Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-05-28

any of our ships utterly helpless or beyond
the aid of towing during the fleets cruising
OF the past month. Such accidents. how
ever. are quite within the bounds Of posi-
bility With such tender machines as tor
pe,io boats doing hard duty In all kinds of
weather accidents even come into the list
of proba bIlities which naval commanders
have TO count upon.
With a base in the enemy's territory with
a harbor of refuge and a coaling station
within twenty miles of the cruising
grounds Admiral SIMPSONS task, arduous
at its best will be made very great deal
easier But such a base can only be oo-
rained through cooperation with the army.
as the force OF marines at the disposal OF
the admiral is not large enough to cope
with the possible strength that Captain
General Blanco could concentrate on short
notice Then while the army Of the United
States is operating on shore, 1t Is safe to
say the naval gunners will not be idle
Few Incidents ON Cruise.
During the weeks cruise of the flagship
New York from Matanzas toward the east
ern end of Cuba and back there were rev
incidents of interest Everything conferred
in the news from Commodore Schley, and
disappointment was visible in every face
when It became generally known that the
commodore was mistaken IN thinking ne
had Admiral Cervera bottled up at Glen
fuesos but this feeling Of disappointment
soon gave way TO renewed enthusiasm when
news was received from Santiago de Cuba
This really was more acceptable than the
reports from Cienfuegos. for had Admiral
Cervera succeeded in effecting landing al
Cienfuegos he would most likely have been
able to transport his alleged cargo OF arms
Santiago de Cuba 1t will be almost impos-
sibie for him to do So
During the first few days out from hey
West there was a heavy sea, which made
life miserable for the torpedo boats Rogers
and Foote and which made the monitors
roll very heavily
The sharpest kind of q lookout was kept.
and more than once the feet went INTO
battle formation. owing to over anxiety
upon the part of some man en- the iookou.
in the tops. who thought he saw the smoke
of five Spanish .warships on the hofizon-
Absolutely no lights were shown at nlsnt'
and signals were Constantly exchanged DE-
tween the flagship and the scouts. The lat
ter generally. were the New Orleans. May
flower and Machias. -'-----
situation Changed Today.
Special Dispatch to The Evening Star.
KEY WEST. Fla. May B.--The war STU
alton has materially changed since yester-
day afternoon when the general impression
prevailed upon what appeared to be relia-
Die information that an immediate bon-
bardment of Havana forts was to take
place. Adyices from the feet this morning
are to the effect that for the present. Mt
least no such action is contemplated 1t
Is rumored that Rear Admiral Sampson In
tends changing his flag to the Oregon
You may depend" said an officer who is
in a position to speak with authority this
morning. that no bombardment will take
place before Admiral Cerveras feet has
been disposed off, This morning 1t Is ru-
mored here that part of the Spanish feet
Is at Cienfuesos.
Cndia Fleet Sails.
MADRID. May 2s,-It is officially
nounced that the Spanish reserve squadron
commanded by Admiral Camara. has left
Cadiz- Before going to its destination the
squadron will maneuver probably for
sral days I'm the open sea. afterwards i'm
mediately sailing for the Philippine Islands,
Cuba or Tunistas. as the government may
judge most opportune3-F
The squadron is understood to be COM
posed of ten to twelve vessels.