The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-05-19

pose to u monitors, and IL sho wishes
10 release her beleaguered army she
must meet and break through a line OF
nattle which will include these power
full ships.
There Is another line OF comparison
which has been left out OF the Engin.
GERS article. We refer to the question
OF armor, as importanta IN element us any
IN h whole comparison. Here, as the
writer OF the article must know only too
well, the United States ships have a vast
superiority. In the first place, the dis
position Of the armor Is better. The
heavy 10, II and 10 inch guns Of our
ships are protected from the water line
TO the roof of the turrets with q contInu-
GUS wall of from twelve to eighteen
inches of Harvey steel. All the Spanish
ships, even including the Pelayo, have
the fatal defect-so el%oquently descanted
upon by the Engineer. at other times,
but curiously ignored in the present
comparisop--that there lie a space of
eight or ten feet between tho belt and
the base Of the barbettes which Is sabso-
lutely without armor protection. This
means that the searching fire Of our
rapld-fire guns will GU, away the sup
porting framework below the barbettes,
and tumble guns. turning gear and bar
bettes Into the hold OF the vessel. One
well-shaped shell from our larger guns
will do the SAINT thing.
But what OF the armor itself? Our
ships carry our own Harvey steel. a
make OF armor for which the British
admiralty abandoned the old -fashioned,
faulty compound" armor In a veritable
panic when the superior e1cellenc,y OF
the American product was proved a few
years ago. II we mistake not, the
building OF ships In Spain was Inaugur-
ated under English supervision at q
time when compound armor was con-
s!dered the best. The keels OF the ar
mored cruisers were laid when these old
ideas were prevalent, and 1t Is probable
that 1t Is compound armor that clothes
the Spanish cruisers to-day.
III so, when our gunners begin to
place thirteen-inch shells against the
belts and barbettes OF the enemy they
will see the steel face crack and fly from
Its backing in the same lively fashion
that It did when we tested an English
compound plate against u own Har-
veyized armor n few years ago. The
Engineer shared the CONSERVATION which
seized the British authorities at the time
when the superiority Of the Harveyized
plate was shown, and It will appreciate
the force Of the suggestions as applied
to the comparison Of the American and
Spanish ships.
In concluding our comparison. we
draw attention TO the last and most ridi-
culous fiction OF the many with which
the Engineer has RECALLED its readers in
this article. We refer to the suggestion
that the American navy is largely man.
ned by foreigners. who will not fight
with any zeal for the flag under which
they sail. In the first place. the proper
ton of foreigners is exceedingly small,
and, in the recent enlistments, the addi-.
tons have been entirely native born.
Even in the case OF the small minority
OF foretgn-born men-of-war's men there
ia an enthusiasm for the adopted coun-
try which is the natural outcome Of the
better pay, better food, more humane
treatment and general tone of SELF
respect which falls to the lot or charac-
terizes the bearing OF the boys In u
navy.
"In referring to the accompanying
tables it should be borne in mind that
only such vessels have been included: as
are actually In commission and avail
able for engagement, II necessary, in or
near the waters of the gull and West
Indies."