The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1898-07-21
THE SPANISH GUNNER
he Is VIGOROUSLY Incompetent As
Z Garksmen.
Ex-Minister Egaa says That Was
Demonstrated in the CHILEAN
Revolution-Foreign Are
Employed.

II do not believe the American navy
will have much to fear from the Span
ish gunners," said Patrick Egan, ex-
minister to Chilli. THE Spanish gun
pers are VIGOROUSLY incompetent. 1t
is fact not generally known that there
is not q Spanish ship afloat the engineer
of which is not either q Scotchman or
an lrishman. The Spanlards are a
lazy people. They do not take to work
which involves careful attention TO de-
tails. That is the reason why they
have been obliged to secure foreigners
tor the position Of engineer on their
ships. They could not secure Spaniards
warship the careful attention which
it requires. 1t is fact that few of the
Spanish officers are up to date in the
science Of naval warfare. The meh gen
orally selected for The command of Span
ish ships are those whose families have
An influence, and these men will not
give themselves up to the hard study
which is necessary to make man a
thoroughly efficient commander.
"A good sample Of Spanish gunnery
was furnished by the bombardme mt of
Vina del Mar during the Gillian revolu-
ton. The revolutionists had control of
the Gillian navy and Balmaceda Of the
army. Balmaceda's forces enca'nped on
the hills of Vina del Mar and there they
were attacked by the Spanish squad
ron. For eight hours the firing of the
ships and the batteries on the land
continued. At the conclusion of the en-
gagement it was found that not q
single shot from the shore batteries had
hit the ships, and not single shot from
the ships had done any injury to either
the men or the works upon the shore.
"The American gunners are reputed
to be the best in the world. Their ac-
curacy of aim was evinced in the bonn
bardment of the works at Matanzas,
which were utterly demolished in about
10 minutes. The Spaniards are not so
foolish as to be blinded to the disad-
vantage under which they would labor
in sea fight with the American fleet,
and do not believe, therefore, that they
have any idea of sending their fleet
into American waters to be destroyed"
Asked what he thought of the atti-
tude of the English government in the
present crisis, Mr.. Egan said:
an my opinion English friendship is
more to be feared than Spanish hostil-
ity. England's policy at this time is
dictated solely by selfishness. She has
everything to gain by SO dealing with
the United States. That is the sole
reason why the government has taken
the position it has. The utterances of
the English press and the sentiments
being publicly proclaimed by English
men who are not connected with the
English administration make it clear
that the English people, as a people,
have no more love for the United States
than they ever had. The attitude of the
government, therefore, is statecraft,
nothing lSre."
Mr.. Egan said he thought the people
and the governments of South America
were friendly TO the United States. The
hostile sentiment which was coming
tries emanated, he said, either from old
Spanish families whose sympathy had
never been weaned away from the moth
er country, or from the English and
German consuls, who were stirring up
all the luminosity they could for purely
commercial purposes.
Germany's commercial interests in
South America, Mr.. Egan said, were be-
coming immense. The German manu-
facturers were counterfeiting American
goods and selling them in South Amer
lean countries at prices for below those
at which the American manufacturers
could afford to sell them. As an in.
stance of this, Mr.. Egan cited the fact
that he had purchased in South America
a revolver alleged to be of famous
American pattern for $3.50, which was
sold in the United States for seven dol
lars. The revolver was an almost per-
feet counterfeit of German manufac-
lure. by reason of the cheapness of
labor in Germany the Germans could
turn out goods at much lower prices
than the manufacturers of the United
States, and by means of the extensive
counterfeiting of American goods they
were not only undermining the trade
OF the United States in South America.
put also the trade of Great Britain
st. Louis Globe Democrat.
n " T