The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1898-04-11
THE WARRIORS OF SPAIN
Their Wretched Strategy ReaS-
suring TO Americans.
MOVEMENTS OF WAR CRAFT
The FIotilIa Remains mt the Cape
Verde Islands. and Is Not in an Ad-
vantaEeous POsitIon-Thc Dons
Have Several Cruisers and Gun
boats Mt the Philippines.

said yesterday:
The strategy displayed by the move
ment of the Spanish fotilla is certainly
reassuring TO Americans. 1t was one Of
the great Napoleon's observations that
when sure your enemy is going to do the
wrong thing help him 10 do il. Although
we may not have directly helped eur an
tagonist to do wrong. we certainly have
not prevented him. Now that the iOtiIla
has gone about as wrong as il well could,
we will tell the Spaniards what would,
in our judgment, have been the proper
course. The fiotilla should have sailed
from Cadiz for the Canaries-that is. it
should have pretended TO do this; instead.
it should have gone to the Azores. only
a thousand miles from Cadiz and less
than 2, 100 miles from Porto Rico. and ap-
proximateIy that distance from Key West
or Havana. At the Azores the torpedo
boat fiotilla would have been at vantage
point--only about 1000 miles from HamD-
ton Roads and the same from New York,
and We here would have been in tTcpida-
tion lest it might swoop down upon US like
a hawk and not go southwark to the
West Indies.
But. instead. it has hied away 70 St.
vincent-perhaps il feared capture and
SO sought the shelter OF the friendly Por-
tuguese wing at St Vincent. We wish il
well. No place more suited 10 our fancy
could have been chosen The Spaniard is
away, far away. from us. and he is equal
ly far away from his own powerful
squadron assembling at CadiZ. May this
fleet at sea, this torpedo boat tiotilla, long
remain at the Cape NerdeS.
''St. Vincent. where the Spanish torpe-
do boat HOtilia IL nov safely swinging TO
an anchor. IN one Of the Northwestern
group of the Cape Verde Islans. ST. Vim
cent is very high and undulating. The
island is thirteen miles long, from east
TO west. and its greatest breadth from
north to south is nine miles. The two
principal chains of mountains surround
it, forming in the center a deep gorge
opening to the northwest into the har-
Dor of Porto GTande. The highest point
is 2.4S3 feet. The island is principally in
habited by fishermen and the numerous
wOrkmen attracted thither by the coal de-
pots. The climate is healthy-water is
rather scarce. and trees do not flourish on
account of the violence OF the winds. The
coast is high and abrnpt and without
dangers. The name of the port is Porto
Grande. and il is very beautiful place. on
the entrance is an island about 500 feet
high with lighthouse on top and a
Lloyd semaphore and signal station. Por-
to GTande is on the northwest side Of the
island. The harbor is two niles wide at
the entrance and one and Il half miles
deep. The water is nine and ten fathoms
deep; the bay abounds in sharks. Two
cables communicate with MADEIRA and
Rio Janeiro; also one TO the west coast of
Africa.
Supplies may be procured to a moder-
ate extent About 1000O tons of Welsh
coal are usually kept III stock: 1000 tons
are always kept ready in lighters
THE place is often visited by men of
war and merchant vessels.
Small repairs only can be made to hull
and machinery. The population is POrtu-
guese. and about 1000 in number"
Movements of Spanish warships.
Cruisers Vizcaya and AImirante Oquen-
do have not moved from Porto Rico.
Cruisers Alfonso XII and Neuva Es-
pana are at Havana.
Torpedo boats and torpedo boat destroy
ers FurOr. Terror, Pluto. Ariela, RayOr.
Azor and Ciudad de Cadiz are at Cape
Verls Isl; ds waiting oIders.
Torpedo gunboat Audaz is being re-
paired at Queenstown.
Cruiser Alfonso XIII, torpedo boats and
torpedo boat destroyers Donna Maria Mo-
lina Habana. BarceIo, Orion, Prosperina
and DestructOr have not moved from Ca
diz.
Cruisers Cristobal Colon and Infanta
Maria Teresa have left Cadiz to join the
torpedo flotilla at Cape Verde Islands.
Battleship Pelayo and cruiser Empera-
dor Carlos V are en- route to Cadiz. re-
pairing at sea.
Cruisers Reina Christina, Castillo We
Iasco. Don Juan de Austria, gunboats
Paraqua, Ulloa, Ell Cano. Lezo and Mar {
lues del Duero. transports Alava, Manila I
and Cebu are at Manila.
Gunboats Samar Miraveles MindoTO,
ManilenO, Pampanga. Arayet and ParOg
are at the southern extremity of the
Philippine Islands.
Gunboats Albay and Calloa are at Para
qua Isle.
Gunboat Calamianes is at Balabac
Gunboats Balusan and Leyte are at Taal
Lagoon.
Gunboat Ota1ora is at Bay Lagoon.
Cruisers IsIa de Cuba, Isia de Luzon.
yunboats Queros and Ruy Lopo de
vuaoboa are at the Caroline siands.
siIveIn Speaks.
Madrid. April n.--This government will
ind its hands strengthened by the pa
riotic support it will receive from the
opposition under the lead
,rship of Senior Silvela, who returned
rom Paris yestrday morning. While not
ret prepared to discuss the last step TAX
N by the ministry, Senior Siivela declared
.mphatically that he approved of II.
II win go further" he said. II regret
hat this governmnt did not grant the ar
nistIce Immediately. as advised by the
Pope, without waiting for any action on
he part of the powers. IL would have