The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-08

The friends of the torpedo boat stoutly
resist the suggestion that the war with
Spain has shown that the type has be
come obsolete without ever having shown
that it merited high esteem as a naval
weapon. There seems to be a growing
opinion in the public mind that the de-
structon Of two Spanish torpedo boats by
the American feet during the battle of
Manila and two torpedo boat destroyers
during the battle off Santiago showed CON
clusively that such vesse1s are useless in
modern naval warfare, and that they can
not possibly compete against cruisers and
battleships supplied with rapid fire bat
teries with which to beat to pieces the
little hornets once they have been sight
ed, and with powerful searchlights with
which TO guard against surprises by night.
The advocates of torpedo boats declare
that there has not been a single test of
the efficiency Of such craft during the
war. The events in Manila bay and off
Santiago, they say, prove absolutely moth
ing. 1t would be just as fair to say that
armored cruisers were of no value, since
four of them were destroyed off Santiago,
as to say that torpedo boats were of no
value since two of them aud two destroy
ers have been shot to pieces by the Amer
lean gunners. Not during the course of
the war according to an expert, have tor
pedo boats been employed for the purposes
for which they were intended, either by
the Americans or the Spaniards. The
Americans have placed them on deep sea
and blockade duty, for which they .were
never designed, and the spaniards have
sent them into the line of fire of the en-
envy under circumstances which, from
the standpoint of war; were utterly nom
sensical and absurd" and where
there was no reasonable hope of escape
At both Manila and Santiago the frail
craft advanced in broad daylight, and
were quickly sent 10 their doom.
The theory of warfare by torpedo boats
is that the attack upon a heavy vessel
shall be made by a swarm of the craft
so as TO divide the fire of the enemy in
case Of detection, and under cover Of
darkness or thick weather, if possible, so
as to reduce to a minimum the probabih-
ties of discovery. An attack may also be
made upon a disabled enemy who is try
ing to escape, or upon an enemy during
battle If the torpedo craft is well backed
up and protected by lis own heavy con-
sorts AT no time since the beginning of
the war has the torpedo craft Of either
navy been used under circumstances
such as gave them a reasonable oppor-
| tunity for performing the functions for
which they were designed. Some OF their
dashes have been brilliant, as in the case
of the Spanish boats at Manila, and the
American boats at various times during
the blockade Of Cuba, but they have not
been characterized by the best Judgment
That no American boat has been sunk
seems to be due 10 their good luck ana
the bad craftsmanship of the enemy rath-
er than to the proper use of the boats
While the men of the heavy ships would
be glad to think that there was but lit
tie if any danger from torpedo boats. and
| some Of them try TO convince themselves
to that effect it is nevertheless fact
that during the whole time of the San
uago blockade, until the destruction Of
Admiral Cevera's squadron. The officers
OF the American NesSvls were under con-
slant strain IN anticipation of attack by
the two torpedo boats inside the harbor
That the strain was real and intense is
shown by the fact that a search light
was kept constantly on the mouth Of the
harbor, and that a number of times the
! look-outs' excited imagiuations formed
attacking torpedo boats out Of rolling bill
lows, railroad trains caves in the rocks
and the like when hail of shot would
be poured upon The phantom enemy. 1t
transpires that some Of our own torpedo
craft were fired on by the excited block
aders during these night scares, though
luckily none Of them was hit. The moral