Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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mm tm ?B2 8?MTJ5R WATCH UAH, KstablUhed April, 1850. "Be Just and Fear not-Let all the Ends thon Aims't at, be thy Country's, thy God's and Truth's.'* THE TRUE SOOTH RON, Established Jane, 12^9 Consolidated Aa?. 2,1881. SUMTER, S. C., WEDNESDAY, MAY ll, 1898. New Series-Yoi. XVII. So. 41 1>3\ C3-. <3 - teen, SUMTER, S. ? TERMS : * $1 50 per an nam-io sri va nee. IDT?RTI?C?SXT. On* Square first insertion.$1 00 Svery subseqnect insertion........ ......... 50 Contracta for three months, or longer wil be made at reduced rates. All communications which subserve private interests will be charged foras ad versements. Obituaries nod tributes of respects will be charged for. AND SPAIN'S. Tlie English Journal "Engi? neer" Finds oar Ships In? ferior. The English jooroo], Engineer, has jost made some interesting compari? son? nf the strength of certain Tes ?als our navy and Spain; and the con closions drawn from them are timely and interesting. The vessels select? ed were : Displace Hotted States. Knots, ment. I. B. P. Guns Indiana 15 5 10,238 10,403 42 Massachusetts 16 2 10,288 9,738 42 Iowa 16.1 11.410 11,000 44 Brooklyn 21.9 9,250 10,769 36 New York 21 8,200 17,401 30 Columbia 22.8 7,475 21.500 27 Minneapolis 23 7,475 21,500 27 San Francisco 20.2 4,083 18,400 22 New Orleans 20 3,600 7,500 24 The United States vessels are ar ranged in three groops : Battleships, armored croisera and protected crui? sers. > Spanish vessels in fonr groops : Armored and protected cruisers, de? stroyers and torpedo boats. D isp race Spain. Scots, ment. I. H. P. Goos. A. Oqoendo 20 7,000 13.000 28 I.MariaTeresa 20 25 7,000 13,758 28 Vizcaya 21 7,000 13,000 26 CristobaIColon20 6,840 14,000 38 Emp Carlos Y 20 9,235 18,500 20 Pelayo 16 9.900 8,000 19 Alfonso XIII 20 5.000 11,000 22 Lepanto 20 4,826 12,000 20 Audaz 30 400 '8,000 6 Furor 28 300 6,000 6 Osado 30 400 8,000 6 Pint?n 30 400 8,000 6 Terror 28 300 6,000 4 riete 26 1 97 1,600 4 Asor 24 108 1,600 6 Rayo 25 5 97 1,600 4 Engineer ass nines that battleships, armored croisera and protected ves sels which are of recent type will oe cupy the van of the fighting Hoe, and hence these are the only ones consid ered The diagrams printed show that the displacement of the United States boats selected ls 72,069 tons, and of the Spanish boats 58,903 tone. The United States armament io 294 goos and that of Spain 243 goos Oar average speed is 19 63 knote, and that of Spain is 23 67 knote The diagram showing the met s 1 thrown credits the United States with, 37,808 pounds, with 1,120,323 foot-ions a minute, and Spain with 40,811 pounds, with 1,529.516 fool toss a minute. Commenting on these ?gares Engineer says : "It will be observed that the dis? placement of the United States ves; sels rather exceeds that of the sb ip 8 of Spain ; also that the gnos are more. io nomber Here, however, any fancied superiority in the aver? age qualities of the vessels compos me the two groops ends We have carefully analyzed tbe conditions ?a regards efficiency of fire, and sepa? rated tbe vari?os types of quick firing guns from those of ordinary character which happen to have the same calibre The result of investi? gation, however, proves that, though the nomber of separate pieces of ordnance carried in the Spanish ships is less than that contained in the American squadron, the weight of metal thrown and the energy i's far greater ; the weight of projec? tiles fired Q8efoliy io one minute be? ing 40,811 pounds, or practically, twenty tons, against 37,808 pounds ; while the fire energy is 1,529,516 foot tons, against 1,120.323 foot tons as capable of being delivered by the ships of the United States. These are significant facts Tbe main factor in the product of gun power on the Spanish vessels is the output of energy created by the forty seven quick firing guns of 5 5 ioch calibre ; just as in our own squadron in Chinese waters the chief element of^ gun power is derived from the 6 inch rapid firi?g guns. We, ourselves, when visiting an important United States cruiser, took tbe opportunity of pointing out to the goonery officer the unwisdom of mounting the old fashioned 6 inch ordinary breach loading gun in a brand, new, up-to date ship of 22 knots speed It is a fact, neverthe less, that out of thirty 6 inch guns carried m the United States ships now under consideration, only six are quick firing. There is an import ant difference, too, as regards, speed and handiness in favor of the Spanish vessels, the average rate of her ships being 23.67 knots per hour, against an average of 19 63 as ruling in those of the United States This degrada tion in the average is due to the com? paratively slow steaming of the three battleships It is difficult to see where- the usefulness of these heavily armed, floating citadels comeB in except to capture and sink the Pelayo. "The main factors of projectile weight and fire energy which the American squadron