The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-06-19
Because One Of the BeIlgerents Was Much
Superior 10 the 0theL
TRIUMPH OF IRON OVER WOODEN SHIPS
fdmlal's View Of The Victory Of Manila Bay.
tanIiago a Triumph Of Workmanship and
TanIng Over indifference and hIggadlness.

Vice Armifat William Evashlntsoff of
the Russian navy, Is in New York on
pleasure trip. He has served forty-hve
years in the Russian navy and looks
more like an Old salt from the Massa-
chusetts coast than like the popular
idea of the typical subject of the czar.
In statue he is barely feet s. He
wears chin whiskers that have become
white with age. The only thing Rus
sian about the admiral is his name.
He speaks English correctly and with
an accent that would cause any one to
think he might have been born In
Queen Victoria's domain.
The admiral has had experience in
martial matters. lie was lieutenant
in the Russo-Turkish war OF 1898.
When asked by reporter what naVai
lessons had been taught by the late
Spanish-American war. the admifai re-
piled:
Your war with Spain, while decisive
enough, did not permit OF comparisons
between methods or armaments be-
cause one OF the belligerents was so
much superior to the other. The men,
however, showed on one side lack or
training and on the other perfect
mastery of the knack Of handling their
fighting machinery. The bate of Ma
Mia was the triumph OF iron over wood
and the battle OF Santiago the triumph
of workmanship and training over In
difference and niggardliness.
SPANS mistake.
"If Spain had been more liberal in
appropriating funds for its navy to De
used for target practice II would nave
had men familiar with the tools put In
their hands; as IL was, the guns on the
Spanish men -of-war were merely orna-
ments. Few of the sailors had any
deeper knowledge OF the guns than
could be acquired in polishing them.
mo satisfactory test of the torpedo
boats has been made. In the Chinese
Japanese war they accomplished won
ders; in the last war nothing. In the
Chinese-Japanese war the Chinese uld
not know how to guard against them,
and in the Spanish American war the
Spaniards did not know how TO use
them Only a contest between equals
can satisfactorily decide whether or not
the torpedo boat Is a satisfactory en-
gine of war.
"The submarine boats will without
doubt mark the greatest development
in the modern history of naval warfare.
The period of experiment is passed, and
all the powers now have some OF these
craft.
"The new gas projectiles are also
great invention, and the night attack
will no longer succeed merely on ac-
count of darkness. A Gordon OF gas
lights will be a formidable barrier TO
the fratl torpedo boats and range find
ing at night will no longer be matter
of chance or conjecture.
Naval Comparisons
what do / think Of the American
navy as compared with that of Russia?
Well. that is too delicate question to
answer. The American navy of today
is rema rkable for it's rapid growth. 1t
ranks among the first. where twenty
five years ago all the navies OF Europe
outranked it. The discipline in the
American navy has been criticised as
slack. but / think. personally, that ii
is as rigid and effective as that of Eng
land, Germany or Russia.
Russia in the East? Well, what of
England and Germany, and France
and Japan. and the United States? The
partition of China can not be deferred
much longer. Russia will be on hand
for her share.
What do I think OF America? | have
been here before. Like everybody else,
/ think it's the nevis country, but IL s
very precocious for it's age. In it's ear
lier days IL drew from the science Of
the whole world, and now the whole
-werld is drawing from the science OF
this country.
Universal peace? Theoretically
splendid. but will not live TO see IL.
nor will nv children nor my children's
children The survival Of the fittest ~
the greatest law of nature. and II will
prevail and generally the strongest are
the fittest."
"But. admiral. that Is almost saying
that might Is right
Every near sir. very near"