Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1898-06-25

trustee of the State normal school of
Iowa. nnd Il at present secretary Of the
National Educational Society. He has
already been assured Of the united sup.
port Of the delegates from the several
country towns.
Chas. II. Corwith, the well-known
renl estate man. and Hon. A. o. Sex.
ton, are said to be slated for appoint
ment to the School Board.
In the war results already accom-.
plished two causes contributed very
materially to the American victories
the accurate craftsmanship Of the
American gunners and the wild marks.
mnnship Of the enemy. shortly after
war was declared a naval expert, In
discussing the relative merits Of the
two opposing fleets, predicted that the
American ships would be victorious be.
cause they were better manned. He
added that whereas the Spanish gun.
ners were practically without expert.
ence In target practice the American
navy had burnt more powder In expert.
mental Workmanship than the navies
Of England, Germany and Spain com.
bined. Target practice Is expensive. It
costs about $3.50 to fire one of the big
guns such rs are carried by the Iowa,
the Indiana, the Massachusetts and the
Oregon; but the actual results prove
that money devoted to that purpose IL
well expended. In recent interview
concerning the battle ut Manila Pay.
master Loud Of the dispatch boat Nc.
CullOch said: AT one time really
thought we would be beaten. This was
after the fire had been kept up m hour.
1t looked as II every gun on the Spanish
ships had turned loose on us oil togeth.
er and the shore line was veritable
blaze Of fire from the batteries. The
din was simply indescribable. Tons
upon tons Of shot fell over our ships.
There was steel enough to have sunk
our entire feet. Our salvation was In
the bad craftsmanship Of the Span.
iards. They handled their pieces like
boys. Nearly all Of their shots went
wide Of the mark" That doesn't tell
the whole story, but 1t tells part
Dewey's craftsmanship was as accu'
rate as MOntejo's was wild; the Ameri'
can gunners served their pieces ~
calmly as II they were engaged In regu
lar target practice. and the result,
speaks for itself. When Admiral Samp
son attacked the Notifications Of san
tiagO a terrific bOmbardmcnt Of three
hours laid the forts In ruins. ana not
an American ship was struck, although
the squadron was within 1900 yards OF
Moro Castle. The Spaniards had be
lieved that the Santiago fOrtiticati0n'
were practically impregnable. They
We're planned by Gen. OrdOnez, thu
most eminent engineer In Spain, ant
mounted modern guns. But the mel
behind the guns did not know how t.
shoot; SIMPSONS men did.
~6A
One Of the earliest effects OF the cam
paign against Spain was the develop
ment Of a taste for war. The navy
revcled In action after long period Of
sluggish Incidence. The regulars ant
volunteers had q pleasurable sense Of
excitement and new experience In mill
tary adventure. The great host Of
newspaper readers throughout thu
country had a spectacle to wltnes,
which fred the blood and rendered tn,
ordinary scenes of peace dull and pro
sale. For the moment 1t was like nj
excited audience watching bull fight
The taste for war Is soon satisfied Il
any civilized community. War ma!
sometimes be necessary, but 1t Is bar
barOus In spirit, scientific as the me
chanism may be. The sober secOnt
thought among our people must Away
be that war Is. at the best, the mos
brutal sport In which men or nations
can interest themselves. Mr.. GladstOn,
once said that there was nothing NOR
remarkable In history than the disband
ment of the Northern and Southern
armies Mt the close of the civil war
and the immediate absorption Of mill
lon veterans In pacific industry. NJ
taste for war had been created durini
four years Of storm and stress. Tn
people of this country learned durinl
that terrible period to detest the cur
mage, bloodshed and evil passion o
warfare. That, let US hope, will be tn
final effort also Of hOstilities witt
Spain. After the civil war the reac
ton was carried too far. Conscious o
the resources at our command In al
emergency, Congress cut down the al
my to twenty thousand men, and neg
lected the navy until 1t was scarcel!
worthy Of the name of navy. 1t wa
not until 1888 that the building Of |
new navy was undertaken, and tn
/ yorls was allowed tn drag from yea