Connecticut western news., 1898-05-19
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 In addition to fleetness. the Spanist | ships of the armored cruiser class nos. sess formidability. They are heavily armored and carry big guns. While moi equal to any of the United States bat tleships in armor and armament. theiI ability to maneuver quickly gives then a considerable advantage. Sampson's | squadron, as at present composed. coulo | not run them down. and even Sch1ey | would be unable to overtake them. r1oN | to corner this strong and fast formation of the enemy is the problem that con. fronts the administration, and the con. centration of the three American flag divisions in the West Indies will afford the opportunity of making the desired end attainahle.
 For the reformed flying squadron there are available the armored cruisers New York and Brooklyn. the protected cruisers Detroit. Montgomery, Marble head. Cincinnati, New Orleans and per haps the dynamite cruiser Vesuvius and fast converted gunboats. The armor- clad division. under Admiral Sampson. composed of the battleships Iowa. Indi- ana, Massachusetts, Texas and later on the Oregon, with some tropedo boats and a few scouts, could follow the fly ing squadron at a pretty good gait. This would leave for the maintenance of the blockade under Commodore Wat son the four formidable monitors Pugi- tan, Terror, Amphitrite and Miantono- moh, whose low speed capacity would prevent them from effectively coop erating with the quicker armorclads: the gunboats Dolphin, Wilmington, Helena, Nashville. Castine. Machias, Vicksburg, Newport and Annapolis. the model cruiser Bancroft, a number of revenue cutters and lighthouse tenders and many armed tugs and yachts.
 The Bombardment of San Juan.
 The following dispatch has been re- ceived from St. Thomas, Danish West Indies, dated Saturday:
 San Juan is no longer a fortified base. Part of Rear Admiral Sampson's fleet poured for three hours yesterday morning shot and shell into the fortifi- cations, which, though not silenced, were rendered ineffective.
 "The Spanish squadron from Cape Verde must look to some other fortified port for any aid in its efforts to be vic- torious over the warships of the United States.
 Though the Notifications were not completely demolished. Rear Admiral Sampson regards his mission to San Juan as successful. The bombardment was terrific. It gave the men on the warships an admirable experience and enabled them to test their marksman- ship in action, which was desired before giving battle to the armorclads of Spain. They are now better prepared than ever to meet the foe having the additional confidence that comes from having been under fire.
 strTba American SaflprS ypnld lka fo have continued smelling the San Juan Notifications until they were complete ly shattered. but Admiral Sampson de- cided that sufficient damage had been done to make the port useless as a for tified base.
 ''In the bombardment two of our men were killed and seven injured. How heavy was the loss among the Span iards is not known, but 1t is believed to have been severe. The two men kill ed were: Frank Widemark seaman of the cruiser New York, and William Ross. gunner's mate of the monitor Amphitrite. This is the list of the in- jured: John Mitchell, seaman of the battleship Iowa; Raymond Hill, ap- prentice of the battleship Iowa; George Merkle, private marine of the battle ship Iowa: Michael Murphy, seaman of the cruiser New York: Samuel Feltman, seaman of the cruiser New York; Ed ward Earle, seaman of the cruiser New York. and John Miller, seaman of the cruiser New York.
 "Splinters from bursting shells or fragments of the shells themselves caused most of the injuries. Ross, gun ner's mate of the monitor Amphitrite, dropped dead beside his gun, the shock and excitement evidently being too much for his heart.
 The enemy did some damage to the battleship Iowa and the cruiser New York, but neither of these ships came out of the conaict with any serious scars. The other ships were unscath- ed. Nearly all the shots from the Span iards went wide of their mark The enemy appeared to be entirely deficient In the use of the guns. This made our ships indifferent to their reckless and ineffective cannonade. whose only re- deemable feature was its spiritedness.
 Tt is believed that considerable dam age was done to the city of San Juan. during the bombardment. The United States warships hauled off shore a few minutes after Admiral Sampson's sig nal to cease firing and left San Juan in sorry condition. The Spanish base was no longer effective, while the Amer ican ships were ready for battle at any moment"