Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1898-05-07

ing the war of the rebe lliun he had been
captured by General Wilson. who was
ut that time an officer in the federal
army while Mr. Bacon was COnfeder-
ate. He said he was therefore able to
speak from experience when he testified
to General Wilson's capacity as Il
soldier and his character as a man.
Washington, May 5.--A sensation was
caused Yesterday by the news of the ar
rival Of u vessel suppose Il to he the Dis
patch boat Nj, Culloch at Mrs bay. 40
miles from Hong Kong. the cable term
mus. The officials Immediately fell into
an air Of expectancy. waiting for some
word from Admiral Dewey that would
not only confirm officially the stirring
news of the battle of Manila as reported
by the press, but also tell what happened
since the cable was interrupted. There
was no confirmation of the report.
The navy department has secured two
vessels, the Australia and the City of
Pekin, in San Francisco. which will be
loaded with coal and supplies and rushed
off to join Commodore Dewey's fleet.
Whether Or not they will carry troops
will be determined positively when the
commodore Is heard from upon this mat
ter An exceptionally large stock of
ammunition will go on the city of Pekin
The first shipment of projectiles left
New York Tuesday and additional ship
ments will he made until the full quota
Of powder and shot will be in San Fran
cisco. There will J.. a total of more than
10000 prOjectiles Of various caliber and
weight. For the four big eight -inch
guns of the Olympia there will! he 500
eight-inch steel armor-piercing prcjec-
tiles, weighing about 800 pounds each.
For the SiX-inch guns of the Olympia
Baltimore and Boston and other ships,
there will .,e 1000 projectiles. The other
shipments will include about 10000 six
l.Ound rifle balls, 2O0O nve-inch shells,
1000 three pound balls and 5000 one
pound balls
The department is fortunate i'm having
laid in an ample stock of projectiles of
all weights and sizes, so that there will
be no delay in getting full supply ready
for shipment. The supply of powder is
not so readily obtained, as powder has
been distributed to the several fleets and
ships as fast as 1t has come from the
powder mills; but. owing to the emer-
gency in the case of the Asiatic fleet,
powder intended for other uses wifi be
forwarded to San Francisco and sent to
Dewey. The recent explosions of mills
have not crippled the navy department
in securing supplies of powder, but they
have caused some delay in filling the
orders of the war department.
No new official news has come to con-
firm the report from Hawaii that the
islands have been rendered to the United
States for war uses. 1t is said that, if
the incoming mail brought the PROPOSE
tion to San Francisco, it would scarcely
he trusted to the telegraph there on ac-
count of its Importance. but would be
forwarded by the railway mails, which
would bring ii here in about five days.
Without exception naval officers would
welcome the possession of Hawaii at this
moment as affording magnificent base
for naval operations in the Pacific; but
it is said that President Dole's PROPOSE
ton must he submitted to congress. so
that IT will b" for the Legislative branch
in the end to pass upon this offer.
The law for the formation of the volun-
teer army leaves 1t discretionary with
the president as to whether three or more
regiments shall constitute brigade,
and also whether two or three divisions
shall constitute corps. Those ques-
lions determined upon finally, the as
signment of the major and brigadier gem
erals will be fixed readily. General
Miles, commanding the army, favors
the formation Of seven corps in all, two
in the regular army and five in the VOL
unteers. In other quarters, 1t has been
suggested that the volunteers he di-
vided into three corps. major general
commands either corps or a division.
so that the plan determined upon will
provide for sufficient number of these
to give assignments to the officers Of the
higher grades
The foreign experts are much interest
ed In the approaching movements i'm
Cuba. From a strategic standpoint one
tof them thinks it would be unwise to at
tempt a military landing at any point
within the present line of blockade. The
danger of such a landing he points out
TO be that railways run along the coast
Of Cuba, connecting Havana with all the
points covered by the blockade. These
railroads are in the hands of the Span
ish. and would permit them to mass
1000 soldiers at any point threatened
with landing. For this reason he con-
sders it an expedient move to take a
port remote from the present blockade,
such as Santiago. 1t would be difficult
to mass Spanish troops there in time
to prevent a landing. Once taken the
American forces would have base from