THE HERALDJ Double Sheet? \u25a0' \u25a0 =========== i irw-m

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TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR. NO. 236. LOS ANGELES, TUESDAY MORNING. MAY 24, 1898 PRICE FIVE CENTS

A NEW LOT OF PLANS MADEfor the Quick Capture of the

City of Havana

TO BE TAKEN FROM WATER FRONT

By Blazing a Way Through the MainStreets of the City

Courageous Spaniards Adopt a New Method of NavalWarfare by Setting Mines Afloat in

the High Seas

SPECIAL TO THE HERALD.

Washington, May 23.?New pans for the bombardment of Havanaand its occupation by United States troops have been submitted to the pres-ident and the secretary of the navy. It has the approval of several officershigh in the navy, who say that it is the most feasible and practicable wayof storming the city. The plan suggested is to take the city from thewater front and storm it with troops and marines while the walls are beingbattered by the warships. President McKinley has been told that if hewould only give the order, the dynamite cruiser Vesuvius, supported bythree or four heavy vessels, could clear the way for the landing partieswithin three hours, and blaze a pathway a mile wide through the heart ofthe city/iwhich would be safe for the land forces. It is argued that thetaking of the city could be brought about in this way with less loss of timeand men than by taking it, as now proposed, by an attack on the fortifica-tions.

Fighting With Floating MinesKey West, May 13.? (Special to The Herald.) News reached here

today of an attempt to blow up the boats of the blockading squadron. Whatis believed to have been a submarine mine was exploded yesterday by theSpanish twenty miles off Cape San Antonio. Officers on our ships saythat Spain has put floating mines throughout the gulf stream in an attemptto blow up the blockading squadron and newspaper fleet. The vessels werescouting well out from land in the Yucatan channel and were in a semi-circle 800 yards apart when tr explosion lifted the ships and sent seamenand officers spinning across i, decks. It was at first thought that it wasthe i;hock of a large gun and he men rushed to quarters. "The explosionadds new features to naval warfare," one of the officers said.

None of our ships were injured, but the explosion warns all vessels tolook out for floating mines.

Ready to Take the RoadWashington, May 23.? (Special to The Herald.) Sixty thousand

United States troops will be poured into Cuba at once. The first detach-ment of the army of invasion, aocording to good authority, is now on theway to Cuba. Other transports will sail from Tampa today and tomor-row. The war department has completed preparations to land 25,000troops within thirty-six hours. The war department has planned a move-ment like Dewey's?swift and overwhelming?to completely surpriseBlanco. Two places for landing have been chosen?one east of Havana,the other west. Gunboats willclear the way, knocking down any fortifica-tions and driving away any force that may try to prevent disembarkation.An engineer and signal corps will land with the first troops. The bases ofsupplies will be at once strongly fortified against attack by either land orsea. The two divisions of the invading army will be in admirable positionto close in on Havana. President McKinley himself is the force that has setthe army in motion. He would hear of no further delay. He took anactive hand in all the plans and is familiar with even the smaller details ofthe invasion.

The Seventh ChosenSan Francisco, May 23.?C01. Berry, of the Seventh California vol-

unteers, has been informed by General Otis that his regiment has beenselected to go on the second expedition to the Philippines. This is welcomenews to the men of the Seventh, who are anxious to get to the front assoon as possible. This regiment will be immediately transferred from th*Presidio to Camp Richmond. ,

THE SPANISH SQUADRON WHICH SAMPSON AND SCHLEY ARE HUNTING

SPAIN'S FIRST NAVAL VICTORYAs the Story Goes at Key West* the.Little Mangrove Has Been

Picked Up by a Big Cruiser and Every Officer and Manon Board Butchered in Cold Blood by Spaniards

BPECIAL TO THE HERALD

Key West, May 23-?This town is all agog over a story of our first naval disaster.The report goes from mouth to mouth that the Mangrove has been captured by the Spaniards.The wildest stories run. It was said that the little lighthouse tender's entire complement ofofficers and men had been butchered. Then this was modified to the extent of saying thatthey had been taken to Santiago de Cuba. Everybody was filled with fear for the worst.The naval station here would not verify the story, but those in charge were evidently uneasyover it. Telegrams sent to Washington asking whether or not the dread report was trueelicited unsatisfactory replies. As the story went, the American steamer had been picked up"by a big Spanish cruiser off the southern coast of Cuba." It was supposed she had beengrappling for the Santiago cable to cut it and cut off the Spaniards from Madrid. She wasespecially equipped for this work.

