The record-union., 1898-08-20
Are to Be Brought TOgther Within
a Few Days.
Already Fifty-Seven Have Orders to Put in
at That Point, and Soon the Num-
Der Will Be Increased to
About Seventy.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19.-One Of the
bled in an American port will be
brought together in the next few days
at Fort Monroe. Already fifty-seVen
warships are under orders to rendez-
vous there, and the orders still to be
issued will raise the total in the neigh
borhood of seventy. Naval officials say
it is difficult 10 realize the extent OF
such a marine aggregation in one har-
bor. The orders began issuing last
Monday, when five ships We're ordered
to Fort Monroe One the 10th another
ship was added. On the 18th eight
more were sent and on the 18th seven
teen ships We're added. Today's orders
include eighteen more ships. Before
the orders began issuing there were
eight warships at Fort Monroe, so that
the total up to to-day is fifty-seven.
Those included in to-day's orders are
the Newport, Rodgers, Lebanon, VAN
patuck, Morris, Grim, Lancaster, Ma
chias, Osceloa, Peoria, Massasoit, Sioux,
Cheyenne, Waban, Chickasaw, Helena,
Detroit and Yankton. These are ships
previously ordered, and are mainly
small craft, although there are num-
Der Of large cruisers and gunboats, in
Guiding the San Francisco, Helena, De-
troit, Topeka, Marietta and Castine.
The movement of these ships north
ward is due to the close of hostilities,
and more particularly to the desire to
get the ships away from points of pos
sible fever infection. They will now be
put in thorough repair, and their crews
will be gradually changed from navtD
militiamen to sailors of the navy.
The Navy Department has not yet
determined what ships shall go to Ha-
vana, San Juan and other points of
Cuba and Porto Rico. There is felt
to be no hurry about this until the
authority of the United States is fully
established throughout the islands. In
the meantime the matter of policing the
shore points is being considered, and
in due time a number of the light
draft auxiliary craft and some of the
single turreted monitors viii be used
for the coast patrol. 1t is found, how
ever. that only four of the old monitors
of the civil war are fit for this service
in Southern waters.
AS many vessels viii be centered
about the West Indies from this time
forward. the Navy Department will
send the new floating dock recently
to Pensacola, where it will be kept for
docking purposes. At that point also
there are good naval workshops to be
used in conjunction with the floating
dock The dock is now being coppered.
and Will be towed to Pensacola as soon
as the September gales are over.
There We're few development of i'm
portance in the postwar situation to-
day. The authorities are still waiting
for General Merritt's report of the list
of casualties and as the War and Navy
Departments are interested in knowing
the exact terms under which Manila
was Observation-Disclosures the city
alone, or if all the Philippines Were
included. 1t was stated by officials
that nothing additional on this point
had been received up to the close of
office hours to-day.
The efforts to restore the Manila
cable continue. but they have not been
successful thus far. The claims made
in Madrid that the protocol and the
capitulation control the status of af-
fairs in the Philippines will not be dis
cussed by State Department officials
The Madrid discussion is looked upon
as rather academic. as it is taken for
granted that claims will be made on
both sides, and that the Paris tribunal
will be the final arbiter of the case.
Neither the State Department nor the
French Embassy has yet received word
that Spain has chosen her military
Commissioners for Cuba and Porto
Rico. and some doubt is expressed as
TO the accuracy OF the names given in
the London press advices. The names
given in these reports are those of
Spanish Generals and Admirals now
stationed in Cuba and Porto Rico. SO
that if the names are correct, no time
viii be lost in bringing the Commits
sioners together The understanding
here is that the sessions viii begin al
Havana and San Juan about the first
week in September.