1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
377 
The War. 
BRIEF NOTES FOR BUSY PEOPLE. 
DIART OF THE WAR. 
The Immune Volunteer and Engineer hill passed 
the House. The Senate bill authorizing the army 
of invasion to issue food, supplies and arms to 
the Cubans was adopted by the House. The 
Spanish will not surrender Manila. The Atlantic 
fleet is expecting conflict in the vicinity of Puerto 
Rico, May 9. 
The Spanish fleet was reported at Cadiz. It is 
expected now that Admiral Sampson will reduce 
the fortifications at San Juan de Puerto Rico. 
Invasion of Cuba begun. Volunteers are being 
mustered into the regular army, May 10. 
The actual whereabouts of the Spanish fleet 
unknown. Spanish torpedo-boat destroyer De¬ 
structor blown up in Straits of Gibraltar. Car¬ 
denas bombarded; five Americans killed and tor¬ 
pedo boat Winslow injured. Report that our 
forces made two attempts to land at Cienfuegos, 
and were repulsed with heavy loss, May 11. 
Naval attack on San Juan de Puerto Rico. Iowa 
and Indiana fired first shots; Spanish forts re¬ 
duced to ruins. Spanish torpedo boats reported 
off Nantucket. American torpedo boats ordered 
to patrol the New England coast. Gen. Wesley 
Merritt appointed military governor of the 
Philippines. The Spanish in Manila refuse to 
submit, and anarchy prevails in the interior of 
the island. Immediate reinforcements are re¬ 
quired. It is now reported that the Spanish fleet 
has passed Martinique, bound for Cuba, May 12. 
American loss at the bombardment of Puerto 
Rico, two killed and seven wounded. Flying 
Squadron left Hampton Roads. Admiral Samp¬ 
son has not tsiken possession of Puerto Rico, but 
is awaiting the Spanish fleet near San Juan, 
May 13. 
Spanish fleet stops at Curacao, Dutch West 
Indies. Schley and Sampson closing in upon it, 
in the Caribbean Sea. Spanish fleet reported 
short of coal. Spain negotiating with Cuban in¬ 
surgents. Great distress reported in Manila. 
Spanish torpedo gunboat Terror docked for re¬ 
pairs at Fort de France, Martinique. Reported 
capture of auxiliary cruiser Yale unfounded, 
May 15. 
It is said that $185,000 will he divided 
among the American sailors who took 
part in the fighting at Manila. Destruc¬ 
tion seems to pay better than many forms 
of production. 
The western railroads are to display 
flags on their engines as war signals. The 
United States flag in various combina¬ 
tions with red and blue flags will indi¬ 
cate victory or defeat on land or sea. 
Hundreds of men who considered 
themselves in good physical condition, 
are being rejected by the army surgeons 
because their toes are drawn in. These 
“ hammer toes ” are thought to indicate 
that the men will not stand a long march. 
The public are getting over the idea 
that it is going to be “too easy ” to whip 
Spain. The Spaniards are, evidently, 
prepared to put up a desperate fight. 
They have the advantage of climate and 
season, which will count for much. 
Some one has sent Admiral Sampson 
the jawbone of a mule with the follow¬ 
ing tag: 
While this weapon may be regarded by you as 
obsolete, we trust that the victories won with it 
by your illustrious ancestor may inspire you to 
still greater victories with the additional equip¬ 
ment you possess. 
It is said that the Government is ne¬ 
gotiating for the purchase of some Bos¬ 
ton ferryboats, to be mounted with small 
rapid-firing guns. They will be utilized 
as floating batteries for harbor defense. 
It is thought that their wooden construc¬ 
tion would not be objectionable for this 
purpose. 
It is stated that, already, 188 war cor¬ 
respondents have obtained passes to ac¬ 
company the army of invasion to Cuba. 
The War Department is expressing dis¬ 
approbation of this small army of jour¬ 
nalists, and it is likely that they will be 
seriously weeded out when they reach 
Cuba. This list includes two women, one 
of whom represents a Canadian paper. 