The Mangrove was not intended for active and hard fighting. This year after she hadacted as a sort of dispatch boat between Havana and Key West in the days of the Maine in-quiry and had brought over the recovered guns of the sunken battleship, she was equippedwith two rapid-fire one-pounders and cable grappling apparatus, and placed in charge ofLieutenant-Commander E. William Everett. The crew consisted of thirteen. With her twoone-pounders and thirteen men, she distinguished herself during the blockade in the latterpart of April by capturing the big Spanish steamer Panama, which had two 14-pounders anda crew of seventy-two men.

CERVERA'S MALADY?Seasickness and a Rapidly-Diminishing Coal-Scuttle

SPANISH FLEET AT CADIZWill Sail Out of the Harbor

This Morning

ITS DESTINATION BEING UNCERTAINDispossession of Dewey or Reinforcement of

Cervera the Object

The Delay in Sending Aid to Dewey Is Explained byShipping Laws Which Have Destroyed the

American Merchant Marine

SPECIAL TO THE HERALD. ~ \u25a0 " "

Madrid, May 23.?The "Manila"fleet will leave caaiz toflay or to-morrow, composed, as announced in yesterday's dispatches, of the Pelayo,Emperador Carlos V, Alfonzo XIII,the dispatah boats Patriota, Rapida andthree destroyers recently built in England, several torpedo boats and sevenauxiliary cruisers drawn from the mercantile marine. Admiral Camerareturned to Cadiz on Sunday. The government, after a number of confer*ences between Senor Aunon, minister of the colonies, and Premier Sagasta,has apparently renounced its intention to dispatch troops to Manilaand the 7000 troops intended for the Philippines will be distributed betweenthe Canary islands, Ceuta and the Balaeric islands. The government haspermitted the most unrestricted circulation of the announcement of the'departure of Admiral Camera's fleet for the Philippine islands. The fleet,perhaps, will start in a westerly direction, but will certainly sail under sealedorders, which will be opened on the high seas and will probably direct it toattempt a conjunction with Cervera. The Spanish garrisons are being re-inforced in the neighborhood of Gibraltar, where England has great storesof coal and munitions of war.

Reasons for Our DelayWashington, May 23.?(8y Associated Press.) Much comment and

some criticism has been caused by the delay in forwarding troops to thePhilippine islands to support Admiral Dewey. Both the comment and thecriticism had their origin in the desire of the president that the fruits ofDewey's victory at Manila should not be endangered by any lack of assist-ance from the navy or the war department. It is known now that troopswould have been sent to Manila before this had it been possible for the wardepartment to secure transports on the Pacific coast. The utmost difficultyis being experienced by the department in obtaining such transports. Thecoastwise trade on the Pacific is not large as compared with that on theAtlantic, and a majority of the vessels engaged in the trade are of foreignregister. Of course, ships flying a foreign flag cannot be used as transportsby the government, as such would constitute a violation of the neutralitylaws of the nation whose flag the ship bore.

Tonight the war department is negotiating by telegraph with the PacificMail Steamship company for the charter of two of ihe company's vessels,the China and the Colon. The Colon flies the American colors but theChina is under the Hawaiian flag.

The difference between the war department and the steamship companyis now one of price. Whether satisfactory terms will be agreed upon re.mains in doubt.

Tonight Assistant Secretary Meiklejohn received a telegraphic offerfrom the agent of the Northern Pacific Steamship company at Seattle, plac-ing at the disposal of the government the company's entire fleet of steamers,providing they be given American register. These ships are the Tacoma,Arizona, Olympia, Columbia, Victoria and Argyll. All are British builtvessels and fly the British flag.

Commenting upon the situation which confronts the department, Sec-retary Meiklejohn said:

"If we cannot get vessels at what we consider fair prices, we shall beforced to impress such as we may need into the service and leave the pricesto be adjusted subsequently by a board appointed for the purpose. Wehave made every poss be effort to secure vessels of American register; in-deed, we want nothing else, but it is impossible to obtain them on the Pa-cific coast. We shall have simply to ask congress to give American registerto vessels that we can obtain. There is no other way out of the difficulty."

The likelihood is that the war department will order such vessels of the(Continued on Page Two.)