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About The Rockdale banner. (Conyers, Ga.) 1888-1900 | View Entire Issue (July 14, 1898)
issd Second Demand i [ Truce Were Again Ran Pending Negotiations. en Wheeler Bore . the Messages. ssociated Press dispatch of from Siboney, via Kingston^ concerted movement has been ty United States army and ■ainst the city of Santiago de thich the American American officers be- 111 result in the almost immedi [of flect, the lying city. oft Aguac ores, ree kst of Morro, began the bom nt of Santiago on Sunday after ad continued it Monday morn Sotwitbstanding the fact that [ps had although to fire at the an range extreme was D [five a and miles, the aim was so ac Lat City many of the shells in fell in and set fire to it four shell struck St. Michael’s ia which a quantity of pow j stored, aud blew it to pieces, ng the bombardment from the army extended its lines and ■loser Hv to the city, so that at noon every road and trail leading ■‘the city was guarded and the ■ of the Spanish soldiers seemed ■siMe. It The only way they can of the city is to ferry across ly Ind to the western side could of the bar Le even then they not get interior without encountering the time the warships were arding Santiago the batteries of pry on the hills facing the city fed the Spatrsh entrenchments leeeived but a feeble response, p American sharpshooters also in a deadly fire, and the Span 'fell back to their last entrench s, offering but little resistance, Americans suffered no loss, about noon General Shafter coin cated by signal with Rear Admiral |)sou requesting the latter to cease [g. feeler Then into the the Spanish general sent lines, General under b of truce, with a message to Gen [Toral, ting the the fact Spanish that the commander, American is had given complete demonstra that they could throw shells into city and destroy it at will, that the sricau troops had the city practi ' surrounded and there were Spanish and Cuban refugee* ring to death at El Caney, and pointing out that our army had no ns of feeding them. reneral Shafter the > demanded the onditional surrender of tho city, coupled this demand with the lement that unless General Toral r ed the assault upon the city, both j e iand and sea force, would be [e«ed e 01 ® at an once. y reply Several received hours elaps- from* r was f e ; J a General r°ral,and Shafter then he to sent the a effect mes L L ., e latter was of snch great im [ lV anc ® t0 rimt tb Madrid he had been obliged to e government,and I c vouid send his final answer as 3 C0l rid receive instructiens m Madrid. w , Toral Again Refuses. ue sday morning General Toral sent a r jPly to General Shafter’s second and for the unconditional S tiago surren an made by tho latter at!a ? afternoon: In his reply General Toral referred refu sa i to accede to the Ameri a . demand made on Sunday and ain reiterated his determination resis t, STARVING AT GUANTANAMO. Tteen ^aths D.» Among y the Be T-eagured Inhabitants. [ Advices received c 0 a t C v CaI c !V f the Marblehead, from^he i e ‘, ' aa utanam° f show that the L. S stary ation there average tauT ei i of * £ Guantanamo, General Perez, has the com feo S accor and the given up ‘eafbv* , town could be dsk th r Were ^ worth while to Dh e entrnJ nCe 68 fr ° the m Ameri can troops, lower I .T- * atro u Pper to the launches* Tn ?u * ied nboa nightly ts in the by steam r Several ay ha-ro *7* C ° sbown themselves upper l for a a s ~ ALL MINES NOW PLACED TO BE EXPLODED. UN OBSTRUCTION TO COMMERCE. A Signal Evidence of Supreme Confi¬ dence on Part of the Government As to the Future. The secretary of war has ordered the removal of all submarine mines which now protect the harbors of the United States against the entry of hostile ships. This action was de¬ cided upon at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting. For weeks past, in fact al¬ most since the beginning of hostili¬ ties, the war department has been de¬ luged with protests from the com¬ mercial interests of the country against the continuance of these mines, which operated to the great detriment of commerce. In certain cases influences were brought to bear that secured an abatement of the rules, but this only j ncrease( j the dissatisfaction in locali¬ ties where they were rigidly applied, Practically it has been impossible for shipping to enter or leave any of th# harbors of the United States Spring the last two months during the hours of sunset and sunrise. The de¬ c i s j on 0 f the cabinet to remove these mines now is one of the most signifi¬ cant manifestations of the supreme confidence of the government in the future and the protection of the United States from attack at the hands of any hostile power. After thoroughly considering the subject, it has been decided by the engineers that the safest and quickest means of removing the mines is by exploding them and the orders to do this have been pre¬ pared for transmission to all the United States engineer officers in charge of harbor defences throughout the coun¬ try. While the mines proper are to be removed, all the incidental attach¬ ments necessary to their attainment and retention will be left, such as switchboards, etc., so if it is found to replace the mines