Miles To Seize Ponce

Washington, July 19.- General Miles and his advance guard of the Porto Rico army of invasión will probably select Ponce, the second city of the island, as a base of suppües. It is believed the city will have been taken within a week. The torces under Generáis Ernst and Schwan, together with such regiments as General Miles will select from the troops at Santiago, will form the preliminary expedition to capture it. Guantanamo will be the point of rendezvous of the preliminary expedition, which will consist of about 6,000 regulars. General Brooke's command will be hurried to Porto Rico as soon as possible. Port Ponce. or tha territory immediately west of the seaboard, is a strategie point which must be conquered before a successful march can be made upon the capital of the province. General Macias, captain general of Porto Rico, in anticipation of a joint attack upon San Juan by the American forces, has rendezvoused the largest porticn of his army in the capital, and the Spanish commander of Ponce has but a small ferce with which to resist General Brooke. Forts and earthworks will be the most formidable defenses of the enemy, but if Brooke is aided by Sampson's warships in the same way as Shafter was at Santiago he will have no great trouble in capturlng the enemy's strategie position at the -intersection of the railway and military road west of the port. The capture of San Juan will not be a difflcult task, war officials agree, and the occupation of the island Is counted upon with little loss to the American slde.