The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-06-17
Washington Post.

CIV Washington PoSto
Great event are scheduled for this
week in the war programme The
army IS finally TO land on Cuban soil,
and the progress hat will be made with
the Porto Rico expedition viii be such
as to insure its starting very soon. BY
the end Of the week also the first de-
tachment Of troops for the Philippines
ought to reach Admiral Dewey, and an
attack upon Manila may at once De or
dered. if, in the mean time the city does
not surrender TO the insurgents. The
popular branch of the American con-
gress will also have gone upon record
in favor Of adding the Hawaiian Is
lands TO our domain, and the first steps
will have been taken in the senate to-
ward securing a fina vote in that body.
The work OF the troops when they
have reached SIMPSONS squadron is
already definitely planned. The first
point Of attack will be n city of
Guantanamo, some fifteen miles inland
from the bay of the same name, and
connected by rail- with Caimanera- The
latter place is already under the Amer
lean flag. but it is lot likely that Ad-
miral Sampson will allow the adjacent
city TO remain in the possession of a
Spanish garrison. Guantanamo bay, as
has frequently been stated, IS to be the
base of supplies and the shelter for the
American fleet, and consequently must
be absolutely free from any menace of
danger. On the shores Of the bay will
be dumped thousands of tons of coal
from golfers sent there for that pur-
pose, and this will obviate the neces-
sity Of frequent return TO Key West,
or even of coaling at sea
Of course, the main attack of the
army will be at Santiago. The move
ment upon Guantanamo will be only a
diversion, so to speak, and will not re
quire a very large force for its accom-
pliShment. Neither, as a matter of
fact, ought the seizure of Santiago to
be a difficult undertaking. There IAN
not be, in the first place, any opposi-
ton to the landing of the roops Ev-
erypoint which presents the least avail
ability as a landing place has been
thoroughly shelled, so that all shore
batteries have been silenced. Nothing
now remains to be taken except the
Notifications along the inner harbor
and the city itself. The latter, 50 far
as the army reports show, is not a
strongly fortified place, and the Span
iSh garrison consists very largely of
volunteers who have been drafted into
the service, n who are not to be de-
pended upon to put up a stout resist
ance.
With the expedition against San
Juan and the island Of Porto Rico it
may be different. The f~ortificatfons at
the mouth of San Juan harbor are un-
dOubted1y second only to those at Ha-
vana. They We're not silenced by Ad-
miral Sampson, and they have been, in
all proba bi1ity, greatly strengthened
since that noisy but ineffective bonn
bardment. The gun at these forsifi-
cations are modern, high-pOWer affairs,
and the batteries lave been newly con-
structed. According to the reports
made at the war department, however,
they are not im~pregnable, and when
Admiral Sampson goes at them again
with q strong fleet and a determination
to reduce them, he will undoubtedly
succeed without much trouble. The
great mass of the Spanish soldiery on
the island is at San Juan, n some
resistance MAJ (be shown, but it is the
present intention Of h president to
send an army to the island large
enough to cOpe with any force that the
Spanish may be able to muster. There
will be some trouble in getting the
ships into the harbOr, as it is mined,
and for this reason the transports will
have to carry the soldiers to some other
point near San Juan and from the land
ing place they will march upon the city.
| The capture of San Juan will he the
sum total of the work. There are
Spanish garrisons at other towns, but
they are not of sufficient Importance to
be taken into consideration. The
people of the island are said to be
| thoroughly disaffected, and will wei
come the arrival of the American army
as the means of relieving them from
the control of Spain.