Lieut. Andrew S. Rowan, who was 
sent to Cuba on a secret mission of great 
danger, is reported safe on British terri¬ 
tory, in the Bahamas. Lieut. Rowan 
was sent to confer with some of the 
Cuban insurgent leaders, an enterprise 
for which he was well fitted by his 
knowledge of the language and the 
people. His mission, and its danger, 
were known to a number of the news¬ 
paper correspondents, who respected the 
confidence given, and did not publish 
it, in spite of its value as news. One 
correspondent, however, did not feel 
thus bound in honor, and the news of 
Rowan’s mission was given out. It is 
merely good fortune that this breach of 
confidence did not result in the death of 
the brave man who had gone alone, in 
the face of tremendous risks, to secure 
valuable information for his Govern¬ 
ment. We cannot wonder that the War 
Department is observing such secrecy in 
its plans of campaign. 
Don Cari.os, the Spanish pretender, is 
said to be a man of great wealth, and 
opposed to even the slight legislative 
freedom the Spanish people now enjoy (?). 
He does not believe in parliamentary 
government. The figure of the Queen 
Regent fighting for her son’s throne is 
pathetic, to say the least. 
The House committee on foreign affairs 
has voted, 10 to 4, in favor of the annexa¬ 
tion of Hawaii. The chances now are 
that the Senate will concur. The pros¬ 
pect that the United States will be called 
upon to administer the government of 
the Philippines has changed the whole 
situation as regards Hawaii. 
What is to be done with the Philip¬ 
pines ? That is the question now puz¬ 
zling the administration. It will not do 
for this country to attempt to hold them 
permanently. There would be little 
sense in handing them back to Spain to 
be squeezed harder than ever. Will they 
be sold to England ? The future is full 
of mystery. One thing is sure—the Ad¬ 
ministration seems to be handling affairs 
with skill and good judgment. 
The War Revenue bill has been so 
generally amended by the Finance Com¬ 
mittee of the Senate that it is practically 
a new bill. The bond provision is elim¬ 
inated, and the amendments include a 
corporation tax of one-fourth of one per 
cent, provision for the coinage of the 
silver seigniorage, and the issuance of 
$150,000,000 in greenbacks. The corpora¬ 
tion tax covers the gross receipts of all 
corporations except charitable, religious, 
educational, eleemosynary, and mutual 
benefit associations. 
One of the features of a modern war 
fleet is a refrigerating vessel fully 
equipped with a refrigerating and cold- 
storage plant. Such a one will accom¬ 
pany Admiral Sampson’s fleet, and is said 
to be capable of carrying enough perish¬ 
able supplies to last the fleet for a week. 
The idea is to distribute the supplies to 
the vessels composing the blockading 
fleet, then return to some Gulf port for a 
new supply. The ice and fresh meats, 
vegetables, and fruits thus furnished 
will add greatly to the comfort and 
health of the men. 
Untie the rains began, Key West was 
threatened with a water famine. The 
main water supply of the town is from 
cisterns and rain barrels, there being 
but a few shallow wells, and these brack¬ 
ish and contaminated by surface drain¬ 
age. Two companies have, at various 
times, driven artesian wells from 1,800 
to 2,300 feet deep, but without securing 
fresh water. This year, the rains were 
late in coming, and the population of the 
town is doubled by the presence of 
troops, war vessels and newspaper cor¬ 
respondents. The warships and some 
others have condensers, for reducing sea 
water, and a Government condenser is 
promised. 
Speciai. disj)atches from Manila place 
the Spanish loss at 1,200 men. The 
Spanish property destroyed by the Ameri¬ 
can fleet is estimated at $6,000,000. The 
city of Manila is said to be in much the 
same condition as Havana, being shut in 
both by sea and land. The supply of 
provisions is said to be short. The 
Governor-General has received orders to 
resist an attack to the death, and the 
Spanish are not likely to surrender until 
the city of Manila is blown to pieces. 
The War Department is hurrying the 
work of preparing men and arms to he 
sent to Manila. This will include troops 
from California, Washington, Oregon, 
Idaho and Utah. The battleship, Oregon, 
put in to Bahia, Brazil, and has left that 
port. The Spanish torpedo gunboat, 
Temerario, which, it was thought, might 
molest the Oregon, has passed up the 
Parana river, apparently bound for 
Paraguay. 
