Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-30

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eoahS privileged
KSEM to exercise amazing
"N powers. The COM
NNs-e small scale. an abso-
lutte monarch. He
cruises about in a
steel-clad fortress
which is a bit Of United States territory
afloat, welding despotic authority over
small army Of men. When it seem good to
him, he is privileged to commit acts Of open
war on his own responsibility. For what
eve- he does. the government may be held
to account, inasmuch as he is a quasi-dip-
iomat as well as a military agent repre-
senting the flag and credit of his country
Wherever his ship may be. What he says
Is law. He has power of life and death over
every one on board his vessel. 1t has been
said that he can do anything except boil a
midshipman in the coppers.
Must Act Quick.
The commander of a ship Of war occasi-
onally finds himself in a position where
Whatever he does is sure to get him into
trouble. Nevertheless, he must act, and
with holiness. If he fails to do so, he will
be held guilty OF timidity. which is the
worst fault of which he can be accused He
may even be driven to infringe the laws Of
nations. During the late civil war. in the
harbor of Bahia. Brazil Capt. Collins of the
United States Ship Wachusett, forcibly vio-
lated that neutral port by SEEKING the Con-
federate steamer Florida. Our government
apolosized for the offense and acquiesced to
Brazirs demand that the vessel be given I'D.
But. to avoid the necessity of doing this, q
transport ran her down and sunk her in
Hampton Roads, quite by accident Collins
was publicly reprimanded, privately patted
On the back, and soon received a better
command. The mischief done by the Flor
ida and the desperate state of the nations
AFFAIRS were considered to warrant his set
ion.
Must Assume Responsibility.
There are times when a naval commander
must assume responsibilities not laid down
IN the law books, If he hesita.es to take
risks. he is likely 20 find himself in trouble.
IN the harbor of Fe-rol. Spain. Capt. Cra-
ven OF the United States Ship Niagara, had
an opportunity to attack the Confederate
ironclad stonewall. which had been fitted
out in French pert. He failed to DO SO.
ana for mis- non-action he was afterwards
tried by court martial Though acquitted.
ne was practically shelved and never got
another important command OF course IL
Is possible for Commander to go too far
capt. Wilkes did when he took Mason
and Slidell, the Confederate commissioners
OH the British mail steamer Trent, while on
me way to England and carried them to
session; or course. The prisoners were
promptly demanded by Great Britain, ard
secretary Seward gave them up. Though
wilkes was repriman1ed for this fragrant
breach of International law, he soon got
another command.
JEFFERSON Wis eoid
can people are tolerant of the offense of
nghting too much" In July, 1853, Martin
kozta, who had been military secretary to
kossuth, was confined in irons on board Of
Ihe austrian brig Hussar in the harbor of
smyrna He had been seized on Turkish
SOIL Next day the United States ship St
Louis, commanded by Capt. Duncan N In
graham. arrived. The latter demanded the
person OF kozta, on the ground that he had
declared his intention to become an Ameri-
can citizen. The Austrians, who had be-
sides the eighteen-gun brig, a twelve-gun
schooner and three armed merchant ves-
sels, refused. But Ingraham meant bust
ness and cleared his deck for action Hos
Utilities were only prevented by the yielding
up of the prisoner. A fight would have
meant war with Austria. On the voyage
home the St Louis fell in with the United
States sloop-of-war Levant the Commander
or which as the ships passed yelled through
his trumpet: "Ingraham, you have ruined
YOURSELF" Nevertheless, in the diplomatic
NiSPutS ioloWcu OUR government
sustained Ingraham, and Congress gave
him a gold medal.
Different Foreign Policy.
Those were days when we used to have a
foreign policy. 1t is different now. Not
very long ago there was trouble between
the United States and Portugal respecting
an American citizen of Dutch BIRTH who
had farm on the east African coast
which the Portuguese claimed A special
agent Of the Department Of State was sent
out on war vessel to settle the difficulty.
He satisfied himself by investigation on the
spot that the Dutch-American was in the
right But the Portuguese admiral, with
three men-of-war, was determined to have
his own way. and finally he gave notice to
the Dutchman that he would shell his place
II ne did not get out by pm. the next
day. In his behalf the United States agent
appealed to the commander Of the Ameri-
can ship, but the latter pulled out his in
structions from the Navy Department and
showed that he had orders to give only
moral support" to our side Of the Ques-
ton. Said the agent: You pull UP anchor
and go home; for I am going to do some
thing that will make you feel real morti-
fed"
Thereupon the agent went to the British
consul in the port and stated the case to
him. That official replied: 'Oh, will man.
age that for You with pleasure" He order
ed a signal to be run up on the Flagstaff
over his ofhce, by which communication
was made with a British gunboat in the
harbor. 1t was very dwarf of a gunboat,
not much bigger than a cigar box. 1t re-
minded the observer of the steamboat of
Abraham Lincoln's story, which came to a
full stop when it whistled. Presently a
dingy put off from the gunboat and an
officer in full uniform came ashore in It,
He touched his hat to the consul and the
latter said: please notify the Portuguese
admiral that he will not fire upon the
Dutchman's place" The officer returned
to the gunboat, and presently another boat
was seen to make it's way to the Portu-
guese flagship. 1t conveyed the command
er of the gunboat, who calmly informed the
admiral that If he attempted to carry out
his threat the gunboat would blow him out
of the water. OF course, the admiral could
have sunk the gunboat with one shot, but
inside of twenty-four hours there would
have been a dozen British warships in the
harbor and where would the Portuguese
have been then?
BOldness Tempered With Judgment.
Boldness, tempered with judgment, is
the best policy a naval commander can
adopt. In 1873 there was trouble about
Cuba between Spain and the United States.
At that time three Spanish ships of war
CHANGED to be in the harbor at New York,
undergoing small repairs. Their guns were
ashore for the time being, and their am
munition had been landed on Ellis Island.
One of the vessels was in the dry dock at
tkA arfN be ...a h. rav..w