The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-06-30
SHAFTER IS EXPECTED TO MAKE
 ATTACK VERY SOON.
His Announcement That He Can Take the City in Forty-eight Hours and That He Will Not Wait for R ein force- That First General Engagement of the War is at Hand.
War is at Hand.

Washington, June 29.-The opinion prevails here that within a day or two at most General Shafter will have be- gun his attack upon the city of San the day was the announcement that he could take the city in forty-eight hours, but at considerable loss. Taken in con- nection with announcement contained in another dispatch that he is going to attack without awaiting endorsements it will be seen that the officials here have ground for the expectation that the first general engagement of the war will begin very soon. Numerically the opposing armies are not very different, the estimate of the Spanish force be- ing placed at 14, GOO men, thoroughly en- trenched and behind barbed wire fences and blockhouses as against about 18,000 men under Shafter's command, aided by 4,000 CubanS. One of the graveSt elements in the problem, however, is the Spanish warships, for unless Shaf- ter is materially assisted by Sampson, their fire upon the American forces would be very hard to meet The mili- tary authorities say that General Lin- ares has shown great military tact in slowly retiring during the last few days, as he has gradually drawn our troops away from the protection of the American ships in Santiago harbor.
 For this reason it was with relief that 
 that Shafter had succeeded in landing all of his artillery, including his siege guns, for unless Sampson can be relied upon to force his way into the harbor and attack the Spanish ships these siege guns, planted on heights com manding the bay, will be the main reli- ance of General Shafter in offsetting the presence of the Spanish ironclads. Undoubtedly, Shafter is animated to attack as soon as possible by his knowledge of the approach of the rein forcements for Linares from Manzillo, for with this additional force Shafter' S position would be disagreeab1e, if not perilous, at least until he had received endorsements. The war department received definite news to-day as to the approach of these Spanish reinforce ments. This was in an official dispatch stating that eight thousand men, with pack trains and droves of animals, were advancing from Manzillo and were fif- ty-four miles from Santiago. It has been known through reports from Lieutenant Joyce, made to General Miles, that the Spaniards have twelve thousand men at Manzillo and ten thousand at Holguin, and every pre- caution has been taken to guard against their advance
 The official report showed that eight thousand of these troops had covered half the distance to Santiago and it is the belief of military officials here that General Pando is making a similar ad- vance with his ten thousand men from Holguin. These advances, now prac- tically unopposed, are regarded as one of the most serious phases of the situ- ation. There is the further element to which the military authorities are giv- ing careful attention, that one man en- trenched behind earthworks or in rife pits is worth three men in the open. It is said that the battles of Chancellors- vile and Spotsylvania afforded the most direct proof on this point.