New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-06-19
THAT CdUI/ FLEET.

There Is great news from Cadlz. The Span
lsh fleet has sailed. Admiral Camara-Of whom
Lieutenant Carranza has his Opinion-is in com
mand and ScNor Aunon. the Minister Of Ma
rine is aboard. II bears a flag Of honor. which
was blessed as tremendously as the Jackdaw
OF Rheims was cursed: whether 10 as effective
result is to be seen. 1t IS big feet. with bat
tlc-ships. cruisers, gunboats. torpedo boats and
torpcdo-boat destrOyers galore. Where they all
came from Is unknown and immaterial May
bc SPAIN ont Of her Overlooking treasury. has
purchased the whole Swiss Navy and added
1t to her own Maybe she has been building
ships by the dozen up in the hills Of La Mancha.
Who knows? Suffice II that
She's got the ships
She's got the men.
And she's got mule stories, too,
The fleet Is so big and powerful that 1t has
10 be divided. 1t would make the ocean bulge
mp and overflow its banks to send II all In one
direction. So part Of II is going east and part
of ii west Some more Of II may be going
south-sOuthwest or northeast by north. That
does not matter. either. The solemn question
is. Whittier IL tor, rather. are they going:
One part Is said to be destined for the Philip
pines. 1t can make ten knots an hour and
will not have to stop and coal oftcner than
every three or four days. At that rate II may
get to Manila in month II nobody stops IT.
BY that time peace may be established. and it
may thus get friendly welcome from the
American Governor-Genera Another part Is
coming over here. encouraged, no doubt, by the
success Of Admiral Cervera's voyage Well
there arc several more harbors along the Cuban
coast about as good as that Of Santiago, and
the Schley-IIobson bottling system is In the
best of working order. And then the third
squadron. which Captain Aunon is making up
well. neither the North Pole nor the South
Pole has been found yet and the Island of ST.
Brandan remains undiscovered so there Is no
lack Of opportunity for It to make itself useful
But after ALL the essential thing Is that the
feet has got away from Cadiz That rcfutes
the wretched libel that 1t is not able to sail ont
side of drydock. 1t gives relief to world
that has become weary Of hearing IL called the
CadiZ feet. IT encourages the Spanards to
think that they are getting something for their
money And maybe II VIII put the fleet into
some safer place than Cadiz For Cadz is n
dreadfuly exposed place as the map we print
elsewhere In today's paper shows. If that fleet
had kept on staying there long enough there is
telling what might not have happened.
Some Yankee pig" might have gone over there
10 see what was the matter with it, Men Of
the Anglo-SaXon race have done that sort Of
thing before. One Francis Drake did, n long
time ago, as related by Mr.. Froude in the en-
tertaning chapter reprinted In our columns to-
day. And some fellow Ike Schey or Dewey
might dream that he was Drake rcincarnated
and try the trick over again. So. all in ALL the
Spanish fleet will be much safer Mt Carthagena
inside the Strait Of Gibraltar. If 1t really left
Cadiz on Wednesday II ought. with good luck
TO reach Carthagena some time this week. The
distance Is not much more than $50 miles
And we hope 1t will have good time there
The maids of Murcla are doubtless no less
charming than the Indies Of Cadz. There was
n man once who wrote poem about them.
every word of which began with an M" But
that, as Mr.. Kipling says. Is another story.
The Qoipt Of present interest Is that the Cadiz