possesses are due to the alow-firing 13 inch and 8 inch guns of these battleships. Yet there is small chance of their ever catching a glimpse of the swift sod bandy ar mored cruisers of the Vizcaya type, and still less pbance of their getting an effective shot at them Were those weapons the rapid-firing 8 inch guns recently perfected by- the Els? wick firm, and which, we are delight? ed to say, are to be mounted in our cruisers of the Diadem type, it would be quite another story But they are not, and we fear that the United States may find their obstinate de? termination to arm their new vessels with guns which are the creation of their own genius has landed them in a dilemma at this juncture. Spain has wisely copied and purchased some of the best guns of all nations, including the productions of Krupp and Schneider Canet, and she is, relatively, in a better position now as regards the armament of her re? cent vessels than the United States "The great difficulty for Spain willn of course, be centred in the fact that she fights from a base more than 3,000 miles away. When the coal supplies in Cuba and Puerto Rico run out she must depend upon colliers which can run into and from blockaded ports ; and the United States armed mercantile cruisers should be able to render this a very perilous little game "A great deal,, too, depends upon the man behind the gun. The 3,000 Swedish sailors who are to form part of the complement of the United States vessels might be excellent ma? terial if fighting in defence of their own hearths and homes ; but naval warfare of the present day is no past time-it is a grim and ghastly real ity, swiftly executed, and no hire? lings of an alien State are likely to come well out of such a terrible or? deal In point of fact, we do not believe that the Yankees thoroughly understand the spirit of mischief that they seem so determed to evoke " In commenting on the last para graph of this article, a man who is familiar with th? make np of our crews said : "The idea that has gone abroad that the sailors on our m en-of war are mostly foreigners is false. This bit of fiction, however, bas been allowed to circulate so long without contradiction that it is generally ac cepted as true by foreign writers who treat of our navy. As a matter of fact, a very small percentage of our sailors are foreigners. If you want proof of that look over the list of the Maine's crew. A year ago, when I was aboard the New York, there were only a dozen foreigners in ber crew, and that is a fair aver? age on our boats. Don't make any mistake about the nationality of the men behind the guns. They are Americans, all of them THE PLYING SQUADRON. Old Point Comfort, Va , May 4. (Oo Board the Flagship Brooklyn, off Fort Monroe.)-it is the geoeral ex* pectatioo here that the flying squadron will go to sea within twenty-four boars or as soon as the croiser New Orleans arrives. Commodore Sob ley has been notified that the croiser Colombia has been detached from the squadron and that the New Orleans will take her place. So far as Oi-hting ability is con? cerned the New Orleans is soperior to the Columbia, beiog more heavily armed and without so much' free? board and upper works to set as a target. The sqaadron as now constituted will ooos?8t of the Massachusetts, first class battleship ; Texas, second class battle? ship ; Brooklyn, armored cruiser ; New Orleaos. of the type of the Raleigh and Cincinnati, and the Scor nioo, a fane armored yacht, with four 5-inch aod four 6 psuoder guns The i Minneapolis bas oot been officially de? tached aod may yet join the eqaadroo. The fquadroo ts now accompanied by a first class tug, for dispatohes and water purposes ?od the collier Sterling Kingston, Jamaica. May 6.-Fbor American warships have been reported off tbe eastern end of Cuba, near the Windward passage. THE'COBAN ARMY OF INVASION. WILL AWAIT NAVAL BATTLE Between the American and Spanish Fleets Off Porto Rico. Tampa Bay Hotel. Tampa, Fla., May 4.-It appears to be almost a settled beliefs among army officers here that no movement of Coked States troops toward Coba will take place ODtil. after the meeting of the Spanish flotilla with the boats of Bear Admiral Sampson's squadron, which is now believed to be inevita? ble. This may cauafi a delay of several days beyond he time be iieved to have been fixed upon, and it is possible that nearly two weeks may elapse before the movement is actually under way, as tbe Spanish flotilla is not expected to reach Porto Rico, the sopposed destination, inside of ten or twelve days from the date of its sailing. Nevertheless, everything is being done to poe the Uoited States troops in readioess for immediate ship? ment. Plans for division hospitals and the allotment of surgeons were practi? cally completed to day. The First io farury, one of the regiments which will be landed io Coba, was pat through the emergency entrenchment drill, throwing up entrenchments with tin I oops, skillets, tin pans or whatever was