The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-11-02
DErEssELEss AGAINST CHILE.

General Kautz is an educated veteran
soldier who has won distinction on the
field. and his mature judgment that the
United States is not in q condition TO
meet the Chileans in a naval conflict, even
after the American heet got round the
Horn, cannot be treated with contempt,
for the facts bear out General KautZ's
opinion that in event of war the Chilean
ironclads could lay under contribution
every city on the Pacific coast. Today at
Valparaiso We have the Baltimore and the
San Francisco. The Yorktown, bound for
Valparaiso, coaled at St.Thomas about the
18th OF October, and on the 26th ult.was of
the coast OF Brazil. The Boston
left for Valparaiso about the 18th
nit. and will be obliged to coal
at Sc. Lucia, Bahia, Monteyideo and
Magellan Straits. These four vessels are
all the naval vessels of any value that we
can count upon for service in Chilean
waters, and one of them, the Boston, has
long voyage 10 make before she can be
available. The Newark has also been
ordered to Buenos Ayres, from which she
could proceed in case of need to VAL
paraiso, but the Newark is not yet ready
for her voyage. The Chicago, Philadelphia,
Atlanta, Bennington and Concord are all
in the North Atlantic waters. It is clear,
therefore, if Chile should declare war to-
morrow il would be at least two months
before we could assemble armored ships
enough to face her ironclads. The Balti-
more, the most heavily armed of our
ships in the Pacific. carries four 8-inch
and six 6-inch breach-loading rides: the
San Francisco carries twelve 6-inch rifles;
the Boston, two s-inch and six 6-inch: the
Yorktown, six 6-inch. All these vessels
have in addition good secondary batteries.
OF the Chilean ironclads the Esmeralda
is very fast vessel, carrying two 16-inch
guns in her battery. The Presidente
Pinto and Presidente Errazuriz are fast
2,080-ton ships, credited with nineteen
knots. While in size they hold place be-
tween the Yorktown, of 1903 tons, and
Boston. of 1900, they carry only two At
inch and four 2A-inch quick-fre guns.
Chile has also pair of fast wooden tor
pedo cruisers, the Almirante Lynch and
Almirante Condell. AS none of our yes
sells are arrnored, we would be no match
for the Chilean ironclads, which are likely
to be reinforced by the arrival of the Cap
tame Prat, an armorclad of $500 tons and
nineteen knots, and carrying a belt of
twelve inches of steel, with battery of
four 91z-inch and eight 4.7-inch guns.
Until we can get our ironclads to Chile
our heavily armed, but unarmored cruisers
are not match for her ironclads, and
could not prevent their feet pushing up to
San Francisco and the other cities of this
Coast. and laying them under contribution
by threat of bombardment. If Chile should
declare war tomorrow she could get her
ironclads up to San Francisco do no end
of mischief and then get back to Chile be-
fore we could assemble our ironclads from
the North Atlantic for assault upon VAL
paraiso.
General Kautz is right; we are in no
condition at present to make war on Chile.
The Chileans are the fighting race of South
America; they are passionate, ignorant
and warlike, and it would be no easy task
in our present situation to force them to
submission