The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-23
THE BATTLE OFF SANTIAGO.
AN ENGLISH CRITIC ON THE LES
SONS 1T TEACHES.
Generous Praise for Our Navy--The
"Hnbit of winning at Sea-
From the London Spectator.

From the London Spectator.
The first thought of all Engushmen in re-
gard to.the naval battle is that thc Amer
lean feet did it's work splendidly. The
whole performance of Admiral Sampson S
fleet was in accordance with the best ira
ditions of the Anglo-Saxon navies, and ev-
cry Engishman has read of their doings
with a flush of pride There was the old
hard-pounding such as the Elizabethan
sea-dogs used, and the same curious mix
ture Of steadiness and daring, GOODNESS and
reckless dash. No doubt the comparative
strengths were very different, but as one
reads of the Spanish ships tearing full
speed up the coast of Cuba closely pur-
sued by the relentless Americans, who
poured in a continuous and well-direct-
ed fire, it is impossible not to think of the
Armada as it passed up the channel in
flight brakes ships hanging on its flank
and Kidding the Spaniard's hulls with
their ceaseless fre-a fire which. as on last
Sunday, always hit and always did dam
age. Had, indeed, the Spanish ships been
more numerous and larger and had most
of The American ships been the size of the
Gloucester, the battle, after the Spanish
ships emerged, would have been a work
ing model of the battle which began the
destruction of the Armada In a word,
The moral aspects of what was almost 4be
first and may be the last fleet action be-
tween the Spanish and the English races
were very much alike. In both cases it
was the man behind the gun who, in the
last resort, won the battle.
The technical lessons Of the last naval
battle will have, of course, to be fully
worked out by the naval experts, but even
the most superficial view shows one or two
facts of great importance. They are not
new facts exactly, but old facts with new
faces, and therefore well worth consld-
erng. The first thing that strikes one is
the practical futKity of passive courage,
especially a sea. one might almost as
well be a coward as a man who runs head
long on his death, careless whether he
loses his own life, but also careless wheth-
er he kills mis- enemy. II the Spaniards
had been as cool and dashing as they were
Indifferent to death, they might not have
beaten the Americans, but az least they
would have done an immense deal of dam
age to the American fleet. Granted that
Admiral CerVera had formed the resolve
of breaking out of Santiago by daylight,
how should he have acted? How, that IS,
could he have sold his ships and the lives
of his men dearest? That surely should
have been the question put to himself by
the Spanish admiral. If it had been put,
could the answer have been Mother than
something of this kind?-"I VIII order each
of my ships as she gets clear of the neck
of the bottle which forms the harbor of
Santiago TO choose one Of the American
ships, and to fly straight at her as saw
age dog flies at a man. My ship shall ram
1 ne
her as furiously as possible.
II the American ship gives way before
the Spanish onslaught the Spaniard can
get out to sea and escape. IT, on the
other hand, the American closes with her,
then there VIII be a fierce fight, in which
one or the other, or probably both. will go
10 the bottom This Will probably hap
pen, but meantime some of the Spanish
ships will have had time 20 get into the
open sea. Once there, scatter aud fly Is 20
be the order" If Admiral Cervera had
adopted these bold, or, if you like, mad,
tactics, he would no doubt mas lost most
of his ships, but then he would have prob
ably sunk or damaged three or four Of the
American vessels, while one or two OF his
own would very likely have got away
Tcot-free. As it was, he lost all his ships
and did no damage 20 the Americans lie
secured this really astonishing result by,
instead Of flying at the throats Of the
<ALitiiGdBS, dlitAitPJihS W run dlbiE itlE
shore with the American fleet between
him and the open sea As he and his
ships ran the Americans poured upon them
a storm of shot and shell, and showed once
again that he who runs away is In far
greater danger than even he who waits to
be Killed, but intends TO sell his life as
dearly as possible That Is an oldtme
lesson 10 be drawn from The battle Of San
tiago. Another is equally clear, equally
important and almost equally old.
It is that in naval war what really
matters Is not the armor-plating the
build OF the ship, or even the power OF the
engines, but the man behind the gun.
When Capt. Mahan was entertained in
England at a naval dinner, the speech OF
the evening was admitted by all to have
been made by the American officer. He
reminded his hearers that strategy, and
armor, and new types Of gun, and scien-
tihc lodges, and all the rest were very
good things but in the last resort what
really mattered was the man behind the
gun. That was true ia the old wars. and
has been proved true again, both at Ma
Mia and a Santiago. Straight shooting
Is. after all, what wins the battle. OF
course, you had better have a gun that
viii fire, and fire a powerful shot at n
lOngish range, but even n YOU have got it.
1t IL perfectly useless if the men behind
ia are too excited or have had too little
practice 60 be able to fire It straight. and
so 10 hit With it, The most deadly batont
shell, fired from the newest and most ex-
pensive and most scientific Of guns, Is no