The Olneyville tribune. (Providence, R.I.) 1893-189?, 1893-11-18

Europe Fails to Profit by the Teachings of
the New World.

the New Woflu
Not England alone, says the San
Francisco Argonaut but all Europe
8 averse TO learning when the tutor
halls from this side Of the water. The
various nations OF the Old Worlo go
on building their keel yachts and
their iron-clad battle-ships Just as IL
Colum bus had never been born.
European naval officers and archi-
tects are singularly blind TO their op-
prtunities. Judging from their
shlps. their man. uvres and their
writings, they have never heard OF
the South A American Republics, and
hold 10 the notion that only a Euro
pean war will decide the point OF the
usefulness or uselessness OF their
floating iron-foundries, any one OF
which costs as much as years reve-
uue OF small Spanish American
State. There has been no fighting in
Old World waters since the good Mr..
Gladstone caused Alexandria TO be
bombarded in 1881. While there have
been demonstrations" reviews"
tests OF "cOlumnar formations and
that sort OF thing in plenty, Europe
still knows nothing, except theoreti-
cally, about what any OF her great
ships OF war can do to an enemy.
though they have proved their potency
in wrecking fr endly vessels and 60
ing 10 the deuce themselves. The
Victoria and Camperdown collision
demonstrated their efficiency in the
first department OF effort They can
run on the rocks, as was shown by
the Sultan at Ferreol, Spain, by the
CamperdOwn at Malta, and by the
Naiad and Apollo at the Skelligs;
they can blow up, like the Grosser
Kurfurst, or, as in the manpuvres in
the British Channel in 1890, they
can get tangled up break down, and
be ingloriously tOwed ashore as were
the Black Prince, the Basilisk, and
the Triumph. Yet through all these
years Of futile DlunderIng, going on
rocks, blowing up, and laundering at
sea by the navies OF Europe, the pow
ers Of South America have been le-
Ultimately and industriously hosting
one anOther's iron-clads out of the
water fighting, sinking, capturing,
and running away in actual warfare,
in utter disregard OF European naval
theories and tactics What has the
Old World TO set against the action
in which the Peruvian Huascar par
ticipated with the ships OF Chile? In
that glorious combat, it will be re-
mem bered Dy all who do not disdain
American tuition, q solid 300-pound
shot from the Blanco struck the
Huascar in the stern, destroyed the
steering gear, and, passing directly
through the ship, killed the Admiral
and many others out OF her 2l6
men only S6 were alive when she
struck her colors. The. sinking OF
the Chilean Blanco Encalada by
torpedo boat in the late civil war was
worth all the writings Of all the Eu
ropean admirals, and not longer ago
than recent Sunday fine contribu-
tion to practical naval knowledge
was offered in the harbor Of Rio de
Janeiro. The rebel vessel Urano at
tempted to make rul out OF the
bay, and was promptly sunk by the
Governments batteries, with most
satisfactory returns in Killed,
wounded, and drowned. The tele-
graph also tells those who have ears
TO near lthat 1.-The rebel warships
Aquidabon and Trajavo have suffered
grave injuries in the last few days
from shots landed aboard of them by
the forts" Meantime, what are the
navies Of Europe doing? demon
strating" A Russian squadron
bumped around in the harbor OF Tou-
Ion and the French checred them
selves into insanity, while the Ital-
ians Of laramie went mad with en-
thusiasm over the arrival Of the
British Mediterranean fleet, which
was still ahoat at last accounts and
no collisions reported. Yet, such is
the faulty of the European minds,
these picnics excite thousand-fold
more interest than the honest, prac.
tical shooting, wrecking, and killing
at Rio
EDnhCE AMI DIICCih