| Show SECURELY HELD ow C 4 cervera cannot escape A from santiago the spaniard may blow up his ships to prevent them falling into the hands or americans what the chase chas after fleet has demonstrated new york june 6 by no possibility Poss bilt VI it ie is conceded by members of the war board will admiral verae verale vessel vessels in the harbor of santiago be able to reach the open sea even after the wreckage of the merrimac Is removed a task that ie Is not at all fea feasible ea bible in view of the heavy fire that an operator woul albe subject to who might I 1 attempt to place sufficient dynamite inthe in alio wreck to remove it saya the washington correspondent of the tribune the entire spanish squad ron ie is now conceded to hive been caught and closed against all Dossi bill ites of escape and adlees cervera purposely destro destroys vR bis big ships they are bound alti to fall fill into the bands hands of the united states verae position is regarded re added as one of almost pitiful humiliation humi liati on and his situation each such that be he will be forced to surrender without possibly having a chance to fire on a ingle tingle war vessel that he hie his officers and entire force will be made prisoners of the united states in time seems certain with santiago in possession pos malon of the united states the crews of the spanish ships will become prisoners of war and it they attempt to escape from santiago they will fall into the bands hands of the insurgents sur gents gente opinions differ as to the chance of the four powerful armored cruisers and tor boat destroyers becoming the property of the united states and most naval een men assert with great that that cervera will never allow his vessels to be taken and that when be he linde no alternative open to avoid destruction or capture he will ank them as constructor tor globson did the merrimac with the channel closed the last hope 0 ot naval men tor for a fight between ships of modern construction and ought fought under improved conditions disappears and by all it is i s generally conceded that with the war ended the historians will have but one important naval fight to record in sinking the Me the program of admiral sampson to s for the first time disclosed and sod it if proves beyond doubt that investigation made by him showed the utter impossibility of his taking the large force of heavy battleships aud and cruisers between the forts and over the submarine mines in an attempt to reach ard ar d bring into action the tho spanish vessels naval officers have no theories to advance as to the reasons impelling the course followed by sampson other than that be concluded after careful examination of the charts and unfavorable conditions that it was inadvisable to take battleships through a channel where there was not one chance in ten that they could pass safely the difficulties biffi that euch such an undertaking would involve are shown by the charts which indicate but twenty four feet of water in one point of the channel or br about two feet less leas than would be necessary for the iowa and massachusetts calveras Car verae veras vessels draw leas less by two or three feet than the heaviest of the american but even his vessels must have bad little water beneath their bottoms a as 9 they passed in with 0 all chances of escape against him either by removing the wreck and successfully cess fully securing curing ee a channel to the sea a general feeling exists among naval aval men that some bold end and almost equally daring as that of constructor hobson will be attempted tempted ut by the admiral rather than to submit to the resort of blowing up bia his own vessels without having had an opportunity of firing bring a single projectile at an american ves vea eel while admitting that the destruction of the collier in the harbor of santiago places an entirely new now phase upon the naval situation ia in cuban waters officials of the nay navy department are not prepared to leruo instructions to admiral sampson for the detachment of s a main section of hia his fleet until he be has been heard from in detail now that the spanish admiral is no longer to be regarded as a dangerous factor inthe in the transportation of lare large bodies of troops by sea to porto rico and santiago the war department is preparing to take immediate steps tor for forward forwarding inZ several transports trane porte to both bolh places and safe escort is to be afforded them by the ships now a part of the blockading fleets off havana with other vessels that are to td be relieved from further duty at santiago the army is relieved of the necessity now of 0 waiting further on the navy to provide it necessary necee eary ships and a large movement i in now expected ex to begin constructor IIo beona action in ob the channel chandel eo so that of escape bythe spanish beet is now remote removed all probabilities the most conservative officers agree of au am other great sea fight between the amer s v LJJ lean ican and spanish forces until lait latt thursday bath both admiral sampson and commodore schley are understood to have been ot of the opinion that the beavy heavY battleships and armored cruisers b by y exercise of caution and under the guidance of skilled pilots familiar with the waters could be le taken between the fortifications ficat ions andrup and up into the harbor but were convinced on representations made later that no battleship could possibly get around the turn at the narrowest pointon point of the channel where there ther ewas was barely water enough for the lighter vee eels of the spanish fleet beet therefore ther afore they abana abandoned oneA their ordinal program a and it if wae warnot not until admiral sampsons message was received that the department knew that stops had been taken to hold tight abo th spanish ships admiral sampsons program baring having been developed in the next course ol 01 procedure proc eduie executed by him hin a is yetto yet to ba b presented notwithstanding the fact that the wreck prevents the passage of ships io in or out of 61 sam saw tiago the policy of the navy department will not be to withdraw all the heavy fighting vessels now now blockading ani leave a loop through which cerveri might escape and mase mare his way t martinique where possibly be he couk secure sufficient coal to enable him im t reach some home port part several ct ot the heavily armored vessels inc including ludin two of the battles battleships bips and the net nef york are expected to be withdrawn for service in completing the destruction cf d what remains of the defenses defences de fences fenes at porto rico or to the landing of Ameri americal cai troops tor for the seizure and occupation if tf that port A suitable squad squadron roti w will illde be left iu front of oi santiago where it wit wil remain unquestionably until the knitel states Is a in actual possession of tie city the most substantial evidence bis his been civen given to naval officials since tie arrival of admiral cervera u in the wat indies if nf the value of such a blest if of heavily armored cruisers and the argest necessity that the american navy be ii it clemed by several additions of the tbs formidable type of ship Secre secretary tarT long is understood to have recognize that had bad the navy half a dozen ships of the brooklyn and w york type cerveris veras squadron could have been caught and defeated and anti that it would never have reached santiago with a fleet fleeton of these ships moving around bouth of cabs looking for it everyone every one of admiral vessels is ol 01 the hi highest a hest type of armored cruisers and more formidable than either of the american vessels on account of the heavy protection afforded its side the new nev york and anti the 1 haca 6 or of Oer veras verale ships but no other vessel of the american fleet is so fait last and at the same time 93 well armored because of the protection of the spanish vessels it became necessary to send battleships or mont monitors tors in whatever fleet beet was ordered to look for them but with six ships ship 0 of f the armored cruiser type tyne the experts agree that the enemy should have been beep bunted hunted down much sooner and destroyed or captured without the tle assistance of battleships the next armored cruisers built for the navy the constructors say should be heavily armored and have double the thickness of plates of those around the bides of the new fork ork and the brooklyn constructor hichborn is one of the strong advocates of this type of warship and believes thai that the next program should include several of 0 them |
