The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-07-22
A R,AIDING SO a ORION,
Comma doreI Natson will be Bonn.
harding sp anish sSacoaat
Iii August

New York, July ia special to the
Tribune from WashingtOn says: The
trading squadron Is expected to start
for the coast Of Spain Saturday. The
navy department. understands that Com
modore Watson has his ships coaled to
the limit Of the bunker capacity and
nothing should keep him another day al
Guantanamo. He ought to pass Mole
st, Nicholas on Sunday and according
to schedule a dispatch should be sent BY
him through dispatch boat of St.
Thomas next Wednesday morning an
noMncing his actual departure from that
vicinity upon the 25OQmile straightaway
course for the Canaries, where HIS for
midable force should appear about Au-
gust !, or 4 few days later, depending
upon the state of weather encountered
in mid-Atlantie and the maximum speed
progress. After two days spent under the
lee of one At the unfoftiied Canary. ISL
ands, replenishing the bunkers Of his
fighting ships with fuel, the final assault
on Spain. scarcely two days distant,
would be promptly made, and if the last
Spanish naval resources represented By
Camara's fleet cannot be entlced from
Cartagena to protect Cadiz the American
battlehag will be quickly displayed in the
Mediterranean. i !. I"
The feet as at present constituted IN
cludes two of the best battleships in the
navy, the Oregon and the Massachusetts,
the protected cruiser Newark, the auxilia-
ries Yankee, Dixie and Yosemite with
gon has become the aassh i and the he Yam Yam
kee is now at Hampton Roads prepared
to start with final orders on Sunday to
meet the rest of the squadron July 20, oft
st. Thomas. The GOLFERS carry $4,000
tons OF the best coal, sufficient guam
tity to steam the fleet all the way to the
frigerator ship Glacier having fresh food
to last two months. =
+ While the Newark is capable of a 49,
Knot speed for short distances and, the
Massachusetts and the Oregon each have
records above 16 knots, tits unlikely that
the squadron will keep up al average of
more than 10 knots an hour across the
liers after leaving the Canaries, a speed
exceeding IL knots will be constantly
maintained: It will be. the duty of the
three auxiliaries to afford protection to
the Golfers and to the supplyship at all
times, leaving the two battleships and the
Newark to undertake offensive operations.
The departure of Commodore Watson's
Brooklyn, the Texas and the Puritan as
the armored vessels under Admiral
SIMPSONS direct command to batter
down the Notifications at Porto Rico,s and
the cruisers Columbia, Minneapolis, San
Francisco, New Orleans, Detroit, Mont
gomery and Marblehead to she'll land
ing place for the Decentralization of the
army of occupation under Gen. Miles: A
large number of gnnboats and other aux
Hilary vessels will be available to convoy
the transports of the Porto Rican expedi-
ton without impairing the efficiency of
the Cuban blockade by withdrawing any
Of the numerous vessels now on duty
there.
The authorities at Washington are conf
dent that an entire army corps will be
landed in Porto Rico before the "raiding
squadron reaches the Canaries and that
the acquisition of the island will be com
pleted almost simultaneously with Commo-
dore Watson's menace to the Spanish Pc
ninsula. That these two terrible blows;
following so closely upon the surrender of
Santiago this week and the occupation of
Manila which will probably occur next
week, will compel Spain to sue for peace,
hardly admits of the slightest doubt. : :, :