U. S. FLAGSHIP "NEW YORK," FIRST-RATE, KEY WEST, FLORIDA, May 2, 1898. _Miss Clara Barton, President American National Red Cross:_ 1. I have received through the senior naval officer present a copy of a letter from the State Department to the Secretary of the Navy; a copy of a letter from the Secretary of the Navy to the commander-in-chief of the naval force on this station; and also a copy of a letter from the Secretary of the Navy to the commandant of the naval station at Key West. 2. From these communications it appears that the destination of the steamship _State of Texas_, loaded with supplies for the starving reconcentrados in Cuba, is left, in a measure, to my judgment. 3. At present I am acting under instructions from the Navy Department to blockade the coast of Cuba for the purpose of preventing, among other things, any food-supply from reaching the Spanish forces in Cuba. Under these circumstances it seems to me unwise to let a ship-load of such supplies be sent to the reconcentrados, for, in my opinion, they would be distributed to the Spanish army. Until some point be occupied in Cuba by our forces, from which such distribution can be made to those for whom the supplies are intended, I am unwilling that they should be landed on Cuban soil. Yours very respectfully, [Signed] W. T. SAMPSON, Rear-Admiral U. S. N., Commander-in-Chief U. S. Naval Force, North Atlantic Station. After this exchange of letters Miss Barton had a conference with Admiral Sampson, in the course of which the latter explained more fully his reasons for declining to allow the _State of Texas_ to enter any Cuban port until such port had been occupied by American troops. On May 3 Miss Barton sent the following telegram to Stephen E. Barton, chairman of the Central Cuban Relief Committee in New York: KEY WEST, May 3, 1898. _Stephen E. Barton, Chairman, etc._: