The record-union., 1898-06-25
MERRIMAC PRISONERS.
Hobson and His Companions at
Santiago de Cuba.

WASHINGTON, June 24.-Admiral
Sampson is now in constant and practi-
cally immediate cable communication
with the Navy Department. Six dis
patches We're received in rapid sue
cession throughout the early hours of
this morning, the last one bringing the
situation up to II o'clock last night.
They showed that only half an hour
elapsed between the filling of the mes
sage by the Admiral and the receipt of
it in Washington, SO that the authori-
ties here are now assured of being only
a half-hour behind the actual develop
ments at the scene of action.
The only message bearing on the gen.
eral situation was one in which Admiral!
Sampson said that under flag of truce
he learned that Hobson and his men
were well, and had been removed from
MORO Castle to the city of Santiago,
four miles distant. This lifted a weight
Of anxiety as to the condition of this
brave band of heroes, for, since the re-
cent bombardment in which MORO
sufferedsomewhat there has been uncer-
tainty as to whether Hobson and his
men were dead or alive, although it has
never been seriously believed the Span
iards would expose these men to such
dangers as to lead to their death
The dispatch was further reassuring
in that it made clear that Admiral
SIMPSONS assault upon the harbor en-
trance to which Moro is the main de-
Tense would not be crippled by having
the fire kept away from that fortifica-
ton in order to protect Hobson. It
leaves the result of such an attack open
to the usual conditions of war and not
to that unusual and cruel device, which
it was feared had been resorted to. of
preserving Morro by exposing Hobson
This action, coupled with the report of
the surgeons that our dead marines
We're not mutilated, conveys a. sense Of
relief to the authorities here. as thew
feel that the warfare now about to
culminate in blood and fighting will
be at least mitigated by those humane
rules which govern the action of mod
ern armies in the field
The other dispatches of Admiral
Sampson covered a multitude of details
which have been deferred in the alb
sence of quick communication. They
made acquisitions for routine supplies
OF every description and indicated need
ed repairs, mostly minor in character,
to the vessels of the fleet Not a word
was said as to any engagement by the
troops under General Shafter, and as
the Admiral is in close communication
with General Shafter, naval officials re-
gard this failure of the Admiral to
mention any action by the troops as
conclusive in showing no action took
place yesterday, as was reported by
the Spanish
During the forenoon a dispatch came
to General Greely, chief signal officer.
from Lieutenant Colonel Allen, who is
in charge of the telegraphic communi-
cation with the army. 1t was dated at
Playa del Este, and simply indicated
that he was making arrangements to
extend communication along the shore
as far as Aquidores. which is probably
about sixteen miles farther to the
westward than Playa del Este. The
dispatch made no mention Of any battle
or any change in the situation. mill
tary or naval.
From the fact that Colonel Allen is
working his line westward to Aqui-
dores, 1T is evident to the military au-
thorities that the field of action will be
stretched a considerable distance along
the shore, covering probably from five
a base of supplies where the stores will
be kept and with which the advancing
army at all times will keep up it's line
of communication, the first essential
of an advancing army being considered
to be that Of keeping up it's line of COM
munication with the base of supplies