Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-27

to the neutrality laws of the various
Mediterranean ports.
The commodore should reach Admiral
Sampson at Santiago by Thursday morn
ing, perhaps carrier for the Newark,
having been extensively repaired, is now
swift warship. Sampson will be able to
spare from his fleet many ships will
make very respectable squadron for
Watson in number and quality. The opera
lions before Sampson are of a character
that will admit of the employment to the
best advantage of the big monitors for
bombarding purposes and small cruisers
and gunboats as biockading vessels. There
lore he can spare some of the most effec-
tive ships of the fleet. The Newark will
be Commodore Watson's flagship. In adj
dition he will probably be given the Iowa
and Oregon, battle ships and the cruisers
Yosemite, Yankee and Dixie. The start
Will be made from off Santiago Just as
soon as the squadron can be gotten ready,
and this, fortunately, owing to the COM
pleteness of the naval mobilization, will be
In very short time
The Havana Blockade.
There is no intention of weakening the
Havana blockade by the withdrawal CT
commodore Watson with his flagship. To
prevent this Secretary Long has ordered
commodore Howell to proceed Immediately
to the American fleet off Havana to take
command of the post vacated by Commo-
dore Watson. Commodore Howell is at
present on the San Francisco in command
OF the coast patrol fleet and he Will take
the entire feet with him; that is, all of
the larger vessels, to reinforce the block
aoe or the Cuban coast. He Is already on
MS way south from the New England
coast, and should reach Cuban waters by
the end Of the week.
The Vessels to Go Abroad
Inc naval war board was in session all
the morning. The members had before
them confidential kilograms from Admiral
Sampson, with whom they had been in close
communication by telegram and cable for
the last TWO days. AS result of this
mornings conference the department was
able to announce the composition of the
eastern squadron, which it was at first
supposed could not be declared today OF
the whole squadron the best all around
snip Is Undoubtedly the battle ship Iowa
She is of ,296 tons, with a speed of 16Is
Knots. Her battery is made up of forty-six
guns altogether, so that she is a floating for
tress In her self. Four of these guns are T.
hi'h ediiper mounted In turretS, and there
are eight S-inch guns in turrets, six 4-inch
quick hrers, twenty 6-pounders, six l.
Founders and four gatlings The Iowa has
splendid armor protection with belt of IL
inch steel, seven feet six inches broad
around her vitals with cellulose backing
and coal protection.
The Oregon Is sister ship to the Indiana
and mas just earned a worlds record as
q hoff CHI
run from San Francisco to Key West Her
battery is heavier than the Iowa's in that
her four big turret guns are 13-inch caliber,
but the Oregon is believed to be inferior in
the matter of armor distribution. The bat
terry is Ii other respects similar to the
Iowa. Like the latter she is fitted with tor
pedo tubes complete. The coal capacity of
the Oregon is set down at $50 tons, as
against 1,7SO tons for the Iowa, and her
radius of action at ten knots is placed at
$3.50 miles as against 400 miles to the
Iowa. This anomaly Is explained by the
fact that the Iowa is 1000 tons larger than
the Oregon.
The flagship Newark is what Is known
as protected cruiser, her only protection
in the matter Of armor being a protected
deck of arched steel covering the engines
ard boilers. She was built in 1890, and so
is not fully up to date, but the recent eX-
tensive repairs made at Norfolk have made
her a splendid cruiser, with a speed of
about nineteen and one-quarter knots Her
steaming radius is 10, 100 miles on $50 tons
of coal at ten knots. Her displacement Is
1O,0S2 tons
The cruisers Yosemite, Yankee and Dixie
were recently three Morgan Line steamers
plying between New York and South
American ports. They are all new, fast,
stanch steel vessels. of 800 tons each,
which have been transformed into excel
lent cruisers. first by the addition of good
batteries of ten five-inch rapid-fire Suns,
and, second by the addition of belts of
laminated armor over the vitas of the
ship. The golfers are nothing more than
merchant steamers fitted up for coal carry
ing, and without armor, but carrying two
guns each. The Scandal is of 5,29t tons.
the Avarenda, 600, and the Alexander,
400
The commanding officers of the eastern
squadron are follows: COMMANDMENT
chief of squadron, Commodore J. c. Wat
son; battle ship Iowa, Capt. r. d. Evans:
battle ship Oregon, Capt. Chas. E. Clark;
flagship Newark, Capt Albert 8. Barker:
cruiser Yosemite, Commander w. II.
Emory; cruiser Yankee Comman der w H
Brownson; cruiser Dixie, Commander c.
II. Davis; collier Scandal, Commander E.
w. Watson collier Alexander, Commander
w. E. Burwell; collier Avarenda, Lieut..
Commander w. H. Buford
Will Probably End the War.
The plan for an attack on the coast of
Srain is the beginning of the movement
which will probably end the war. AS orig
ihally announced in The STAR as soon as
the situation at Santiago was satisfactory
and the preparation for the occupation of
Porto Rico had sufficiently advanced, 1t
was the intention of the administration
to send fleet to attack the Spanish at
! home The time has now arrived when
this movement may be undertaken, and
the purpose Is to lose no time in bringing
the war home to Spain in q way that will
make the Spanish people realize the abso-
Lutte futility Of prolonged resistance to the
inevitable.
The formation of the squadron for an at
tack on the Spanish coast is part Of the
general plan for the prosecution of the
war. decided on some time ago. and al
md tod IN no