THE SCRAOTON TRIBUNE-THURSDAY. MAY 12. 1898.
SPANISH TRAITS
OFCHARACTER
Description of the Censor and How lie
Docs Ills Work.
BOMB OF Till ANNOYING DIFPI-
cultiks cohuicspondhnts auk
comi'i;lli:d to :ni)iui;-tiu:
prockss of outtincj hack
monky pah) in advancm for
tmleghams that nkvku whnt.
tub ktkiixal "manana."
Trom tho Loudon Telegraph.
Why is the once might v empire of
Spain reduct.'d to the lust stages f de
cay and rapldlv approaching dlssolu
tlon? TJib Spaniards aro ftill among
tho most noble-minded, sympathetic
nnd Intelligent peoples of tin- civilized
world; they ure "Nntiire's gentlemen."
nnd post-ess an ucsthetle taste capable
of a high degree of devolopemeiit nnd
n number of noble tiniti anil rare qitni
Itles which, under tho guidance of or
dinarily competent ruler, should
and would entitle them still to occupy
n plnco higher than that of Jtnlv In
tho helrarchy of nations. Hut ordinar
ily honest and competent rulers are not
to be had. It Is a case of flod provid
ing the food and the devil Mlpplylng
the cooks'. Tho administration Is tho
ruin of the country and tho people. A
Spaniard Is patriotic to such a degree
that Iip is eapuble o( suorlllolng his en
tire r"nmi', his family, and himself
for the cood of his country at a criti
cal period of Its history. Tho olllclal,
on th. other hand. Is eaten up with
egotism and Is not always oven modor
nt'ly prompt and capable, For the
moment 1 choose a very tame Illustra
tionthe administration of the posts
and toloRraphH and even here I -'hall
confine myself to facts of my own ex
perience. There Is but one foreign post daily
both wnvH to and trom .Madild. It
leaves at 8 p. in.; and u letter eonllded
to the letter-bo:: stands no better
chance of touching the addressee than
does one posted in Constantinople, Kr
zeroum, or Treblzond. Indued, the odds
ure strongly In favor of the latter. 1
am spending in the light of numerous
and slg.vMonnt facts. Of course one
may register one's correspondence, and
then the letter may imive, or It may
not. If it does not. you enjoy the right
of demanding compensation; but before
you have done w itli petitioning, de
manding, visiting, explaining, calling
again, etc., you will have worn out
more boots, spent more money In pens,
Ink nnd paper, and sacrificed more of
your time than the damages llxed for
ten lost letters would compensate, and
you give up the enterprise In despair
long before you see the color of the
money of the administration. Besides,
you ennnot register a letter after 0 p.
m . so that from that hour your cor
respondence Is practically at an end.
If a packet Is sent to you by post, you
do not receive It at your house, but are
favored with an Invoice instead, which
informs you that there Is but one hour
of the twenty-four during which you
may claim tho packet and wait till
you got it.
IX TF.LEGRAPHING. '
Hut by far tho most Interesting pro
cess is that of telegraphing political
mws to a foreign Journal. Here you
pU'U original and quaint Ideas as to the
"V'uy How Not to Do It," which are
bracing and refreshing to Kngllsh
speaklng -oplo. First of all, of course,
you must get your Information, then
vift- your telegram, and, lastly, hand
It In. The mere act of forwarding It
seems a trltte. Inasmuch as ripaln and
Tnu'land are connected by a direct
cable. Now It Is extremely dlflicnlt to
obtain any Information worth having
before I or 1 o'clock In the afternoon;
fi r the Spaniards those at lenst who
make history are by no means early
risers, and the ministerial councils nn.l
other state gatherings occur generally
between 3 and fi p. in. Yet a telegraphic
message to Loudon, handed In at the
head olllce at Ma lrld nt 1.30 o'clock
In the afternoon, frequently reaches
linn Ion at the same hour the next
ni'-rning, when it Is absolutely worth
less And th direct cable plays but a
ri latlvely small pin t In the delay. The
1 loyal Inquisitor, known as tho Censor,
is the man mainly responsible for this
woeful wast of time. lie is not always
nt home, nor Is he, perhaps, always in
the humor for censuring anil criticis
ing, and the mesaes must wait until
he Is disnngared nnd In tho mood.
