The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-02-22

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The Tive Sayi,s Compared.
Considerable Is being published Just
now concerning the comparative size and
efficiency Of the navles Of Spain and the
United States. and great deal OF mis-
Information Is being disseminated, ex-
hibltlng an astonishing amount Of mex
cusable ignorance on the subject Some
reports have been published to the effect
that since the loss OF the Maine the
Spanish navy Is now superior to our
own. How such a statement could be
made with all the means OF ascertalnlng
the facts at hand Is inexpllcable. 1t Is
needless for any one to be disturbed by
fears that the outcome of conflict
would be, disastrous to this country, IL
they are baslng their approximations on
such statements.
The fact Is that the United States has
on the Atlantic coast about the same
number Of warships as Spain has avail
able In her navy, barring torpedo boats,
which are only operated in home waters.
OF ships proper the United States has
three flrst-class battle-ships on the At
lintlc-the Indiana, the Iowa and the
Massachusetts. while Spain possesses
but one, the Pelayo. The Maine was a
second class battle-shlp and her de-
s.ruction leaves US but one, her COM
panion, the Texas. while Spain has but
one: Investigation shows that the only
monitor Spain has Is the Pulg-C erdo.
and 1t is In practically useless condl-
tlon, while the United States has four OF
the finest monitors afloat-the Terror
the Puritan. the Amphetrlte and the
Mlantonomah. Spain has six armored
cruisers, and on the. Atlantic coast we
have the Blooklyn and the New York.
Our naval officers say that our four
monitors are superior to three of spain's
armored cruisers. and that so far as this
comparison is concerned the two navies
are of about equal strength.
A-writer in the Chicago Inter Ocean,
referring to this equality, says that the
comparison is thus thrown back to the
battle-ships, of which We. have four to
SPANS one, and continues:
The armament OF battle.shIps Is four to
one in our favor. and 1t Is the kind of arm
lnlent that tells ten to one In naval bat
tle.S So much for strictly fighting ships.
We have ten, Spain has SIX In protected
cruisers Spain has not more than fifteen
and we have ten available on the Atlantic
coast The armament OF our ten, careful
calculation shows, Is little more than
equal to that of 'Spaln's fifteen.
or gunboats Spain seems to have twenty;
We have not more than twelve with imme-
Nearly one-half OF Spain's gunboats. ac-
cording to Lord Brassey. the great English
authority. are small steamers from S. to
SIG tons" In the matter OF unarmored
ships. the commerce destroyers, Spain has
n slight advantage In strength. We could
use our topedo-boats:s Spain couldn't get
hers over here. We could use our ram
katahdin and our Holland submarine boat;
Spain has no such vessels.
In the matter OF ships and guns, despite
the loss OF the Maine the United States has
a decided advantage. Battle-ships are the
ones that count In real fighting. But naval
battles are not solely won by ships and
guns. They are won by men-Valorous
lueHJ pulilOtlC IIlell-Oll uOdlu stile Siiip5.
Our ships are manned by seamcn nine
tenths OF whom are American seamen.
Spaniards. OF course. man SPANS ships.
There YOU are as to men; Americans on one
side and Spaniards on the other. Need
more be said?
Another feature to which attention is
called is that efficiency that comes from
cleanliness" and which is to the advan-
tage of the American ships The incl
dent is recalled OF the visit, in 1893, OF
SPANS greatest warshlp to New York.
when women, visitors fled from her on
account Of the dirt. This may not count
for:much in some peoples eyes, but to q
naval officer It is regarded as worth
mentioning. Seriously speaking. q
strong point in favor of the American
side in the event of war Is the fact that
the fighting would take place In Cuban
waters. The United States vessels could
easily obtain coal while the Spanish YES
sells would be able to do so only with
difficulty. and in naval war coal Is
often as important as ammunition, and
the engineer and fireman quite as valu-
able as the man behind the. gun. In
summing up all the comparative adyan-
tages, 1t should not be forgotten that
the scene OF action would be mainly
upon this side OF the Atlantic.
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