The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-07-06
THE LESSONS OF SANTIAGO.
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
There are several things to be learned
| from the operations at Santiago, and 1t
| is better to learn them now. In the first
| place, 1t is a mistake to underrate the
| courage and efficiency Of an enemy. We
| have been incessantly told that the mod
| ern Spaniard is degenerate, and it is un-
doubtedly true that, in respect of disc-
pline, prestige and espt'de corps, no
| Spanish regiments in our day can be
| compared with the famous tercios which.
| for about hundred and fifty years, from
| the time of Gonsalvo de Cordova to the
battle of Rocroi, caused the Spanish in
| fantry to be reputed invinclbe in Europe.
The fault lies today. as 1t has lain Tor
| upward of 200 years, In the laXity and
| corruption which pervade the upper and
middle ranks of the military hierarchy.
| The money appropriated for military and
| naval purposes is fraudulently stopped in
| transit; it is not applied TO the objects
| for which 1t was designed; the soldiers
| and seamen are ill-trained, il-paid and
| even insufiiciently fed.
There is no reason, however, to believe
that the raw material of armies furnished
| by the peasants Of Galicia, of the Basque
| provinces the CASTLES, Aragon, and
! Estremadura, is inferior to that which
| composed the fibre of the forces COM
manded by Gonsalvo, by Spinola, by Cor
| tez and Pizarro. Wretchedly led, made
Guately supplied with arms and ammuni-
| tion and almost destitute of commits
sariat. as they were in the last PENN
| sular war the Spanish levies yet inflict-
| ed on the French at Baylen the most
| ignominious defeat to which the soldiers
| of Napoleon had ever been subjected;
| and their resistance at Saragossa re-
| called the memorable defence of Numan-
| tia in Roman days. Such men. when
| they are fighting for their native land
| or for their immemorial conquests, are
not TO be despised; it is unfair to our
| own troops 10 dlsparage the desperate
ralor of their enemies. The brave SOL
| diers under General Shafter met foemen
worthy of their steel; to face such oppon-
| ents is no childs play; to overcome them
| is an honor. and reflects credit on the
| American stock. There Is, IL should be
| remembered, in the northern provinces OF
| Spain considerable admixture of Visl-
| gothic blood, and IL comes out in the
| common soldier, when driven TO the last
ditch. as IL came out in his forefathers
when, hunted into the caves of AstuTias
| they turned at bay and began their age
long contest against the Moslem Let us
| respect the Spanish common soldier, for
only thus shall We appreciate the brave
| American boys who are worsting him.
| o
| 1t is also manifest that, oven as re-
| CARDS the abilities of Spanish officers and
| artillerlsts to make the most of their
| defensive opportunities. the conquest Of
Cuba or Porto Rico is no holiday job
| for our army, Unquestionably, the Inn
mediate surroundings of Santiago afford
| ed admirable facilities for defence, but
1t is equally indisputable that these
were well turned to account. The
| Spanish lines were skilfully drawn; the
| intrenchments were we'll planned, the
guns were ably served; much of the ar