The herald., 1898-04-24

are familiar with his sketches of Cuban
battle scenes. With him, according to
present arrangements, will go Robert
Edgren, a six-footer who has won
championship honors in the West as a
hammer thrower, and who has already
visited Cuba in the interest Of the art
department Of the Journal. William
Bengough will be another of the Journal
artists who will be given IN opportunity
to see service as an illustrator from life
and death Of modern battle scenes.
John r. Spears has rallied around him
at Key West corps of experienced news
paper men whose reports of the progress
of events will supply the readers Of the
New York Sun with the latest and most
complete descriptions of the incidents Of
the conflict. Mr.. Spears will have an
advantage over most newspaper men, in
that he is thoroughly conversant with
naval matters, having graduated from
the naval academy score of years ago.
War is not a new thing for Mr.. Spears
He wrote dispatches to the Sun and the
United Press that attracted much atten-
ton during the war in Chile some years
ago. His name is familiar to the readers
of Harper's Weekly as a writer of naval
topics, and his knowledge of naval mat
ters is shown by the fact that he has
just completed a four-volume "fiistory
of the American Navy" published by
Scrbners. 1t was John r. Spears who
made trip to Greenland for the Sun,
and also Travelled through Central Amer
lea, sending on the journey the most in
teresting accounts Of what he saw in
that comparatively unexplored country.
Mr.. Spears will have all the assistance
from the Sun office that he calls for as
4 the war; progresses, and to him will be
left the direction of the Sun forces at
the hottest points.
The Suns dispatch boat is 16O feet in
length, and American from topmast to
keel. She was built in New York, and is
named the Kanapaha. Under this name
she will not be known to many outside
of the Sun office. Her former name, and
one that will identify her most readily
to the yachting men of this country, was
the Corsair, and her former owner was
John Pierpont Morgan. There is a new
Corsair in Mr.. Morgans possession now,
but the old one, renamed the Kanapaha.
! Is dream Of beauty, and second to few
in the matter Of speed and seaworthi-
! ness.
The most elaborate preparations have
been made for supplying the New York
Herald readers with war news, from the
page report of decisive battle to the
details of a small skirmish. A dozen men,
selected from the best on the Herald S
staff, are at stations according to a plan
of campaign that was arranged with the
greatest care. The Herald expects to dis
tance all competitors in the race for war
news honors, in spite of the pace that
some of its rivals are preparing to set
| Three dispatch boats await at Havana
the word to steam to the vicinity of a
threatened battle. The chief boat in the
fleet is the Somers N. Smith, a steel pilot
boat of fine seagoing qualities.
There is no evidence of undue excite
ment over the war outlook in the office
! Of the New York Times. Here are the
views of the edtor-in- chief: 1--WE do no,
cross bridges until we come to them. We
get the news and we print all the news
that is fit to print. The newspapers that
claim to have made the most elaborate
preparations for reporting events of wal
may find that they are reckoning with
out the peculiar features of modern fight.
ing. News from Cuba will not be OBJ.
tainable by cable from Havana to Ke,
West. The wire will be cut when hostili.
ties begin. Thereafter there will be two
centers where news will be most quickly
received. One will be Washington. OF.
fetal dispatches to the seat of govern
ment will take precedence over every
other news sent over the wire.