it will be done on short notice. CARRIERS MUST PAY. A Decision as to Who Shall Furnish Ho¬ qulrod Revenue Stamp. A Washington dispatch says: In answer to references from the com missioner of internal revenue, all bearing upon the question as to whether the shipper or carrier shall pay for and affix the required revenue stamp to bills of lading, etc., Assist¬ ant Attorney General Boyd has held as follows: “The law makes it the duty of every railroad and steamboat company, car rier, express company or corporation, or person whose occupation it is to act as such, to issue to the shipper, consign or or his agent, or person from whom any goods are lading,"'manifest accepted for transporta tion a bill of of some other evidence of the receipt of goods, or merchandise received from carriage and transportation, and this bill of lading, manifest of memorandum re quires a revenue stamp of the value of one cent affixed to it and cancelled, In case of failure to issue such bill of lading the law imposes a penalty of $50 upon the carrier guilty of such failure, “The penalty for failure to so affix the stamp is not more.than $100. The purpose of the law is clear. It was to tax the carrier, and not the shipper, and these provisions undoubtedly fix upon the express companies and other carriers the duty of providing, affix ing and cancelling the stamp, and their failure to so provide, affix and cancel such stamp subjects them to the penalties provided by law.” CAPT. GRIDLEY’S ASHES En Route to Erie Enclosed In Unpreten tious Bece P tacle - ln an unpretentious wooden box which arrived in Chicago Tuesday were the ashes of Captain Charles V. Gridley, late commander of Admiral Dewe y’ 8 flagship, the Olympia. The box was transshipped over the Chica g° and Erie railroad to Ene,Pa ; , the home of the late commander. No escort accompanied the urn. DEVOLVES UPON SAGASTA. Conservatives Are Xot Prepared to Accept Cabinet Positions. a Madrid special of Tuesday says. The crisis haDgs fire ’ The ministers still meet in council and the difficulties of retirement seem even greater than the difficulties of remaining in office, The conservutives are not prepared imagine to accept office, and it is hard to a liberal cabinet without an undisputed liberal leader. asked Senor Sagasta, on being whether a decision had been taken regarding peace, replied: there be “No, but what remedy can but to make peace?” SESSION JUST CLOSED OUTRANKS ALL PRECEDING ONES. REPLETE WITH WftR LEGISLATION Total Appropropriatlons Were 8900,000, OOO of Which $350,000,000 Was Solely For War Pnrposes. The passing of the second session of the fifty-fifth congress marked the close of the first war congress in a quarter of a century. Associated with the first hostile conflict with a nation of another continent since 1812, the annexation of Hawaii and eontempo raueous with a further movement for territorial expansion, though with few important changes in the domestic scheme, the congress just adjourned outranks almost any other that has ev er assembled. It began with a widespread clamor for sympathetic action for suffering Cuba, but there was apparently then no expectation of an armed conflict. But when the trend of events culmi nated, the emergency was quickly n?et and necessary legislation enacted. The first few but significant war measures, suddenly needed, were framed and made law, but with the issue made clear there was a flood of bills and resolutions that fairly submerged the two branches of congress. Hawaiian annexation, Spain and Cuba war appropriations and war reve nue legislation, organization of the vast volunteer army and expansion of the navy, a n«w bankruptcy law all these were features of the session. Urgent deficiency bills, carrying millions of dollars,were rushed through with far less delay than marked the course of an ordinary measure of little importance. The total appropriations footed al most $900,000,000, and upwards of $350,000,000 of this was for purely war purposes. It was the largest ag gregate by any session since the civil war and the general deficiency was the largest separate measure aince $750, 000,000 was appropriated in 1863. The naval appropriation bill pro vided for three new battleships, four monitors, sixteen torpedo boat destroy ers and one gun boat. The urgent deficiency bills all carried provisions for aggressive work in the progress of the war. The general deficiency, enacted in the last few days, carried » provision for refunding the indebted ness of the central and western PaciR railroads to the government. Cuba and Hawaii were the import ant matters of debate and provoke the most widespread interest. There were a number of message from President McKinley bearing 9. the Cuban situation, ranging from the submission of a report upon the Maine disaster and the consular reports to the call for a declaration of war. The first real war legislation was when congress placed, without limita tions, $50,000,000 in the president’s hands as an emergency fund for na tional defense. Party lines were swept away and both houses unanimously voted its confidence in the administration. Soon after a bill reimbursing the survivors of the Maine disaster for their losses, not to exceed a year’s pay, with