Gen. Roy Stone, of the Agricultural 
Department, will go with the army to 
Cuba to oversee the construction of good 
roads. He will take an outfit of im¬ 
proved road-building machinery, and 
show the Dons how good highways are 
built. 
Prices of binder twine have advanced. 
Sisal and Manila fiber have advanced in 
price, and still further advances are 
probable. Manila hemp is, also, advanc¬ 
ing, and supplies on hand are short as 
compared with one year ago. All fibers 
have been declared contraband of war, 
so vessel owners are not liable to take 
many chances with them. Under the in¬ 
creased prices of grain, farmers are in a 
better position to stand an increase in 
price of twine, still it is likely that some 
cheaper substitute will be developed. 
We thought, at one time, that Norway 
was likely to he the next European Re¬ 
public. Now Italy seems on the verge 
of revolution. Fierce riots have occurred, 
caused chiefly by the high prices of food. 
Much bloodshed has occurred, and the 
spirit of revolution seems spreading. It 
must be remembered, though, that Euro¬ 
peans are not, as a rule, ready for a re¬ 
publican form of government. France 
is governed more by the army than by 
the people. In Italy, a revolution will, 
probably, mean a change of kings—little 
else. 
Cardenas, the scene of the battle on 
May 11, is a city of about 25,000 inhabit¬ 
ants, about 100 miles east of Havana. 
The bay is one of the largest inlets on 
the northern coast of Cuba, but the 
entrance to the harbor is narrow, and 
dangerous to large vessels, containing 
many shoals and coral reefs. Owing to 
the character of the harbor, the Ameri¬ 
can ships were at a great disadvantage, 
the Spanish being supported by masked 
batteries, which did great execution be¬ 
fore the Winslow, Hudson and Wilming¬ 
ton could get out of range. 
WHEAT AND WAR IN ENGLAND. 
The war is having quite an unexpected 
effect upon the English wheat market. 
On Monday, May 2, the Mark Lane Ex¬ 
press declared that there was English 
wheat enough in hand to feed Great 
Britain for 15 days; there was foreign 
wheat on hand sufficieut for 17 days’re¬ 
quirements, and foreign wheat and flour 
on passage, enough for 37 days, that is, 
there was a fleet of between 300 and 400 
vessels on the sea bringing wheat or flour 
to the English market. There were thus, 
in sight, 69 days’ supplies of bread. Be¬ 
fore the next English harvest would be 
available, enough wheat and flour to 
feed Great Britain for 52 days must be 
secured. Spot wheat was at that time 
bringing 50 shillings a quarter, or $1.50 
a bushel in the British markets, and the 
old scheme of building granaries large 
enough to hold a year's supply of wheat, 
was being agitated. Speaking of the 
dependence of England upon other coun¬ 
tries for food, the Mark Lane Express 
says: 
Who holds the foreign wheat absolutely needed 
to feed the English people when the English crop 
is exhausted? Not the English nation, which 
buys the mummies of the Egyptian Pharaohs, but 
knows not how to acquire even such early wisdom 
as pointed to national grain stores, and led those 
same Pharaohs to see the food wants of their 
people. For the fact that we have enough foreign 
wheat in granary to feed the country even for 
17 days we have to thank about two dozen Eng¬ 
lish buyers who acquired and stored the grain 
against the chance of their fellow citizens being 
ready to pay a remunerative price for it. Such a 
price is now being made, nor need it be grudged. 
Nobody would have subscribed to refund their 
losses to the importers bad they been undersold 
by new and heavy shipments by quick steamers 
from North and South America; and to play a 
national part on t of private resources is a perilous 
game. 
