Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-04-10

Founders, four l-pounder, and four ma
| e6ine guns, and that OF the New YORK ~
substantially equivalent Inc pt9te.,s .,os
cruiser Columbia carries one S-ihcn, w. ~,
| S-inch eight 4-inch (rapid-iire), twelve
6-pounders four l-pOunder, ana lout ui"
| chine guns. and the maneht OF ,iie N q'bn
! neapois is precisely the sane' IN,
| TeXas has two 12-inch and SIX o,lhch
guns. besides twelve 6-pounders, SIX l.
FOUNDER. and four machine guns, anu nc
puritan (monitoD has four Yemen s,s
finch (quick-fire), four S-pouhuess' oy III Ia
l-pounder, and four machine guns. nn y.
| the Spanish cruisers are forrpidab'e cIaie
we cannot be said to be oVermalCheu ~
hrst-ciass fighting vessels. ,s 49,
or less than 5000 tons displacemene
down 70 1000. we are far ahead ot
Spain. She has the Alfonso Kill, sGvu
tons; the Lepanto, 4,SS; Keina, C9r 10,
Navarro, SS42; Alfonso NIL, 5000, and
Relna Mercedes. 5000. These are unpio-
tected, of moderate speed, except Allonso
XIII. and the Lepanto, when are &c
dited with 20 knots. Their size ana arma-
ment fairly correspond with the indicates
tonnage. The heaviest guns OF ths AZ
fonso XIII. and the Lepanto are .s-lncn
inch Hontorias, ana those OF the Ardsoh
type 6 pinch HontoriaS or 5.9-inch Krupps.
CORRESPONDING to this list OF second-ciass
cruising vessels we reckon the following
sixteen, Of 1900 tons or more; chicago,
$3.50 tons; baltimore; 4iiS' PhiI E,rs y.
cisco, 4,0JS; Charleston. $3.50: lancast ee.
$3.50: Cincinnati, S,2lS; Raleigh, s-lSi
Atlanta, 3coo; Boston, 300 tsll n o.
tected cruisers); the Monterey. barbstte
turret. low freeboard monitor; the Mian-
tonomah Amphitrite, Monadnock,. Snd
Terror, double-turret monitors or o9"
tons each. The monitors are, or course,
armored and heavily armed, but arc
not fast, and are for defence rather than
for cruising.
spain is reported to have bought tbs
Giuseppe Garibaldi from Italy and she
has for some time been trying TO buy inc
Carlo Alberto These are both first-clasa
armored cruisers the former or $50 tons.
and the latter 6.5O0. they both nave b
inches of Harvey steel in their armoy
belts, and make 20 knots an hour. To on
set this acquisition, actual or possible.
We have tine two new Brazilian cruisers.
and are negotiating for more. These
cruisers, which have been renamed tne
New Orleans and the Albany, are Of tie
second-class, each having a displacement
Of 1900 tons and a speed OF ~ knots.
But We have a large number OF crui'
sers and monitors which in our classln'
cation are called third-rate vessels.
ranging from ! go TO 5000 tons. and spain
has scarcely anything corresponding 70
It. She has nothing between ZOO and
5000 tons. while the United states ne
the cruiser Hartford, 2I@ tons; the har.
bor-defence ram Katahdin. l55; the UNI
protected cruisers Detroit, Montgomery,
and Marblehead. OF 2,0s9 tons each. ana
the single-tuTret monitors AJAX, Canonl-
Gus, Mahopac, Manhattan, ana Nyah~
dottes, of 2.lO0. The monitors are slow,
but carry two l5-inch guns each. The
cruisers have a high-speed capacity ana
and smaller. Spain has a few cruisers
Of a little over 100 tons-the Nelascc,
l,l52; the Condo dc Nenadlto. Don An
tonic de Ull0a, Don Juan de Austriat
Infanta Isabel. and Isabel H., Of llJo
each, and the Isla de CUBA. Isla de Lou.
ZOu, and Marques de IA EnsenHda, OF
O30 each. These have a speed Of IL 10
e knots and their heSye5t gums yaas are 6e
displacement from l. 800 tons down "a
1000 the United States navy has nine
cruisers-NarlOn and MOhican, lgc
tons; Adams, Alliance, Essex, ana Enter.
prise 1.3T5 each: Thctis. ESQ; Alert and
Ranger, 1920; eight single-turret moni-
tors Of 1875 each. the COmanche, CATS
kill, Jason, Lehigh. Montauh, Nahant,
Nantucket, and Passac; three gunboat5
and Yorktown; the dispatch boat Doll
ph!n, 1856 tons; two light gum
boats OF 1892. the Wilmington and Heie-
ma: two of the same. Of 1871 tons. tho
Nashville and MonOcacy; two l.iI-ton
gunbOats, the Castine and Machlas, and
five l.00-ton composite gunboats. tho
Annapolis. Vicksburg. Wheeling. Mariet-
Ia and Newport. The monitors IN this
list carry two big l5-inch smooth bOrcs.
and the cruisers mostly six or eghc
4-irch rapid-fire guns. ana some smaller
Ii :, lltluOllB ulttI4llt- htlas 4 iiI sun
boats carry mostly 6-incb guns as their
heaviest ordnance.
Spain has a number OF gunbOats and
other cruising craft OF less than 1000 tons
displacement, including much Of tho
coast guard OF Cuba, but Il Is an inef-
fectual force for war purposes. We have
seven vessels that are classed ~ fourth
rate. They are the dynamite-gun vessel
Vesuvius 929 tons; the cruiser Yantic,
800; the gunbOat Petrol, s92; the transport
steamer Fern. so: the gunboat Bancroft,
S39; the cruiser Michigan, oe0, ana tho
gunbOat Pinta. $50.
In the important line OF torpedo crafs
the Spanish navy is far better equipped
than ours. Unless by very recent pur-
chase, we have no torpedo-boat Destroy
ers, while Spain has two OF the largest
size, quite new, with a speed OF % knots
the AudaZ and Osada-and thrce others
scarcely less dangerous-the Furor. Ter
ror, and Pluto. she has also several very
large topedo-boats. liI feet long, with
a speed OF 26 knots OF which the Ariets
and Range, In the fotilla at Cape Verde.
are samples Her entire torpedo outhe
includes thirty-eight OF the first class
that Is, rs feet long or more-and many
smaller ones, which are not likely 70
cross the ocean in any case. Our torpedo
fleet consists OF twenty-five boats IN all,
barring additions just made, and none OF
them compare In size and power with tho
best OF the Spanish. considerable mum.
Der OF sailing vessels and many tugs and
smaller craft belong 10 our navy, but In
the two most effective branches for war
upon the sea. large armored vessels ana
torpedo craft. We cannot claim any oe'
cided advantage over spain.
"a nsFH Dalai NJ 0ct