Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-04-16
PERILS OF PRIVATEERING.

Fatal surprises may be included among
the incidents of war. Two subjects little
understood and not much discussed are
the dangers which warships threaten to
| their own crews and the international
! standing OF priyatecFs. A naval authority
states that priyatccring in tho old sense OF
| the word has been condemned by all the
civilized powers OF Europe with the ex-
ception of Spain, and it is extremely
doubtful whether even tho hitter would
dare to fly in the face of civilized ideas to
the extent of counteIancing piracy. For
the priyatcering OF former days was moth
ing moro or less than that. 1t consisted
in private individuals fitting up vessels az
their own expense as warships, manning
them and offering them with crew Of
their own choosing, and then obtaining
from the government a so called letter Of
marque, or sort Of state commission which
entitled the owner; OF the ship 20 the ma.
jor portion Of any loot that their vessel
| might secure by plundcriEg merchant
| shipping belonging to the enemy. A small
percentage Of the so called prizes" Of the
| venture were supposed to go to the gov
srnmcnt as QUid PRO quo for granting
tho letter Of marquc. 1t will readily be
seen that this form of prigateerinc was
little else than piracy, the sole motive OF
the fitting ogt Of the priyatcor being piun-
der Neither officers nor men were bound
by any Of the rules of the regular service
or of professional honor, and in nino cases
out Of ten the flag flying at the masthead
should not have been that of the country
which gave the letter Of. Inarque but the
black flag adorned with skull and cross
| bones.
| 1t may safely 10 taken foT granted. SAYS
the same authority, that were Spain, tax
| ing advantage OF the fact that she is not
bound by tho terms of the convention of
Paris of 1886 to abstain from rrivateering,
to revert to the old practice Of granting
letters OF inarquo England, in pursuance
of her self imposed task of policing the
| high seas as the principal maritime power
on the face Of the globe, would consider it
to be her duty TO subject Spanish priva-
| teors to the same treatment that she has
Oh several memorable occasions accorded
! to vessels engaged in slave trading or pi
ratical enterprises.
Pow people realize that the warship OF
its OWL destruction. lts enormous weight
that tends to drag II down; its huge steam
plant that stretches i 600 arms into every
portion Of tho vessel; it, powder, gun cot
ton and dylamite-all are brainlcss serv-
ants, ready to turn against their masters
IL is science only secondarily that has
made the modern steel ship Competition
was the real creator OF it, The fighting
instinct is the game today as it was CEN
turtles ago-"up and at them" Men will
fght as nearly hand rs hand as they can
whenever circumstances permit it, and
probably the fighting sailors Of all nations
today would prefer the old wooden ships,
where the question OF victory depended on
the man the gun and the craft in their
simplest forms
Aside from the weight Of the amor.
which mag drag an injured ship to the
bottom, arnlor has in il another element
of great danger-a danger which is caused
to an extent by the very strength of it
Naval men who may have to answer the
question with their lives are asking wheth-
or the resistance OF the steel walls viii not