The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-03-14
GUERILLA WARFARE.
SPANS Only Hope in Case Of Hos
Utilities.
HER RESOURCES COMPARED TO
THOSE OF UNCLE SAM.

The Navy with Its One Battle ship-Four
Million Fighting lion Against Eleven
Million Notwithstanding About
the Boy King.
If Uncle Sam decides to take an activa
part in freeing Cuba from the domina-
tion OF Spain it will be good deal like
q big boy whipping little boy. But
under certain conditions, when tho big
boy has an abundance of right on his side
and the little boy is oil wrong, no one
can criticise the pig chap for walloping
the little chap, particularly when the
latter has BEEN stabbing baby in which
| the big boy has a fatherly interest.
Spain, however, must not be likened
too much to the little boy. In fighting
men it is midget compared to the
United States; in money, the bone and
sinews of warfare, it is pauper by COM
parison, and in naval strength it is
piglny. But it's very weakness gives it
the strength of desperation, and therein
lies the danger.
Of the kind of war Spain will wage
against this country if the two nations
| come to blows, and they say it will be of
| the guerilla order, both on land and sea.
70 come out in the opon and fight a
pitched battle with strength against
strength would be certain destruction to
the weaker side. Spain is too shrewd to
venture into that. 1t will be campaign
of swooping down suddenly, do what in
| jury it can in the weakest places, and
then run off again. 1t will be an Indian
fight on a largo scale.
1t has besn pointed out that Spain con-
| quered Napoleon by system of guerilla
warfare, aud if the emergency arises, it
hopes to do the same with this country.
Tt has planned to fit out a tremendous
| feet of speedy privateers for the single
purpose of destroying the maritime COM
MERGE of the nation, and in fact sweep
the Atlantic Of American ships. This is
big talk by little power, but then the
average Spaniard has no idea of the mag-
nitude or resources of the American peo
pie.
A TINY NAVY.
It only takes glance at the naval
| strength of Spain to show the barrenness
of any hope it might have Of yanquishing
the United States on the sea. In arinored
ships Spain has eleven vessels against
thirty lime owned by the United States
Spain has great many unarmored ships
for use in the colonial waters, but they
can hardly be considered. The number
is 40 and while the United States has
but twenty seven, the guns of the latter
outnumber those of Spnins feet almost
two to one. For instance, the high cali
Der guns on Spain's feet of 140 vessels
number 139 and the guns Of the secondary
| battery number 1855, while the high cali
| Der guns on Uncle Sans feet of twenty
seven vessels number $3.50 and the guns Of
the secondary battery number 23S. Thus
| the fleet of twenty-ssven vessels has al
! most twice the fighting strength Of the
fleet of $40 vessels. Spain ia we'll equipped
the torpedo boats, having fifty mine of
| the first class and seventy of the second
| GLASS; while tho United States has only
eight of the former and one OF the lat
ter. In all, Spain has 1856 uns on her
war ships against ], 1855 on our fleet.
! In regard to land forces Spain's army
has peace footing of 101, 300 men, of
which 45, 1877 compose the infantry, 10, 292
compose the cavalry, 9,927 compose the
artillery, and the remainder, ,s5s, COM
pose the engineers, camp, baggage train,
etc. The war strength is placed at 49,,
64s, as men of the First and Second Re-
serve armies number m ore than 800, 600.
\ The number of young men annually
| liable for service in Spain Is about 141,-
900. Liability to service takes in all
classes and lasts nine years. The first
three years are passed with the First
| Reserves and the remaining six years are
passed with the Second Reserves Duty
in the First and Second Reserves does
not mean as much as the work of the
average national guardsman here. If
| Spain put into the field every man capa-
BILE of bearing arms the number would be
4, 200, 600. II the same conditions were
resorted to here, 1t has been estimated
that the United States could send into
the field about II, 000, 600 soldiers.
THE PELAYO.
| In Spain's navy there is only one battle
ship-the Pslayo. She took part in the
naval festivities at the opening of the
Kiel Canal, and was the object of much
inspection and criticism by the naval
officers gathered there. She is of $500
tons, 5000 horse power, and 16 knots
She has rather narrow but continuous
IT 1-2-inoh water line belt, 4-inch pro-
GeoSive deck, and no less than 10 1.2 inch