., 1898-04-20
EARLY REPLY REQUIRED
BUT PROMPT COMPLIANCE Is NOT
EXPECTED ?
FORMAL DECLARATION OF WAR
May Be Preceded by the Appearance
of the United States Fleet
Off Havana
Press Special Wire

Associated Press Special Wire
WASHINGTON, April 19.-Spain .
Q will not receive official notice of the .
Q demands of the United States before .
q tomorrow. She will then be informed
. that the Cuban resolution passed by
Q congress at an early hour this morn .
Q ing Is now a part of the laws of the .
. United States, and an ultimatum will
Q be sent in compliance with this law, .
Q and an answer within a very short .
Q time, probably twenty-four hours, Is .
. expected. Compliance Is not expected .
Q and forward movement on Cuba Will .
Q commence the latter part of this week, .
. according to the plans Of the admins .
. tration.
Q The congressional Cuban resolution .
. will not be signed until tomorrow. .
. The ultimatum to Spain will be signed .
. at the same time. The president .
Q early decided to make the two prac- .
| . tically one act. by simultaneous sig .
| . nature of each.
The Cabinet Sessions
Two cabinet meetings were held during
| the day, the first beginning at IL and last
ing nearly two hours, and the second last
ing from 8 until $50 o'clock. At their close
| announcement was made that executive
action was delayed until tomorrow. Both
cabinet sessions were devoted principally
to discussion of the ultimatum to be sent
| to Madrid. At the morning session the
president rather favored allowing the Mad
| rid government two or three days In which
| to reply to our demands, but since that
| time he has changed his views somewhat,
and 1t is now believed to be his purpose to
require an answer within very short
| Ynp~
son for limiting the time to one day. or
even less, is said to be entirely strategic.
otherwise two, or even three days, would
have been allowed. The ultimatum itself.
!. p-n.-~aa, 10 short and to the point. 1t
will recite the main features Of the resolil-
tions passed by congress and demand "a
compliance Herewith. The ultimatum
probably will not be made public here until
notice is received that 1t is in the hands Of
the Spanish government, diplomatic ETH
quette requiring this.
The Ultimatum
1.-THE ultimatum," said one member Of
the cabinet. after the meeting today, has
been agreed upon in substance. but has not
yet been formally drawn up. It's prepara-
ton has been entrusted to Assistant Secre-
tary Day of the state department. 1t will
be sent to Spain tomorrow, and will reach
Madrid in the evening, the difference be-
tween time in this country and Spain being
about six hours. I think you are safe in
saying that Spain will be given 4S hours.
that is, until Friday evening. to submit
| her reply"
In accordance with the terms of the reso-
luton the president will demand that
Spain shall evacuate the island. The de-
mand for this will be fiat-footed and abso-
lutte, and no tentative or halfway reply
will satisfy the president. Nor will any
compromise that contemplates the with
drawal of Spains troops from the island
and the subsequent re-establishment of
the Spanish flag over the country be ac-
| cepted by the administration.
Effect Of Refusal
| If Spain refuses to evacuate Cuba,
prompt measures will be adopted to put In
force the congressional resolution. A
| blockade of Cuba will, so far as at present
understood, be begun at once. There are
sufficient war vessels in the vicinity to
make this effective 1 think such supplies
as the Spaniards now control will not last
them more than a month. Then steps will
be taken with view to increasing the
equipment of Gomez's soldiers and fur
nishing them with sufficient hard tack Tor