The evening times., 1898-06-04
MAY WATT FOR TROOPS
War Board Urges Delay Till the
Soldiers Arrive.
STRATEGISTs WARN SAMPSON
The American Admiral IL Cautioned
That 1t VIII BE RisIky to Attempt
to Force the Passage at santiago
TIL the Land Forces Are Ready
to Aid Him. -eirF

convinced Dy Omctal Information re
ceived that an attempt to force the chan
mel of Santiago de Cuba would result IL
the injury Of American men-of-war, tn
Naval War Board has decided to urg
upon Rear Admiral Sampson all the NOR
the advisability of delaying action unit
the arrival of troops.
This information came from Commo
dore schley, who. yesterday sent his frs
dispatch to the department since that O
Tuesdays date. and from Capt, C. d
Sigsbee, commanding the. 70 rauxiliar,
cruiser st. Paul. who, under orders, tele
| graphed this morning. came to Washing
ton from New York. According 70 Com
modore Sehley's cablegram, the oensage
ment no had with the batteries defeIdins
Santiago de Cuba on Tuesday last oc.
CURED while he was making a reconnois
sance to develop the strength of the bat.
teries, and this reconnaissance, besides
resulting in securing the information
sought by the American commander. con.
nrmed in addition the fact of the pres.
ence OF the entire Spanish fleet in the
harbor.
1t Is evident from the dispatch the Of
ncials say, that Commodore SchIey open-
ed hre, as he says it was returned with
out delay" The fact that the Spaniards
have guns of large caliber." whose
range Is 1900 yards. convinces them that
the weapons are of a modern charac-
Ter, and with the assistance of the guns
OF the armored cruisers can pretty well
defend the port.
Capt. Sigsbee informed the officials that
the Spaniards have been erecting new
batteries by taking the guns from ships
in the harbOr. which could not be en-
pioyed for fighting the American men-of-
war, and some floating batteries have
been built which command the entrance
to the harbor. All these preparations
show conclusively that since Admiral Ger
vera's arrival he has lost no time in
making preparations for the expected at
tack OF the American men-of-war
In view OF the number and caliber OF
the guns defending the channel. and the
probability that the channel and harbor
are mined, the Naval War Board be-
lieves that 1t would be foolhardiness for
the American commanders to attempt to
enter the harbor and there give battle
TO the Spanish fleet. II is regarded as
probable that Rear Admiral Sampson
may use the dynamite cruiser Vesuyius
ana the battleships to destroy the bat
ter1es at the entrance to the harbor In
order that the Gordon around the mouth
may be frightened, and thus prevent the
escape of the Spanish men-of-war
1t Is evident. the officials say. that Ger
vera believing that he cannot escape. IL
preparing to make desperate resistance
and II would probably fare badly with
some of the American armorclads should
they attempt to enter the harbor without
the assistance of troops
Capt. SigSbee brought with him to
washington sketches of the Notifications
which he made while sitting on the deck
of the St Paul IN plain view of the har-
Dor. He was not fired upon, and no at
tempt was made to send any of the tor
pedo boa, destroyers or armorclads to
capture his ship. He believes that the
Spaniards are very short of coal, and II is
this fact which has caused them to be
very sparing Of sending their ships to
sea.
II was stated by an official today that
the Spaniards have sufficient coal to rar-
init fires to be kept up on board their srr1s
Tor two months, but this amount void
not be sufficient TO carry them TO Spain.
Capt Sigsbee is sure that the Spanish fleet
Is cooped up in the harbor. and he ex-
pressed the belief today that 1t could not
possibly escape
II is understood in naval circles that
Rear Admiral Sampson is under instruc-
tions to make lengthy report to the Ma
val war Board of the situation as he
found 1t at Santiago de Cuba. II was
suggested today that the Spanish vessels
might leave the harbor and offer battle
under the guns of the forts. and in this
event the prospect is that Rear Admiral
sampson would not refuse to meet them
1t is his policy. the Naval War Board
has taken occasion to impress 1t upon him,
TO await the arrival of the Army and the
combined forces then can. in a compara-
lively easy manner. effect the reduction of
Santiago de Cuba and the capture or de-
struction of the Spanish men-of-war.