It is also well understood on the other 
side that, if the present war were to be 
prolonged,England’s wheat supply would 
be in danger. If some European power 
with a large navy were to join with 
Spain so that our larger ports would be 
blockaded, the English people would soon 
be practically without bread. Even as 
the matter stands, the Mark Lane Ex¬ 
press puts it accurately when it says : 
Business has still to be done to secure food for 
52 days, the grain having to be bought on sample 
or by grade, delivered at the port of shipment, 
shipped, carried, received, landed, placed on mar¬ 
ket, sold to the miller, delivered at the mill, sold 
to the baker, delivered at the shop, and finally 
made into bread and delivered to the actual con-✓ 
sumer. And most of these steps cannot be hur¬ 
ried ; no, not if an angry crowd were waiting out¬ 
side the bakers’ shops. 
As we have stated, there has always been 
a party in England that advocated state 
granaries which should hold wheat 
enough to provide a year’s supply of 
bread. It was proposed to fill these 
granaries in years of low prices, and so 
far as possible, keep them stored with 
wheat. The recent English experiments 
in compressing flour have something of 
the same end in view, as it is likely that 
the compressed flour could be kept longer 
than whole grain. It is said that, by 
coating the blocks of compressed flour 
with gelatine, they would keep nearly 
as long as ordinary canned meat, and it 
seems evident that the sentiment in favor 
of increasing the English stock of wheat 
or flour, is growing steadily in favor. 
The effect of this change of policy would, 
for the next two or three years, undoubt¬ 
edly be favorable to American growers, 
for it would require very large addi¬ 
tional purchases of wheat from this 
country to fill the English granaries. 
When once filled, its probable effect 
upon the English farmer would be bad, 
for this vast stock of wheat constantly 
held on hand, would be likely to depress 
the price of grain in the English mar¬ 
ket. The present war is certainly edu¬ 
cational in more ways than one. It has 
been demonstrated that the heart of a 
modern warship lies in her engines and 
coal bunkers. These vesstls cannot fight 
without fuel, and nations are learning 
that cheap and abundant food supplies 
are of vital necessity in times of war. 
Men who work 
on, in, or by the 
water, or are ex¬ 
posed to the cold 
or damp are prone 
to suffer from that 
most painful dis¬ 
ease, rheumatism. 
This is a disease 
of the blood and 
can only be per- 
ently cured 
going back to 
first principles 
and driving out 
all impurities, 
and filling the ar¬ 
teries with a new, 
rich, red, healthy 
life-stream. 
This is the rea¬ 
son why Dr. Pierce’s Golden Medical Dis¬ 
covery is an unfailing cure for that disease. 
It is the greatest of all blood medicines. 
It creates a keen and hearty appetite. It 
cures all disorders of the digestion and 
makes the assimilation of the life-giving 
elements of the food perfect. It invigor¬ 
ates the liver and tones the nerves. It is 
the greatest of all known blood-makers and 
blood - purifiers. It builds firm, healthy 
flesh, but does not make corpulent people 
more corpulent. Unlike cod liver oil, it 
does not make flabby flesh, but tears down 
the unhealthy tissues that constitute cor¬ 
pulency, carries off and excretes them, and 
replaces them with the solid, muscular tis¬ 
sues of health. It drives all impurities, 
disease germs and acids from the blood 
In Dr. Pierce’s Common Sense Medical 
Adviser many sufferers from rheumatism, 
whose cases were considered hopeless, tell 
the story of their recovery under this won¬ 
derful medicine. Their names, addresses 
and photographs are given by their own 
request, and anyone who wishes to do so 
may write them. Good druggists sell the 
“ Golden Medical Discovery.” 
When a dealer urges some substitute 
he’s thinking of the larger profit he’ll 
make—not of your welfare. 
“ I suffered from rheumatism in my left shoul¬ 
der and elbow," writes Rev. Wilson Williams, of 
Trinity Station, Morgan Co., Ala. “ Dr. Pierce’s 
Golden Medical Discovery completely cured me 
at a cost of only four dollars." 
For a free, paper-covered copy of Doctor 
Pierce’s Common Sense Medical Advisei 
send 21 one-cent stamps, to cover mailing 
only. Cloth - bound 31 stamps. Address 
Dr. R. V. Pierce, Buffalo, N. Y. A medical 
library in one 1008-page volume. 
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