Arizona republican., 1898-03-04
IF WAR SHOULD OCCUR.

To a person familiar with the prep aratiOns necessary in case of a war, the greater part of the talk about with grave ignorance. Are we pre- pared to begin such a contest? At sea undoubtedly, the flag can be rendered victorious at once if the navy does it's duty The responsibility devolving on the officers, the men, the battleships, be heavy, but it ought to be justified without mishap of terrible character. Let it be understood that the prepar- ations for fighting referred to relate to the mechanical or equipment aspect of the case As for men in sufficient numbers, these can be supplied more readily, perhaps, than warships and torpedo craft at any time during the struggle.
 But the navy Is not a perfect one. It is not supplied with enough torpedo
 boats for all conceivable needs. It is
 short of fast torpedo equipment of
 every sort. Spain has several thirty
 knot destroyers which we cannot
 match before next fall, unless we buy
 in England. Then, in addition, the
 merchant cruisers in reserve for trans
 port service or for commerce destroy
 CTS are not yet equipped with their
 ordnance, that is, have not yet been
 notified that the weapons are await
 ing them on shore There is a want of
 dry docks, too, for these merchant yes
 sells as well as for the battleships. It
 is time to recall that the American Line now docks it's vessels, not in this country, but at Southampton.
 The forts of the Atlantic and the Gulf coast are not in good condition There are no complete defences at any city. Key West is at the mercy of a marauding fleet, and so are the south ern coast cities on the mainland. It is doubtful if New York harbor is strong ly protected against the approach of an armored ship, though it is supposed that the monitors will supply all the deficiencies of the forts. Places on the New England coast, like Newport, Boston, Portland, are absolutely with out defences worthy of name. If our fleet were once driven from the sea, the foe might ravage from the Rio Grande to Eastport without check. Any little gunboat with twelve-pound- CTS could enter every harbor, except perhaps New York, to work havoc on the cities beyond. A really powerful enemy would present terrible danger if it were in Spain's place at this mo- ment. But perhaps it is not wise tc be too confident even when attacking weak one.
 The remarks of Gen. Miles showed the condition of the army. The entire infantry has not yet been sup piled with the new rifles. Yet if men are transported to Cuba they will have to fight against troops armed with the Mauser gun, quite as good a weapon as the -Jorgensen. AS for the militia, that of no state is equipped with modern small arms. It would be madness to send out troops from this force with nothing but the ancient Springfield rife to protect themselves with. The Mauser can be discharged six times to the Springield's once, and in the same space of time. Again, mu- nitions are lacking. It is said that the New York and Pennsylvania mi litia are provided with thousands of cartridges and can be ready to move at the shortest notice. But that is not so. The men cannot fight without new rifles and tens of thousands of rounds | of ammunition where they now have a thousand. Of course the national honor must be upheld That goes saying. But we would have a 1 serious job on hand upholding it l against a well equipped foe with our present resources. Tn time of peace l prepare for war" Our preparations l might have been much further ad- l vanced but for the demagogues and | 4t,