Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 85, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 July 1898 — PORTS TO BE CLOSED. [ARTICLE]

PORTS TO BE CLOSED.

Blockade of the Entire Cuban Coast . Is Ordered. PROCLAMATION BY THE PRESIDENT. / - l United States Ships to Be Employed to Cnt Off Every Source of Food and Other Supplies Isom the Enemy. Washington, June 29.—8 y proclamation the president gives notiee of the intention of the government to assume the formidable task of blockading about 500 miles of Cuban coast-line in addition to the sections already blockaded. This increases the extent of the blockade fully fourfold, it having beep confined heretofore to a stretch of a little more than 100 miles on the Dorth and the single port of Cienfuegos on the south coast of the island. The demands upon the navy in the way of ships tp patrol the coast, however, will not be nearly so heavy in proportion to the territory to be covered as in the case of the inßial blockade, fofi the reason that the new blockaded coast-line lies entirely within the great bight on the south Cuban coast, in which the water is generally very shallow and the ports are few into which a vessel of any draft could enter. The most important of these ports are Manzanillo, Trinidad and Tunas. West ol Trinidad is Cienfuegos, which

| is already blockaded effectively. From ! that point westward for nearly 140 miles there is no point to be blockaded until Batabano is reached. This pairt is distant only about 40 miles from Havana ' by rail and is believed to have be<«n the principal source of food supplies for the | Spanish capital. For 150 miles west of ! this, clear over to Cape Frarsoes, the i western edge of the blockaded terriJ tory, there are no ports for deep vessels ! of any considerable draft, and even if ! there were the country in the interior, i Pinar del Kio, is in the hands at the insurgents and supplies could not be sent through to Havana. The purpose of extending the blockade westward to Cape Frances was to command the channel between the west s,ide c»f the Isle i of Pines and Cape Frances, and thus | render much easier the task of the ■ blockading vessels. Text or tbe I’rocUmslton. The prociaination is as follows: "Whereas, For the reasons aet forth In I niy proclamation of April 22, 189 k, a blockade of ports on the northern coast of Cuba 1 from Cardenas to Bahia Honda, Inclusive, I and of the port of Clenfueiros, oo the south coast of Cuba, was declared to have I been Instituted, and, | • "Whereas, It has become desirable to exi tend the blockade to other soothers ports. “Now, therefore, I, William McKinley, ! president of the United States, do hereby declare and proclaim that, In addition to the blockade of the ports specified In my proclamation of Apfil 22, 1898. tb* United Stales of America has instituted tea d will maintain an effective blockade of all of ) the ports on the south coast of Cuba from Cape Frances to Cape Crux, tnokuatve. and also of the port of San Juan In the Island of Puerto Rico. “Neutral vessels In any of the porta to which the blockade Is by the present proclamation extended will be allowed VU days to Issue therefrom with cargo. ,"ln witness whereof, etc., “WILLIAM M’KINLET, j “President of the United States of America.” “June 27, 1898. By the President. "J. B. MOORK, “Acting Secretary of State.” Vessels to Maintain the BtoeXsile. Tbe vessels for the additional blockade service will be supplied almost eni tirely from tbe patrol fleet which under Commodore Howell has been guarding the North Atlantic coast from Maine to South Carolina. This service baa been abandoned because tbe otsfy available Spanish warships are wKh Admiral Camara, thousands of miles uvwrj from the nearest point on tbe Atlantic ooast. The vessels are already on tbeir way southward, having been reenforwed by several of the new torpedo boats which are particularly adapted becauae of their light draft for blockade <f»ty in the shallow waters lying behind the Isle of Pines and Cuba. Illuckadr of Kan JnM. The blockade of San Juan alno proclaimed is in reality alre&ffy in effect, having been initiated by CapC Slgwbee last week when he turned from that port a British steamer l&dee with supplies. The difficulty of maintaining a blockade at this port, in the fttce of the Spanish forts and three Spanish war vessels in the harbor, would be considerable bad not Capt. Sigsbee by disabling the only formidable one of these vessels made tbe task saaler.