New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-08-20

FIFTY SEVEN WARSHIPS AT FORT MON
ROE.
MOST OF THEM AUXILIARY vEssELs-PLANs
FOR POLICING THE CUBAN COAST-WAIT-
Nc EnR MERRITT,S REPORT

ING FOR MERRITTS REPORT
WASHINGTON. Aug 19-cne Of the largest
fleets of warshlus ever assembled in An,er.-
| can port VIII be brought together In the next
Few days at For, Monroe. Already ftty-s
warships are under orders n reet there and
the orders stlll he issued will raise the total
10 the neighhorhood Of seventy Naval officials
! say 1t is difficult to realize the extent OF such
a marine aggregation I'm one harbor The orders
tccan n be issued last Monday when 1--WE ships
were ordered 70 Fort Monroe: on the 10th an
/ other shin was added on the 18th eight more
were sent and on the 18th seventeen ships were
| added To-day's orders include seventeen more
ships
Before the orders began TO be issued there
we're eight warshps AZ Fort Monroe. so that the
total up u to-day is ffty-seven. Those included
in to-day's orders are the Newport the Rodgers.
the Lebanon the Wonpatuck the Morris the
! Lancaster the Machlas the Osceola. the Peoria,
IN, Massasoit the Sioux. the Cheyenne. the
Wabash. the Cnickasaw. the Helena. the De-
troit and the Yant,on. These and the ships
previously ordered are mainly small craft. al
though there ara a number Of large cruisers and
gunboats. including the San Francisco. the
Topeka the Marietta and the Castine.
The movement OF these ships northward is due
10 the close Of hostties. and more particularly
to the desire to get the ships away from points
Of possible fever Infection. They will now be
put in thorough repair and their crews will be
gradually changed from Naval Mltiamen TO
sailors Of the regular Navy.
SHIPS FOR CUBAN COAST PATROL
The Navy Department has not yet deter
mined on all the ships which will go TO Ha-
vana San Juan AMI other points OF Cuba and
Porto Rico. There is felt TO be no hurry about
! his until the authority Of the United States
| is fully established throughout the islands In
the mean time the matter Of policing the shore
/ points IS being considered and in due time
number OF the light t-drauGht auxiliary craft and
some OF the slngle-turreted monitors will be
| used for this coast patrol II is found how
| ever that only four Of the old monitors Of the
| Civil War are ft for service in Southern waters
| As many naval vessels will be centred about the
| West Indies from this time forward the Navy
Department will send the floating dock re-
| Gently bought In New-York down the coast to
| Pensacola. Fla. where II will be kept for dock
ing the warships. AT that point there are good
naval workshops to be used in conjunction with
the floating dock The dock is now being In
spected. and will be towed to Pensacola as soon
| as the September gales are over.
WAITING FOR MANILA REPORTS
There were few developments of Importance
in the post-yar situation to-day. The authori-
ties are still waiting for General Merritts report
Of the list OF casualties. and the State War and
Navy departments are interested in knowing
the exact terms on which Menila was sur
rendered-whether the city alone was included
or all the Philippines II was stated by officials
that nothing additional on this point had been
received up to the close OF office hours to-day
The efforts to restore the Manila cable con-
tlnue but they have not proved successful thus
far. The claim made In Madrid tnat the pro-
tocol and not the capitularion. controls the
status Of affairs in the Philippines will not be
discussed by State Department officials. The
Madrir discussion is looked upon a.; rather aca-
demc as IT is taken for granted that claims will
be made on both sides. and that the Paris
Tribunal will be the final arbiter Of the case
Neither the State Department nor the French
Embassy has yet received word that Spain
has chosen her military commissions for Cuba
and Porto Rico. and some doubt is expressed
to the accuracy OF the names given In London
press advices The names given in these re-
ports those OF Spanish generals and the
admirals now stationed in Cuba and Porto RICO
that II the names correct no time VIII
be lost in bringing the Commissioners tosether.
The understanding here is that the sessions VIII
begin at Havana and San Juan about tns n1s'
week IN September.