The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1900-05-10

bread swath cut through the forest
! from sea to sea, with a railway through
the centre, liucs OF barbed wire en-
tanglemente on each side, ANAL block
| houses every hundred yards and big
| ones every mile. And these block
houses wera many Of them formidable:
We have seen one suffer three pom.
bardments, two Of them with 5.inch
nav | guns, and st the close it waS
standing without ID visible breach in
| its walls.
| Spain had almost as many mon in
Cuba as Great Britain has in South
Africa : regulars an! volunteers, they
| looted up 5000, while the CubanH st
no time had over 10000 in The field
| The SDaniards We're armed with
Mauser rifles and krupD field pieces
the Cnbans mainly with Winchester
and Remington carbincs, and they had
practically no cannon except Il battery
or two OF , l.2inCh pneumatic dyna-
mite guns with range OF Il mile-but
with these tney took 1umbcr Of
towns, both before aud after the Amer.
! lean invasion.
| The difference between the .Ameri-
cans and the British when they went
up against Mauscre rifles trenches
was that the Americans won, while
the British did not. This is pleasing
| to our national pride, but when the
: circumstances are studied it viii be
! seen that there are reasons for the DIFF.
terence unrelated either to courage or
/ skill. These are that the Americans,
nn!!He thc British, attacked 80 enemy
! vastly inferior in numbers and in
! shooting ability. The attack on the
I san Juan and Caney hills were. like
those on the Magcrsfontein and Col
enso kopJee, direct frontcl assaults,
unaided by strategy. The British
were poorer shots than the Americans,
that Is evident They coutendc i
against the finest marksmcn in the
! world while the Spaniards opposing
our forces in the Santiago fights were
among tho poorest, rihe practice heinS
! unknown In the Spanish army. But
tho HiH1n di1erGIco was Of numbers.
~ Is held by experts that direct front.
81 attacks on an aentrcnched enemy
! we'll armed with mCdcrn rifles using
smokclcss powder require AZ numerical
superiority OF five TO one TO be success
ful. A. Magersfonteln and ColensG
, the British were probably two to one
At San Juan and I'll Caney the Ameri.
cans we're ten to one.
You will not find this point dwelt on
by those American writer's whose aim
ls rather to Halter national vanity than
to tell the sober truth but San juan
and Ell Caney were but outposts and
their works held only | 800 men against
the 900 attacking them. These are
the Official figures. At El Caney there
were o2O Spaniards. They held at bay
for ten hours from three to tive thOus-
and Americans and only retired when
they had lost 250 men, their general
and other officers. Compared with
the Beers at Colenso, who lost 80 men
out Of perhaps 5000, these Spaniards
fore tho main lines Of the spanish de-
tense around Santiago were attem ptcu.
Tho capture OF Manila was sham
affair, by previous arrangement only
nominal resistance being made to the
American entry. On the only oc-
casions, therefore, that American met
Spaniard in set battle the Spaniard
did credit to himself, proving again
his national power OF resistance and
the potency Of tho Mauscr rifle.
1t is well to consider facts like these
If only to broaden the mind and reduce
the race and national arrogance which
is too often the product of sheer igu"r-
ancc. We would like to see the time
, come when Justice OF thought will be
the rule and the merits OF an alien and
: even hostile people will be recognized
and admitted as frankly as those OF
our own Or @ kindred race. Such 81
condition will make for intcrnatiOna
peace. Most wars result from the pre-
Judicc which accompanies mi:inf0rma
tl0n and without pre- judicc there Cai
be no international fcuus.