The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-09

| sampson, VINO is a man 10 MS 1ancy. Inc
admiral is COOL calm and courageous and
works steadily towards a well-defined pur-
| pose but in all his operations he is clearly
| governed by desire to reach results at the
smallest loss of American lives He does
not believe in the necessity of spectacular
| demonstrations involving great sacrifice of
human life, but like General Grant, he
keeps everlastingly at it. His bombardment
| of the fortifcations overlooking the en-
| trance to Santiago harbor is with the evil
| dent intention of betraying the enemy into
| weakening counter demonstrations Every
projectile and every pound of powder used
| by the Spaniards from their meager supplies
| of ammunition brings the end so much
nearer. Every gun which is dismounted by
| the American war ships diminishes the risk
| to the American storrnng party soon to
| make land attack upon these forts and
upon the city. Admiral Sampson is reduc-
| ing the fighting efficiency of the Spanish
| every time he throws a shell into their for
| tifications, thereby making it easier for
| General Shafter and his troops when the
time arrives for them to take the aggres-
sive and initiative
An Associated Press dispatch says: The
activity and exchange of communications be-
| tween the War and Navy Departments, cul-
minating in visits by Acting Secretary AL
len, Admiral Scard and Captain Crownin-
shield in person to the War Department
to-day led to the belief this afternoon that
either the United States troops were actu-
ally embarking at Tampa, or that the move
| ment is about to begin. The officials, how
| ever, where not absolutely ignorant them
selves as to what was going on at Tampa,
were all under an injunction delivered by
| Secretary Alger himself to keep the troop
movements absolutely secret, There were
| intimations that took away. in a measure,
| the disappointment occasioned by this atti-
/ tude, to the effect that once the troops are
| ashore, there will be considerable relaxa-
ton of the rules now so rgidly applied rela-
| tive to the giving out of information as to
the army's movements. Secretary Alger
| holds that, notwithstanding the bottling up
of the Spanish squadron in Santiago, there
are still good and sufficient reasons why ev-
cry precaution should be adopted to pre-
| vent the Spaniards from obtaining informa-
/ ton as to the departure of our troops the
| point selected for their debarkation and the
strength of the expedition. He was a good
| deal annoyed at the attempt of some of the
| newspapers to indicate the very point Sc
lected for landing the troops and siege guns
| in the neighborhood of Santiago If it were
| true that the department had selected the
| place where there is a strong wharf on
which the vessels may discharge the heavy
| siege guns to be trained on the city, the
| publication of the fact, If authenticated.
might, very naturally, lead the Spaniards to
destroy that particular wharf and thus seri-
| ously hamper the operations of the troops.
The robust imagination displayed in the
| Spanish bulletin recounting the killing of
$500 of SIMPSONS men during Mondays
| fight with the forts at Santiago caused
good deal of amusement at the Navy De-
partment and the officers profess them
selves, though willing to meet the Span
iards with arms to- be utterly unable to
contend with them in the field of mendacity.
To some of them this bulletin recalled vivid
ly the stirring bulletins issued almost daily
from the Spanish legation here in the days
of Senior De LONE, telling how the Span
iards, with the loss of one man, had man.
aged to annihilate the Cuban army.
No bulletins were posted to-day at the
Navy Department and although there were
signs that the department was in communi-
cation with the South. the newspaper men
were assured that there were no events
worth reporting treated of in the messages.
The bulletin made public by the department
last night in confirmation of the press re-
ports of the attack on Santiago de Cuba last
Monday is said to be merely skeleton state
ment of Admiral SIMPSONS cablegram,
which, it is surmised. contained a good deal
more information than it was deemed prI-
dent to make public. OF course, to protect
the naval cipher the matter published was
a paraphrase and it was said al the depart
ment this morning that the term used in
the bulletin ''silenced. work quickly without
injury at any time," was based on a state
ment in the original dispatch broad enough
to Indicate that the ships had sustained no
injuries and that there had been no casual |
ties among the personnel of the American
fleet.
Naval officers to-day expressed the belief |
that all the force landed Monday from |
SIMPSONS fleet were marines and that their |
purpose was not so much TO take military |
possession Of the garrison as to spike some |
guns and destroy some batteries that might |
have been reoccupied by the Spaniards to
advantage after the retirement of the Amer |
lean feet from the action. One object of |
Admiral SIMPSONS attack, which has es- |
capped general observation. though exceed |
ngly important, was pointed out AT the |
Navy Department. This was to prevent the /
Spaniards from making a successful ar /
tempt to remove the obstruction of tba
channel caused by the wreck of the Merri-
mac Having silenced the forts at the en-
trance of the harbor. which, while effect,va
Obliged the American fleet 10 lie MANY nils,