a similar amount to those who perished, became law. April 11 the president in a message left the Cuban issue in the hands of congress. Resolutions were soon en acted and became a law April 19 de¬ claring that the people of Cuba ought to be and are free and independent, and demanding that Spain relinquish its authority and withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters, and directing the use of our land and naval forces to enforce the resolutions. The declaration of war was passe# by congress and approved on April 25th. Three days before the declarer tion President MoKinley had appro* ed the volunteer act. Under it all tht soldiers massed against Spain muste* ed in the entire volunteer army hav4 been raised, embracing 125,000 mea under the first and 75,000 under the second call. One feature the session was the en actment of a war revenue law. Its framers expected it to produce $150, 000,000. minor legisla There was much war tion effected. Other legislation, aside from war, included: seals Prohibiting the killing of fur in the Northern Pacific, and importa tion of seal skins into this country; prohibiting foreign vessels from carry ing merchandise directly er indirectly between United States perte; an Alaskan homestead and right of way act- encouraging railroad construction; annropriamg $200,000 for the relief of the Yukon miners suffering front the fierce winters there; appro nriatins P $473 151 to pay the Behring sea awards - adjusting the old land dis pute between the United States anfl the state of Arkansas, the compro mise calling for a payment from th« latter of $100,5*2. OF THE SINKING OF THE MERRI MAC IN SANTIAGO HARBOR. VESSEL’S RUDDER SHOT AWAY. Speaks In Glowing Terms of the Courage and Bravery of His Crew During the Trying Ordeal. A dispatch to The New York Herald from off Santiago, Cuba, says: Your correspondent saw Mr. Hob¬ son after he had made his report to Amiral Sampson and he consented to give The Herald a fuller interview about his experiences, He spoke in glowing terms of the courage and bravery of his crew. “We have been 33 days in a Spanish prison,” said Mr. Hobson, “and the more j tllink about it the more mar _ velous it seems that we are alive. “It was 3 o’clock in the morning when the Merrimac entered the narrow channel and steamed in under the guns of Morro castle. The stillness of death prevailed. It was so dark that ' we could scarcely see the headland, We had planned to drop our starboard anchor at a certa j n po i n t to the right of the channel, reverse our engines an( j then swing the Merrimac around, sinking her directly across the channel, “This plan was adhered to, but cir cumstances rendered its execution im possible. When the Merrimac poked her nose into the channel our troubles commenced. The deadly silence was broken by the wash of a small boat approaching us from the shore. I ma( j e her out to be a picket boat, “She rau close up under the stern of the Merrimac and fired several shots from which it seemed to be three-pounder guns. The Merrimac’s mdder was carried away by this fire That is why the collier was sunk across the channel. “We did not discover the loss of the rudder until Murphy cast anchor. We then found that the Merrimac would no t answer to the helm, and were corn pelled to make the best of the situa tion. “The run up the channel was very exciting. The picket boat had given the alarm and in a moment the guns G f the Vizcaya, the Almirante Oqueudo an( j Q f the shore batteries were turned on us. “Submarine mines and torpedoes a i so explodod all about us, adding to the excitement. The mines did no damage, although we could hear rum¬ bling and could feel the ship tremble. “We were running without lights aiK i ou ly the darkness saved us from u tter destruction. When the ship was j n the desired position and we found that the rudder was gone, I called the men on deck. While they were launeh j Dg the Catamaran I touched off the explosives. “At the same moment two torpedoea, fired by the Reina Mercedes, struoi the Merrimac amidships. I cannot saj -whether our own explosives or the Spanish torpedoes did the work, but the Merrimac was lifted out of th* water and almost rent asunder, “As she settled down we scrambled overboard and cut away the Catamaran, A great cheer went up from the forts an( j warships as the hull of the collier foundered, tho Spaniards thinking the Merrimac was an American warship, “We attempted to get out of the harbor on the Catamaran, but a strong tide was running and daylight found U8 still struggling in the water. Then f 0 r the first time the Spaniards saw us> an d a boat from the Reina Mer cedes picked us up. It then was shortly after 5 o’clock in the morning, and we had been in the water more than an hour. We were taken aboard the Reina Mercedes and later were Be nt to Morro castle, “In Morro we were confined in cells jn the inner side of the fortress and were there the first day the fleet hom¬ barded Morro. I could only hear the whistling of the shells and the noise they made when they struck, but I judged from the conversation of the guards that the shells did considerable damage. “After this bombardment,Mr.Eams den, the British consul, protested,and we were removed to