convenient., and long practice marches in heavy marching order was given other regiments. A NATIVE CUBAN FORCE. Preparations for the landing of a large force of native Cubans at some point io Coba within coove oient reaob of General Gomez's army are being poshed to a conclusion as fast as possible. How large a force there will be is a? yet un? certain. The Coban recruiting offices that have been opened here are fairly over whelmed with applications for enlist? ment, and it is very probable that close to 1,000 men will be arm sd and ready for service under the nancers of Gomes before the end of the week. Most of' the Cubans who are now io the West Tampa camp have already had co o sid erable military trainiog. Their num? ber is being constantly increased by ar? rivals from 'New York, Jasksooville and other recruiting peints. Between 30 and 40 young Cubaos arr ved here to* day from New York, and will be fol? lowed tomorrow by about 150 more from there, all enlisted at the junta headquarters. Two or three Uoited States naval officers, thoroughly familiar with the Cuban coast, are now in Tampa for the purpose of escortiog the Cuban ex peditioo to Cuba, and will remain with it until the junction with Gomez's army is effected. It is said to be the plan to have one or more of the gun? boats of the American fleet now in Coban waters meet the transport boats at some point North of Key West aod protect them until the landing is ef? fected. Spain's Toppling Monarchy, There is far more going oo io Spain than the dispatches from Madrid are permitted directly to reveal ; bot enough is koowo to show that not only fighting but victory is necessary to the maintenance of the Alfoofoist dynasty. There are riots in every qnarter of the kingdom. Military law law is de? clared in a number of provinces. The temper of the people is most menacing. What is worse, the army shows strong symptoms of defection. In all critical momeots Spain is controlled by the men wearing her uniform. As goes the army so goes the government. And the spectacle of army officers io citizens' dress inciting the mobs to violence tells the story of demoralization aod danger. Out of this cauldron of rage and in? subordination we know not what Car? lista and tho Republicans have in targe part ceased to cooperate with the up? holders of the present monarchy in pre? senting a common front against the nation. And the alliance between the Liberals and Conservatives whiob has been so well maintained during the Cuban war seams aboot to be dis? solved. Uoited, Spain will fight on, yielding nothing to aggression. Divided, dis? tracted by civil war, aoything is pos? sible. The goveromeot cannot coo teod against domestic r?volution aod against the Uoited States at the same time. In this matter anarchy is our ally. Home convulsions permitted the loss of Spaio's great con tin en tal empire in America, and do? mestic revolt may hasten tho loss of ber island empire io the louies, East aod West. "A house divided against itself cannot stand."-State Washington, May 6 -Nothing had j been reoeived from Commodore Dewey up to ll o'clock this morning It is positively denied that the President bas received a report fron Dewey. Washington Stil! Waiting For the Officiai^Report of , Commodore Dewey. Washington May 4.-A sensation was caused throughout the oity by the news that - oame this morn? ing of the arrival of a vessel, supposed to be the dispatch boat McCuliooh, at Mirs Bay, 40 miles from Hong Kong, the cable terminus. The officials im? mediately fell into an air of expectancy, waiting for some word from Admiral Dewey that would not ooly confirm offi? cially the stiriog news of the battle of Manila, as report ed by the press, bat telling what had happened since the oable was interrupt? ed. Up to the ciose of office hours, however, no word bad come from Hong Kong Great interest is feit in the reported return of the Spanish Cape Verde fleet to Cadis, bat, while admitting the pos? sibility of the fast vessels of the Span? ish flying squadron making the pass? age io the five days that they have been out from St. Vincent, the naval officers were disposed to regard with suspicion news of this kind of emanating from Portugal, because of the recognised sympathy of the Portuguese with the Spanish side. It would be worth a good deal to the Spanish admiral com? manding the flying squadron, supposing be were on his way across the Atlantic, to throw us off our guard by having us believe that he had returned to Spain. The navy department bas now se oured two vessels, the Australia and the city of Pekin, io San Francisco, which will be loaded with coal and sup? plies and rushed off to join Commodore Dewey's fleet. \> nether.' or not they will oarry troops will be determined positively when the commodore is heard from upon this matter. Absurd Confederate Parallel. Various timid and ill-informed news? papers cite the civil war as a warn io g that our contest with Spain may be long aod dreadful. - There is no possible parallel between the two oases. It ia simply preposter? ous. 1. First of all, the Confederates were Americans, not Spaniards-an im DO r tant differenoe. 