Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1898-07-27
Washington Letter.
From our Regular Corresponds

RuSn is the WOfQ now, ana there IS
to be no let up until Spain drops to
her knees and supplicates for peace.
The combined army and navy ex-
petition for the capture and occupa-
ton of Porto Rico, under command
Of General Miles and Admiral Samp-
son, has started, and early next
week Old Glory will be permanently
planted on Porto Rican soil. How
soon San Juan, the principal fortified
port of Porto Rico, will be captured
will depend upon circumstances. 1t
Will be attacked simultaneously by
the army and navy, but it is the de-
sire Of President Mckinley that it be
taken with as little loss as possible
on our side, and for time the fight
ing may be confined to the heavy
guns, but if they do not force an
early surrender it will be taken by
assault.
The stories Of friction between our
army and the Cuban insurgents I'M
der Garcia are doubtless much exag-
gerated, but there is some trouble
over there. Officials in Washington
have no fear, however, that it will
become serious enough to worry
over. There may be a few hotheads
among the Cubans who. favor OPP
posing the putting into effect Of the
United States military government
of Santiago, bat they are not num-
erOus enough to make themselves
felt. That the insurgents were ha-
bitual liars has been known ever
since we began to Investigate their
statements concerning their own
strength as we'll as the strength OF
the Spanish in Cuba, and during the
Santiago campaign they displayed an
utter disregard for the rules of civil
lied warfare, by killing prisoners and
lOOting the property of nOn-cOm
batants; also their unftness to be
soldiers by refusing to obey orders
In view of these things it is not
strange that the insurgents should
have been kept out Of Santiago, which
will until further notice remain under
military government. The insur-
gents don't like our plans, as they
had gone so far as to name COVER
nor of Santiago in advance of the
surrender, but President Mckinley
intends to do the right thing, regard
less Of their likes.
There is much talk in ordnance
circles about a plan for the use of
dynamite shells in any cannon and
with ordinary charges of powder,
which q Mexican, w. S. Isham, has
asked the privilege of demonstrating
under governmentsauspices. He has
letters from Mexican officials, and
from General Powell Clayton, United
States minister to Mexico, who wit
messed two tests of the plan, pro-
nouncing them successful. All dyn-
amite guns now in use have long
air tube to act as cushion, and
have to be specially constructed.
Owing to the numerous donations
to the government, to help pay the
expenses of the war, that have fol-
lowed the 100000 given by Miss
Helen Gould, at the opening Of the
war, it has been found necessary by
treasury officials to open an account
under the head of donations to the
Government" These donations are
of various amounts, and are nearly
ling with patriotism. One man, an
employe of the treasury, gives $50
month as long as the war lasts; an
Engishman sends half a guinea from
London as practical evidence of his
sympathy; number Of lodges of the
Junior Order Of United American
Mechanics have sent contributions,
and a Polish Jew, residing at Platts
mouth, Nebraska, sends $50 because
he wished to do something to help
and is too old to fight.
No news received in Washington
this week gave more pleasure to
President Mckinley than the reports
from the army surgeons to the
surgeon-generaI on the progress Of
the elbow fever in General Skaters
army. According to those reports.
the fever is we'll in hand, and is of
such a mild nature that few have
died, aud the general condition of
the mer is good.
The navy department is accumu-
lating smokeless powder at the rate
of more than 5000 pounds a day,
and in very short time all our
ships will be supplied with it. The
war department is also getting a.
large supply and the greater portion
of the ammunition carried by the sol
diers who have gone to Porto Rico is
prepared with smokeless powder, the
Santiago campaign having fully de-
monstrated it's superiority, especially
in the protection of the men who are
On the finh tim linn