Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-03-23

show of force would be made in Cuban
waters.
The navy of Spain does not amount to
much, possessing only three battle ships
and three cruisers that are powerful enough
to be seriously considered. Her strongest
vessel is the Pelayo-a steel battle ship of
$500 TONS with an eighteen-inch armor
belt. But the Pelayo is not so heavy nor
equipped with such big guns as the Massa-
ohusetts. Indiana, Oregon and Iowa.
The available battle ships belonging to
Spain are the Pelayo. the Infanta Maria
Teresa, the Nizcaya, the Numancia and
the Vitor.a. The last two are very old
and out Of date: at present they are prob
ably laid up in ordinary at the navy yards.
The Numancia was built in 1863 and has a
displacement of 1906 TONS She is of iron.
like the Vitoria, which was built in 1865,
and is Of about the same size. Our Man
tonomoh and Amphitrite could whip them
badly, though not nearly so big, these
two coast defense monitors being of only
1880 tons each.
The Infanta Maria Teresa has Just been
completed. She has a displacement of
1000 tons. The Vizcaya is of the same
size The former Is about equal to the
Maine and the latter to the Texas. Spain
is now building several big ships. OF these
the most powerful are two steel battle
ship. the Emperador Carlos v and a sister
have displacement of 9.325 tons and the
remarkable speed of twenty knots an hour
They will not be so large nor SO powerful
as the Indiana. Massachusetts. Oregon and
Iowa. OF these the first three are OF
TO- 200 tons. while the gigantic sea-going
steel battle ship Iowa has six turrets and
displacement of Il, 296 tons.
Battle Ships and Cruisers.
At present the government of the United
States does not possess a single finished
battle ship. but within three months the
Massachusetts,. Indiana and Oregon could
be completed and ready for business. Their
guns are ready now. The Massachusetts,
is at the Cramps yards in Philadelphia
while the Indiana and Oregon. her sister
ships are receiving their final touches at
the UEion iron works in San Francisco.
The Maine is in process of building at
Brooklyn, and the Texas at Norfolk. They
are nowhere near completion.
Uncle Sam Is particularly strong in re-,
spect to cruisers. while Spain Is very weak.
She has two steel cruisers Of about 5000
tons each-the Alfonso XIII and the Lee
panto. These are her only strong vessels
Of that kind, though she has a number of
others of more or less antiquated types.
Recently she has been constructing four
steel battle ships of 1000 tons each, at a
cost of $3,OO.O0O apiece. Only one of these
the Almirante OQuendo. has been complet-
ed: but 1t Is not yet in service. The re-
naming three are not nearly finished.
These are the Cardinal Cisne-os the Cata-
lima and the Princesa de Asturias. The
first two. like the Almirante OQuendo. have
steel forts called ''citadelS' on their decks
The Iowa, by the way, has q citadel as
well as turrets. The description Of the yes
sells OF the Spanish navy may be completed
by mention Of an antique iron monitor Of
5S3 tons. the Puig-Cerda, and the Duque
de TetuaE, harbor-defense craft of 7OS TONS
equally out Of date.
One reason why Spain would be slow to
enter upon a conflict with the United States
Ia mn
especially good, and it Is doubtful if she
could raise big loan. She is not a manu-
small. Her population has been at a stand
still for the last 100 years. She can get
money to build big ships, but she cannot
afford to keep them in commission. The
tive service is enormous. 1t Is like yacht
in that respect, but on a very large scale
Take the cruiser New York. for example
10 keep her going costs something like
S4Oo.OOO year. Of.this sum about $40 600
is for pay of officers and crew; $4,000 is
for provisions: $4,000 more IS for COAL
though that item varies, fnasmuch as ccal
at a home station costs 81 ton. whereas
in foreign parts it may come to as much
as $1S ton. For docking. overhauling and
wear and tear, about $4,000 should be
added.
To Secure Sailors
OF course, in case of war, one of the first
things to be considered would be to get
men for the ships At present we have
more ships than men, notwithstanding the
provision recently made by Congress for
1000 additional seamen. Men could be
pressed into the service from the merchant
marine. but this would not be necessary.
There would be plenty of volunteers from
mercantile vessels. The 5000 seamen al
ready in the navy would be scattered
among the ships serving as a nucleus,
while sufficient number of recruits would
be added to bring the complement of every
war vessel up to its full fighting capacity
And, by the way, there are many old man
o'-war's men in the merchant marine to-
day who would be only too glad to enlist
The pay in the navy Is better than in the
army. and rations are more liberal The
prospect Of prize money would be a great
inducement.
The practice of offering prize money for
the capture Of vessels belonging to an en-
envy is justly regarded as an evidence of
tarbarism, bat 1t is most useful in war.
What is war anyway but relic of saw
agery? 1t is question whether or not the
government of the United States would
countenance privateering-that is to say.
give it's approval to private individuals
who might choose to fit out vessels for the
purpose OF preying on the commerce Of the
litigation today is disposed to look askance
upon this sort of thing, and the nations of
Europe some time ago agreed that 1t should
not be tolerated. But the United States
refused to come into this agreement.
Award of Prize Money.
According to the law in force, when a
United States vessel takes a ship of less
strength than its own, the officers and
crew of the captor receive one-half of the
net proceeds from the sale Of the captured
craft. The other half goes to the navy pen
sion fund, out of which annuities are paid
to disabled naval officers and sailors and to
their widows and minor children. But
when the enemy Is of equal or greater
strength. the entire proceeds of the sale
goes to the victorious United States ship.
Prize money is not paid for the destruc-
ton of an enemy's ship-of-war, but instead