Rensselaer Democrat, Volume 1, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 May 1898 — SEIZED AND FREED. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

SEIZED AND FREED.

FRENCH STEAMER LAFAYETTE HALTED NEAR HAVANA. Big Liner Taken to Key West, Where Release Quickly Follow. When It I. Learned She Had Special Permia■ion to Land in Cnba.

Causes a Sensation. Washington special: Failure of the commanding officers In the blockading squadron off Havana to receive orders sent out by the Navy Department several days previous resulted in the seizure on Thursday evening of the French steamer Lafayette. The ship was halted near Havana by the gunboat Annapolis and after being warned not to enter that port was allowed to proceed. She sailed directly, toward Havana, however, and she was again stopped and pseorted to Key West by the Wilmington. It was then learned j that special permission to enter Havana had been granted her at the request of the French government, but the blockading, officials had not been notified of the fact. She was thereupon released and left for Havana immediately. ,

B DEMAND FOR FOOD. Uncle Sam Orders 2,000,000 Ration* Bent from Chicaao to Chattanooga. Uncle Sain on Friday ordered 2,000,000 rations sent at once to Chnttauooga from Chicago. This amounted to about four train loads of bacon, hard bread, sugar,

coffee, beans, salt, pepper and vinegar, which are the component parts of the -soldier’s bill of fare. The item of bacon alone amounted to twenty-seven carloads, 900,000 pounds. Each of the items of principal food in the list of a ration’s constituents was shipped in quantities represented by six figure's and the total weight of the whole 2,000,000 rations is 1,500,000 pounds net. Last week there was shipped 1,500,000 pounds of bacon, the packing houses at the Chicago stockyards running night and day to keep up with the demand. The-whole amount of bacon required by this big ord j pr was the death of 9,000 hogs. GOING to CUBA. War Department Has Plans for Invasion All Completed. It was learned by a Washington correspondent Monday from very high authority that between 00,000 and 80,000 men will bo landed on Cuban soil at once. The first section of the army to invade Cuba will be the 15,000 or 18,000 troops that are now assembled at New Orleans and Tampa. They are all regulars, and most of them are men who have seen actual fighting on the plnins. They are seasoned, disciplined, effective. They will be followed at once by another army of 50,000 volunteers, who will be concentrated at Southern ports as quickly as the trains can carry them and will be transported as fast as the necessary ships c*n be collected. It is estimated that it will take at least 300 vessels to carry this immense axniy to Cuba. Nearly everything that floats has already been secured by the Government. Fired 140 Tone of Projectiles. There are some very interesting figures as to the amount of firing done by our ships during the battle in Manila bay. The Olympia fired 1,7G4 shells, aggregating twenty-five tons in weight. The Baltimore did even heavier firing, being called upon to reduce the forts after the first engagement, and sent no less than thirtyfive tons of metal into the Spanish ships and the land batteries. The remainder of the fleet shot a total of eighty tons of metal, making a grand total of 140 tons. Cutting the Cable. In regard to the entting of the cable, Admiral Dewey regarded the action as necessary. He sent word to the governor by the, British consul that if he was permitted to send his dispatches to the United States Government the cable would not be cut. The governor refused to promise and Admiral Dewey decided to stop all communication between Manila and Madrid. j. Ship Munitions of War. Eighteen carloads of munitions of war were shipped Thursday from Rock Island, 111., to Southern and Atlantic seaports for the army. The shipment includes gun carriages, caissons, SpAngfield rifles and nearly 3,000,000 rounds of ammunition.

IN A U. S. COMMISSARY WAREHOUSE.