* * * * *

On the 25th of May, President McKinley issued a call for 75,000
additional volunteers; of the previous volunteers called for, about
112,000 have been mustered into the army; with the addition that is now
called for, the army will number about 250,000; and it is expected that
active operations will be begun at once, and that Porto Rico as well as
Cuba will be seized at the earliest possible moment; it is expected that
part of our fleet will proceed at once to San Juan, Porto Rico, and
destroy the fortifications there, so that our army can without serious
opposition land on the island.

* * * * *

The cruiser _Columbia_, which was disabled in a collision off Long
Island, is being rapidly repaired in the Brooklyn Navy-Yard. If she had
not been very strong there is little doubt but that the _Foscolia_ would
have cut her in two; the frames of the vessel, however, are so well
constructed that these, with the protective deck, prevented more serious
damage. Naval officers are very much pleased to find how well the vessel
withstood the collision; they say that if the _Columbia_ had been a ship
like the large ocean liners, nothing would have prevented her sinking
with the ship that struck her. When the officer on the _Columbia_ saw
that a collision was inevitable, he gave the order "Full speed ahead";
it is very fortunate that he did so, as otherwise the _Foscolia_ would
have hit her amidships; and the damage must then have been very serious,
as the water compartments in that part of the vessel are large, and when
filled might have caused her to capsize. The damage proves to be much
less severe than was at first thought; after two or three weeks it is
thought she will be on duty again.