The San Francisco call., 1898-04-22
there is some doubt as to the utility of

| there is some doubt as to the utility or the torpedo destroyer Somers. All the available vessels of the reVe- i nue, marine and lighthouse service l have been turned over to the navy ana l are being rapidly fitted for naval ser vice It is even proposed to bring the 1 Gresham down from the lakes, to do which 1t will be necessary to cut her in two. It is possible that by the time she is ready for use her services may not be required.
 First among the auxiliary cruisers come the American line steamers l Paris, New York, St. Louis and St. Paul, of 10.s0O to Il, ,63O tons and 21 to P knots speed. These steamers are now receiving their batteries, which are l2 6-inch, 6-pounders and 6 machine i guns for the Paris and New York, while the two others will cary 6-inch, 6-pounders and machine guns. Next in importance are the four MOT gan line steamers-EI Norte, El Rio, El Sol and Fl Sud. They have been renamed Yankee, Dixie, Prairie and Yosemite in the order named, and the two first will carry 10 6-inch rapid firing guns and the two latter 10 5-inch rapid firing guns. They have speed Of about 16 knots and will make excellent auxiliary cruisers
 About twenty more steamers, suited
 
 naval service, are being fitted with guns but the stock of larger caliber modern ordnance has been exhausted and old-style rifles of 1881 are being brought into service temporarily.
 Nearly all the fast steam yachts have been purchased, ranging in size from the giant Mayf1ower of over 1900 tons down to the Wanda of 35 tons. They will be utilized as gun and torpedo boats, and will be serviceable. The larger yachts will have steel belts put on their sides in the wake of the ma- chinery sufficiently thick to keep out machine gun fire.
 The tugs, colliers and the ambulance ship Solace completes this impromptu navy, ..ich, whatever it's defects may be when matched against regular yes sels of war, is on the whole far supe- rior to the auxiliary forces Spain can put afloat.
 The American naval strength in the Pacific Ocean is considerable. Of sea- going monitors there are the Monterey and Monadnock. The latter is identical with the Terror class on the Atlantic, but has a speed of twelve knots, while the Monterey, of 4084 tons and thirteen knots speed is more powerful even than the Puritan. She has thirteen inches of Harveyi-ed steel armor and carries two 12-inch and two 10-inch guns. The
  with two 15-inch smooth-bore Rodman guns, is serviceable at short range, where the smashing effect of her 400- pound shells will come into play. The protected cruisers Baltimore. Phila- delphia and Charleston are well known on the coast, their speed and armament making them more than a match for any vessel of a similar class which Spain might obtain and send out here to harass the coast. Of gunboats there are the Yorktown, Bennington and Concord, of ITO tons, 17-knot speed. andacarrying batteries of six 6-inch rifles. On the China station are the Olympia, Raleigh and Petrel, the two first being protected cruisers, 5S70 and 3213 tons, and P and 19 knots respect ively, while the Petrel of 89O tons and 13-knot speed carries four 6-inch rifles The Wheeling, gunboat of 1900 tons, sistership to the Marietta, is in Alaskan waters. She has a speed of F knots and carries six finch rapid-fire guns.
 The Spanish fleet around the Philip pine Islands includes only one cruiser of any size, the Reina Mercedes, Of 3520 tons, 17-knot speed and with an arma- ment of six 62-inch rifles. The other vessels are only gunboats and include the Don Antonio de Ulloa, Don Juan de Austria of 1130 tons, IA knots, and car rying four 4.7-inch guns; the lsla de Cuba, Isla de LuZon, of 1O30 tons and l6 knots; VelaSCo, 1152 tons and If knots; Elcano and General Lezo, 524 tons and Il knots.
 The Navy Department has not been unmindful of the importance of afford ing adequate protection to this coast and while the regular navy is fully competent to ward off any attack by Spanish naval vessels provision had to be made for guarding against priva- teers For this duty the acquisition Of the powerful and fast tugs Fearless, Vigilant and Acti , are well suited, and there are a dozen good steamships which could become valuable auxiliary cruisers and coast guards.