2 Their armies were commanded by some of ?he ablest West Pointers then living; including Lee, Jackson the two Johnstons, Beauregard, Longstreet, Stuart and others, soldiers equal to any that war has ever produced. 8. These Americans stood faoe to face with the Union armies from the outset, They were not transported 4,000 miles. They fought on their own ground. 4 They numbered half a million fighting men, whereas Spain has not more than 50,000 effective soldiers io Coba and cannot land any more 5 They bad their homes, their corn? fields, their cattle pastures, their pig? pens aod their smokehouses at their backs. They bad 4.000,000 negro farm bands to raise food supplies while the white men fought. . They bad re? sources such as poor, bankrupt and re? volution-racked Spain has not had io a century. 6. The civil war divided the coon, try. This war aoites it. The north and sooth are standing together as one man, and our war-making power repre? sents now the combined force of both Unioo and Confederate fighting plas a great increase in wealth, population, transit facilities, food production, inter? national credit and all other resources. Plas also all the teaching of that costly war lesson, plus exp* rie need officers aod soldiers still ready for duty, and pius a powerful navy. The country that facas Spain is quite five times as potent as was the divided country that tried oooolasions wirb it? self in 1861. Comparison in such a ease is simply absurd -New York World. IM ll ? - Sampson's Squadron Sailed. Key West, May 4-1 40 a m - This harbor is again empty Rear Admiral Sampson's fleet bas sailed, and the situation is one of renewed ex? pectancy. There is a s?roog impression prevailing that the Dex., news from the fleet will tell of an important engage? ment of the same ebaraoter as the Asiatic squadron's Manila victory. Until then no interesting developments are expected, except, possibly, the bringing in of new prizes. TO CAPTURE PORTO RICO. London, May 5.-A dispatch to the Daiiy Mail from Kej' West, sent by way of Tampa in^ order to escape cen? sorship, asserts of positive knowledge that Rear Admiral Sampson's fleet will steam at fall speed to Porto Rico, either to destroy or to ocoapy the coaliog sta? tion as a naval base before the Spanish fquadroo arrives, and then pat to sea and try to engage ?he Cape de Verda fleet Tho Frizes at Key West. Arrival of the Argonaut With Twenty Spanish Officers as Prisoners, One of Them Being a Brother-in-Law of Weyler. Key Weet, May 3.-The Spanish mail steamer Argonauta, Capt. Lage, the news of whose captare was tele graphed yesterday, was convoyed into Key West harbor by the United States cruiser Marblehead this after? noon It appears that Col Yincente De Cortijo, of the 3d Spanish cavalry, who, with nineteen other army offi? cers, was taken on the prize, is a brother in law of Lieut. Gen. Vale rino Wey!er. Col De Cortijo and the other offi? cers were transferred to the Guido, and the privates to the Ambrosio Bolivar, two other trophies of the first week of the war, that are still lying in the harbor The Argonauta herself is no mean prize, being of a thousand tons, bait the value of the capture lies mainly in the prisoners of war and the mail matter going to Gen. Blanco. Her cargo is general merchandise, with a large quantity of arms and ammunition intended for the Spanish troops in Cuba. The only other incoming prize to? day was the little fishing schooner Antonio y Poco, taken by the gun? boat Newport, off Mariel yesterday, and towed in by the gunboat Cas tine The Castine has proved her prow? ess as well as the more redoubtable sh i 08 of the squadron. At 8 o'clock Sunday morning she went into Ca? banas and anchored only about a mile from the fortifications, which are a sort of composite of fort and block houses. Then she sent her steam cutter in about half a mile un? til it was within a thousand yards of the fort. There the cutter made soundings and observations for half an hour or more, after which she return? ed to the ship unmolested. A num? ber of persons were clearly observed about the fort They watched the the operations with apparent interest, bot offered no hostile sign. Two unfortunate accidents have occurred on the ships during the last few days Whi?e the flagship New York was lying at Matanzas, a ser g?ant of marines dropped his pistol, which exploded, the bullet striking William Taylor, first class appren? tice, and, passing through bis atom ach and lungs. Taylor's condition is serious, but he has a chance for recovery. This morning while the crew of the cruiser Cincinnati were driling in the harbor a ball got mixed with dummy cartridges, and J. Scomex, gunner's mate, was shot through the jaw. The 680 marines, who arrived on the Panther a few days ago, will be transferred to the Resolute, which is expected shortly from New York. THE OREGON SAILS PROM RIO. Buenos Ayres, (via Galveston, Tex ) May 4.