the hospital, There I was separated from the other men in our crew and could see them only by special permission. Montague and Kelley fell ill two weeks ago, suf fering from malaria and I was permit ted to visit them twice, “Mr. Ramsden was very kind to uc and demanded that Montague an$ Kelly be removed to better quartern in the hospital. This was done, “As for myself there is little to say. The Spanish were not disposed to do much for the comfort of any of the prisoners at first, but, after our arm j had taken some of their men as priso ners their treatment was better. Food is scarce in the city, and I was told that we fared better than the Spanish officers, WAR PARAGRAPHS. A Brief Compilation of Daily Occurrences. The American losses at Santiago are now estimated at 1,7000 killed and wounded. While the cases at McHenry have been under treatment surgeons of the marine hospital service have been in¬ specting and watching carefully many other points where it was thought possible the fever might appear but no cases have developed. A belief is current in Madrid that the United States warships New York, Oregon aud Texas are now on their way to Spain, and precautions are be¬ ing taken at all the seaports to avoid a surprise. Paymaster General Stanton, of the army, has recommended to Secretary of War Alger the appointment of twenty-five additional paymasters for the volunteer arm of the service. There are now on the rolls seventy paymasters in the volunteers and twenty-five in the regular army, but this force is inadequate for the work at hand. The armistice at Santiago came to an end Sunday at noon and bombard¬ ment was promptly begun. Owing to the diiorders that have followed the payment of the soldiers at Camp Thomas, Chickamauga, Gen¬ eral Brooke has recently issued a stringent order allowing only two men from one company, troop or battery to be absent at one time, and this or¬ der is being rigidly enforced. The Loudon Observer’s Vienna cor¬ respondent says: “The Spanish re¬ verses have causes here a fresh out¬ burst of sympathy with Spain and there ia a greater prospect of interven¬ tion now than at any previous period of the war.” The men who have been fighting with General Shafter, near Santiago de Cnba, will soon hear the merry jingle of coin. Eighteen paymasters have gone to Tampa, taking with them the money for the soldiers, which will be considerably over $1,000,000, and this money will be taken direct to the Santiago battlefield, where it will be given to the soldiers. Superintendent L. M. Terrell, of the railway mail service, has gone to San¬ tiago to arrange for the establishment of a line of mail steamers between Key West and Cuba for the purpose of carrying mail to the land and naval forces who are now invading the island. William Jennings Bryan’s regiment of Nebraska Infantry has been ordered to join General Fitzhugh Lee’s corps at Jacksonville. The water supply for tho great army at Chickamauga has been satisfactorily provided for. General Boynton, of the park commission, states that the five well-digging outfits at the park would sink at once an artesian well in every one of the regimental camps not now having one, and this in addition to the water received from Chicka¬ mauga river by the pipe line will give ample supply for a much larger force than is now in camp. Two hundred and thirty-five of our soldiers wounded at Santiago are now at Fort McPherson, Ga., undergoing treatment in the general hospital. They give thrilling accounts of their experiences in the great conflicts of Jnne 1st and 2d. The fear is expressed among officials at Washington that during the armis¬ tice a majority of the Spanish soldiers escaped after looting the houses of the refugees. It is feared that Shafter permitted the parleying to last too long, thus affording an opportunity for escape with arms aud provisions. At El Caney there are 10,000 miser¬ able refugees from Santiago, old men, women and children whom the Span¬ iards have permitted to go to our lines to get food. The plight of these help¬ less people is heartrending. The Americans are doing all they can for them. The British sloop Wary, n block a le runner captured on the 2d instant by tho St. Louis, has arrived at Key West under a prize crew. She is a twentv one-ton vessel and was loaded with provisions of a miscellaneous charac¬ ter, bound from Kingston for Cape Cruz. She was boldly attempting in the face of all risks to land a cargo for the starving Spaniards. A revised and corrected list from Gen. Shafter of the American casual¬ ties before Santiago July 1, 2 and 3, shows 1,595 men killed, wounded or missing. The board of survey appointed to investigate the condition of the Span¬ ish ships sunk near Santiago reported that only one can be saved. Gen. Blanco cabled Madrid that the volunteers are anxious for the war to continue. Spaniards threw overboard and dis¬ abled guns on Cervera’s ships after they had surrendered. The Rome correspondent of the London Daily Mail, recorded the in¬ terchange of telegrams between the Yetican and Madrid, with a view of urging the queen regent in the direc¬ tion of peace, says: “The action of the Vatican has been very cautious in order to avoid displeasing the United States.”
