The Sentinel=record., 1914-04-19

| -''7"'' +A4ipWih5 llult AOi US COuSlu eration by Huerta and his advisers it was not believed any answer would be ready before late at night at the earliest and could not reacf here until some time tomorrow.
 Navy Department Busy.
 Meanwhile the navy department was completing plans for the move. ment of warships and marines. Rear Admiral Victor Blue, acting secretary of the navy, forwarded to Rear Ad. J miral Fletcher at Vera Cruz, who will ! communicate it to Rear Admiral Mayo at Tampico.
 Rear Admiral Howard, command
 ing the squadron in Pacific Mexican waters, was also notified.
 The fourth marine regiment on the Pacific coast was ordered southward. The armored cruiser South Dakota. with 260 marines, was dispatched 1 from Bremerton, Wash, to Mare Is- l land, where the remaining six hun dred marines will be divided with the collier Jupiter. Then the two craft will steam to San Diego to await fur ther orders.
 The two powerful new dread noughts, Texas and New York, at New York, although not under or ders, are ready to start for Mexico on 12 hours notice. The Virginia, Georgia, Nebraska and Rhode Island, now at Boston. will be ready by the | end of the month.
 The transport Hancock already has arrived at Tampico with 500 marines and the cruisers Des Moines and San Francisco, the gunboat Dolphin, the scout cruiser Chester, the transport Buffalo and the collier Cyclops, al ready are there.
 At Vera Cruz, Rear Admiral Fetch CT has the battleships Florida and Utah and the transport Prairie with 8 large complement of marines. The battleships under Rear Admi- ral Badger today were reported off Key West, Fla, and are to arrive Tuesday. On orders from Washing ton they could reach Tampico by Monday. It was generally agreed, however, that the force now at Tam pico and Vera Cruz is sufficient to carry out any plan of action Presi- dent Wilson may direct.
 May Not Wait on Congress.
 Should aggressive steps be neees- ha i'd congressional action, there is no ques- tion in the presidents mind of the right of the executive branch of the government to act. Republican and democratic leaders say any action taken in an emergency would be promptly backed up by congress. Various steps not considered under international law as constituting 3 declaration of war have been dis cussed. Any of these, of course, may be construed by Huerta as a cause for war and change the status of af- fairs but precedent shows many case in which a peaceful blockade was declared, shutting off one nation from commercial intercourse with an other or the seizure of a customs house and the declaration of duties without involving either nation in war.
 The peaceful blockade has not been looked on by President Wilson as a very effective measure because precedent has not determined defi- nitely whether a nation has the right to cut off the offending party from all commerce. It is admitted the United States could shut off Mexico from all commerce with the United States, but whether foreign vessels so could be prevented from engag. ing in commerce with Mexico with out a declaration of war is a dis puted point.
 It is apparent the president has in mind other forms of "Teprisal," a term in international law defined as "a means of putting stress on a wrongdoing state, by something short of war. Landing of marines and even the bombardment of the town dave been held as measures short of war" In 1895 the British feet sent a force ashore at Corinto, Nicaragua, seized a customs house and held it for fifteen days until an indemnity was agreed on for indigni- ties 10 a British vice consul.
 Will Occupy Mexican Ports.
 All officials were agreed that if Huerta did not yield, Tampico and Vera Cruz probably would be occu. pied and he'd until reparatio1 was made in the form of salute as de- manded by Rear Admiral Mayo on April 9.
 The demand at that time called for the hoisting of an American flag o9 shore. but Rear Admiral Mayo has notified the Mexican commander that he would not insist that point as long as the salute was fired to an Ameri- can flag flying from the mast of the Dolphia. It is believed the purpose of this is not to provoke any unneces- sarv demonstration against foreign CTS in Tampico.
 While predictions as to what will happen were numerous, there were some officials high in the councils of