-A dispatch just received from Rio Janeiro snnorjnces that the Uoited States battleship Oregon, aod the Uoi? ted States gunboat Marietta have sailed The Uoited States dynamite croiser Niotheroy will follow them probably this evening. Negroes to Dry Tortugas. Atlanta, May 4.-The department of the gulf to-day ordered two com? panies of the Twenty fifth infantry (the negro regiment) from Key West to Dry Tortugas. Fort Jefferson at Dry Tortugas is being improved and strengthened, and the infantry is sent there to garrison the post. William Henry Trescott.8 Charleston, S. C. May 4-The Hon William Henry Trescott, for many years connected with the State Department in Washington and a leading American diplomatist, died at Pendleton, S C., to day. At the opening of the war he was acting secretary of State of the United Staten under President Buchanan. He resigned and came South during the war, but since the war was charged with numerous important missions for the government, among them being that of plenipotentiary to China to revise treaties in 1880 ; special envoy to belligerents in Peru and Chile in 1881 and plenipotentiary with General Grant to Mexico in August, 1882 He wrote a number of books on American foreign policy which are considered standard. He was born in 1822. Quality is first consideration of the White machine. Good eewiog machine from $10 np at Randie's. Fight on Cuban Coast Between Spanish Troops and a Party of Insurgents. Key West, Fla , May 5-The gov eromeoc tog, Leyden, Captain J H. Angas, steamed into port this morning, and those on hoard told the following story of a desperate ercouoter with Spanish troops oo the northern coast of Cuba : The Leyden lef: hrre ?Monday after? noon, with a party ot insurgents under General Baidanaare Aoosta, and includ? ing five Cuban scouts under the leader? ship of Captain J. H. Dorst of the United States cavalry. The Leyden also carried a large quantity of arms and ammunition. The tug landed five men with four boxes of ammunition and two horses. General Acosta also landed and penetrated to the interior, where he communicated with the forces of the insurgents. The Leyden lay to outside until 5 o'clock ia the morn? ing, when, observing a troop of Span? ish infantry approaching abe pat to sea and got safely away. The same night she proceeded to Matanzas, and Tuesday afternoon landed aootber small party?near there. Fearing attack by the Spaniards, she looked for the monitors Terror aod Amphitrite, which are oo the blockade in that vicinity, but being enable to locate them, the Leyden returned to the original landing place, reaohicg there early yesterday morning. Here she was met by Acosta and about 200 Cabans, half of whom were armed with rifles. Tbey uoited with the men on the tug and an ^attempt was made to land the remaining arms and men, when a troop of 200{of the Yilla Yicosa cavalry swooped down oo them, aod a fierce engagement of a half hoar's de? ration followed. The Cabans finally repulsed the enemy, driving them into the woods. Paring this engagement several rifle ballets went through the Leyden's smokestack, but no one was injured. Tbe plucky little tug then went in search of the flagship, found ber lying' near Havana and reported the story. Hear Admiral Sampson sent the gun? boat Wilmington back with tbe Ley? den. The two vessel*? reached the scene of the landing yesterday after? noon and found the Spanish cavalry in waiting to welcome another at? tempted invasion. The Wilmington lost no time io pre" liminaries, but promptly opened fire on a nomber of small booses marking the entrance to the place. The gunboat fired, four shots, which immediately drove back the Spaniards, and Captain Dorst, with the ammunition, landed safely last night, the Lsydeo returning here. Army Officers Pay. It will be interesting jost now to know what army officers aod privates get for their services. The following shows their salari?s : Private Corporal Sergeant First sergeant Sergeant major Hospital steward Seoood lieutenant First lieutenant Regimental quartermaster ** adjutant Chaplain Captain Lieutenant colonel Major Colonel Brigadier general Major general Sao Francisco, May 6.-The cruiser Charleston went into commission this morning. She is now taking on a losd of ammunition, and all the supplies she can carry for an early departure for Manila. - - ??? - BUCKLEN'S ARNICA SALVE. The best Salve in tb? world for Cats Bruisese, Sores, Ulcers.S&lt Rheum, Fever,. Sore Tetter, Chapped Hands, Chilblains, Corns and all Skin Eruptions, and positively care Pilei or no pay required It is guaranteed to give erfect satisfaction, or money reinnded price 25 cents per box. For sale by Dr J. F* vf. D*Lorme. Royal makes the food pare, I wholesome and delicto ts. ^ POWDER Absolutely Pure 3 $ 13 00 ' 15 00 17 00 22 00 23.00 45.00 116 67 125 00 150 00 150 00 125.00 150.00 250 00 208 00 291 00 458 33 625 00 mt*. BMOMQ Pjgjjgj CO.. HtWVQWK.