The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-04-24

more upon conditions that may arise.
l do not think that the war will start
with a sudden decisive battle. The
Spaniards are apt to lie back and force
us to the aggressive. If by any chance
there should be any odium attached to
the war they wish US to bear the blame
of bringing it on.
Il think the war will open, not by any
specific declaration, but by some overt
act.
Undoubtedly our navy and our men
are superior to theirs. Our men are
specially superior. They are better
trained, they have finer staying quail
ties, they are of a superior race. Spain
has been a great country, but she mas
long been retrograding. We have been
continually progressing. The Anglo
Saxon is superior to the Spaniard.
There can be no doubt of the ultimate
outcome of the war
IF by any seemingly impossible
chance our navy were swept off the
sea, we would build another and con-
tinue the fighting to final victory,
while a few serious eFeverses would
put them out of the conflict"
Rear Admiral Ramsay. retired, re-
garded war as an event too serious for
passing discussion. Said he; Il prefer
not to talk about it, Harm is done by
speculation. We cannot tell how long
our final victory might be delayed. we
thought our last war would be OF very
short duration, yet very lively fighting
was kept up for four years. 1t IS not
well to underestimate your enemy.
| found Paymaster Bartin, retired
officer of the navy, this evening in
rather communicative mood concerning
the coming war. His opinion, summar-
lied, was that the war would probably
be short, sharp and decisive, and that
he would be surprised if 1T lasted more
than three to six months.
81 was in Havana during our late
war; he said lat a time when a num-
Der of Spanish ships were floating in
the harbor. They all had high sound
ing names. l remember the Numantia,
the Arepelis, Queen. Isabella, the Ever
Faithful City of aragossa-think OF
battleship with a name like that-and
others of like titles. Their officers We're
SNOWY fellows, but they did not strike
me as good for rough usage. Nearly all
the engineers of their ships were
Scotchmen-even spoke the Scotch dla-
lect.
Now, the point of this is that it is
not flattering to Spanish institutions OF
naval learning that they had to get
Scotch engineers and other foreign ma
chinists. At this time they seemed
poorly prepared for fighting What
prove their preparations? Very little
that / know of, while the intricacies of
ship machinery and ship management
have grown wonderfully. The compll-
cations Of a modern battleship are be-
wildering.
men sailors are not the equals of
ours in training, or in natural ability,
| or in tenacity of purpose They cannot
begin to match us as fighters.
ic "a ri
war will turn out, but don't expect II
to last more than three months, and
J shall be greatly surprised II lighting
continues at the end of six months.
How it will begin or proceed don't
| know, but 1 should be perfectly VIII
| ing to see the whole fleets of the two
nations lined up for battle, and see
! them fight at a signal I am sure that
our boys would give good accounts OF
themselves If the war should begin
- that we could catch them singly, we
-Suld destroy them effectually. l don'i
fear their torpedo boats as much as
most people do. Our rapid-fre guns
can bore right through these boats.
1.-The result? OF course we would first
fee Cuba. Then, 1 fancy, we woulc
take possession of Porto Rico. We
would take III the Canaries, and like
wise the Philippines, and, perhaps, turf
| the Philippines over to Japan. She l:
anxious for them. We would probably
go on up into the Belearic Isles. and free
them from Spanish oppression. We
would hardly be content until we haC
swept the Spanish flag from the west
ern seas.
YES, I don't doubt that the war il
coming 1t must come, unless Spar
backs scuarely down, and Spain can
do that, because it would involve TIT
dissolution of the home government
Our boys around Key West and every