The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1877-04-18

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North Sea, near st. Petersburg Those yes
sells of the Russian navy that are now in our
ports came here to get rid Of the ice there
this winter The navy. however, makes little
difference on either side. This war, as be-
tween Russia and Turkey, is going to be in
the man a land fight The Turks have
twenty splendid iron-clads, with eighty-four
other good and substantial war vessels. They
have 1,21S guns and $4,000 men. For the
defensive this is good navy. They have
the great forts of the Dardanelles, all along
| from its mouth up to GallipOlis. Here they
also have chains, torpedo boats their iron
clads, sunken hulks and other distractions
The Russians have to pass through these to
| Gallipolis, thence into the sea OF Marmora,
and then they will have to fight their way
| up through the tOrpe6Oes, iron clads, etc.
| to the Bosphorus. AS they pass by Con-
stantinople up the Bosphorus they have
/ twenty miles of forts to encounter. and hav-
ing passed these, they are in the Black Sea.
You see, sir, the fight is by no means to be
all on the side of the Russians. They have
no feet in the Black Sea. When Sc
bastopol was destroyed and their great
/ fleets blown up and sunken and their navy
wards DESTROYED on the Black Sea, that set
tied tneir fleets in that locality and the
European powers have forbidden them ever
since to rebuild in that locality. The Rus
/ slams have fine army, well disciplined, well
differed, and doubtless their arms, guns
| and supplies are of the first class. They are
not commencing the fight for sentiment
sake. 1t is the hope of their lives, and they
are now arrived at that point when the en-
peror will be able to get every man and
| every dollar his people have, so as to win
| the great contest of the nation. 1t will be
no use, though, as it will end in disaster.
The Turks are thoroughly aroused. From
/ one end of their vast empire TO the
| other the Mussulmans are crowding
together by the tens of thousands and
already the religious fanatlcism of the Turks
| is observable. Just think of 10000, 600 Of
peOplel They will give every dollar and
every valuable they have to aid their side
They have the best arms in the world-they
We're made by our own people, and Europe
| has no better The large guns the Turks
get from Krupp, and, of course, these can
not be excelled. There. is no doubt that
| both sides have plenty of arms and ammuni-
ton. After the Russians get very much
| weakened and the Turks have worried them
a good deal, then the Austrians and, perhaps,
the Germans will have something to say.
France is not particularly interested, and
mark what say-she will not engage in this
conflict She will go on with her exhibition,
and it promises to be a grand success The
war will not affect it in the least Austria
is the country that is most interested in the
contest, excepting England, and just
how Austria is going to act remains
| to be seen. She will be in the fight how
ever, before the war has gone on six months
England is the grand puzzle. You can de-
pend on it she does not intend to allow
Russia to take Constantinople, even if she
/ could, and her time to enter into the con-
test will be marked by the circumstances of
the conflict The great good that this war is
| going to have on our country cannot be COM
puted. We will not only sell -four, wheat
corn, pork clothing, arms and ammunition to
| the contending parties, but we will sell all
these things to the other great nations, espe-
clally our cereals and provisions. If the war
| continues two years, and my prediction is
that 1t will, we will have to plant for the
whole world. The entire agricultural pur
/ suits of the great grain country of the Black
Sea will be stopped. 1t was so in the Cri-
mean war. / was a lieutenant in the navy
and commanded the supply, then in the
Mediterranean squadron, and well do | re-
member the rich harvest our merchants
reaped during the war. This war will bring
back again to us the commercial supremacy
we lost during our war. If congress legis-
lates properly in June so as to allow vessels
to be brought and placed under our flag to
remain there, our commercial marine will
be revived. We have not time to build
ships; we must buy them.
Admiral Porter went on to say that there
| probably would not be much blockading and
that our supplies would be in demand by
| other nations in any event.
General Sherman on being interviewed
said that neither Russia nor Turkey ever had
| larger or better disciplined armies than now.
They have, said he, all the advantages of
many improved arms and modes of warfare,
and the result will be that the world will
witness the greatest battles ever fought, so
far as the destruction of life is concerned. l
believe this struggle is going to cost a mil
lion of lives, and they will not be all Rus
/ slams and Turks, either. 1 can hardly be-
lieve the Turks can Withstand the shock.
They may save Constantinople, but if they
lose every other point what good will it do
them? General Sherman also took favor
able view of the effect on this country. He
added:
1t will keep our people at work day and
night to provide for Europe, if there should
be a general war and that now seems inev-
liable to me. l believe all the great powers
will be directly or indirectly involved be-
fore the year is out In the parts of the
country in which the field fights will GER
tainly take place a half million men on
either side can and will be used. The Rus
slams will have to pull along very fast through
the summer, for they get all their supplies
by their railroads, and in the winter these
are rarely available
General Sherman said he was in favor OF
allowing some of our army officers to visit
either army without pay and serve on staff
| duty