Hut whv should there not be many
censors? Flist of all. Indeed, one won
ders why there should be any. Spain
Is a constitutional country, anil at pres
ent It Is governed by the Liberal party,
which holds high the banner of free
dom nnd fraternity, and makes war
upun all the Old World abuses of des
potism, conservatism, etc. Yet, for nil
that, there Is a censure nay, such a
Btrlit i ensure as has been unknown In
llussia since the days of Nicholas I.,
and Is imrnllclcd only in tho Turkish
empire of todav. A mere word, to
whuh the censor reasonably or unrea
sonably objects, Is enough to ruin a
telegram of a thousand words to which
he assents. Thus 1 forwarded n most
Important message yesterday, which
with tho utmost dlllicultv I was en
abled to hand In nt 3 p. m. The fncts
It contained dealt with the resolutions
adopted by the cabinet council. At the
end there was one short sentence to the
effect that, according to a rumor eur
lent In Journalistic circles of tha capi
tal. It was expected that the Hpuultdi
olllcers would meet In the I'uertu del
Sol that evening and walk home In
silence by way of a patriotic demon
stration. This wns absolutely true. The
rumor was current ver where. I hent
off tho message at 3 p. m. sharp, and
mentioned the time in the t( legram.
Shortly after 1 o'clock next morning I
received a communication fi"in the
chief of the telegiaph to th.- ff . t that,
owing to the sentence nlimtt the pro
jected manifestation, lie had detained
my message, but that If, on rellectlon,
1 considered that I could modify that
particular passage the telegram would
be duly sent on! After ten hours had
elapsed, and the news had become
utterly worthless!
SPANISH CF.HKMONY.
Tho Spanish ceremonies which ac
company the handing In of a telegram
would be amusing were they not so
ilksoino and tlmc-kllllng. You ap
proach a little window In the one olllce
In I ho city, nnd, when your turn comes,
hand In your message. Tho clerk
counts the words a couple of times
over, ndds up the result of each page,
refers to a written tnrlff and finds out
what the cost Is In francs. Then lie
take another slip of paper, finds out
whnt the ratu of exchange Is at the
moment, nnd reduces the francs to
Spanish pesetas. Finally, he rends out
the result say 579 pesetas, 33 cen
times. You engrave these figures In
your memory, and, leaving tho hall, go
out to another window In a passage
outside, and there await oiir turn, re
pcutlnc always the number r.07.3." until
the cloth asKS you what you want.
Then you explain that you are come
to puichaxe Spanish stamps for tho
rum of 597 pesetas. .'!". centimes, nnd
you take out a note for 1 000 pesetas.
The passage is dark on the brightest
day, and you accept the stamps and
your change In a spirit of true reli
gious faith, for you see not even darkly
as In a glass. When you return to the
Inner sanctuary and help to make
queue, awaiting your turn again the
chalices are that you find yourself
short of stamp". In consequence of a
mlstape on the part of tho clerk out
side. This happened twice to to me,
but I um bound to sav the Individual
dl-'covorcd and rcctilled his error, so
that my only loss wns of about thlrty
lle minutes more.
Hut the most curious thing of all Is
the process of recovering your money.
If the telegram be suppressed. There
Is no way of obtaining it speedily. You
must wait. Messages of mine to the
value of several hundred pesetas were
stopped, and 1 called at the olllce for
the money. In Kussln, (Jermaiiy, Tur
key, Austria everywhere. In fact the
money uald Is refunded at once. Hut
nut so in Spain. Here yon have to make
various pilgrimages, from post to pil
lar, interviewing olllclals, dignitaries,
clerks, porters. All shake their heads,
shrug their shouldcis, purse their lips
and assuro you that tho government
allows them no special funds for the
purpose. "Yes, but If you do not for
ward my message, for which I paid
you In advance, you have no right to
keep niv money." "Oh, no! of course
not. We are not to blame, you know.
You had better see our chief. He Is
very busy now, but If you call tomor
row, I am sure you can seo him. I
spent four days Journeying from chief
to subordinate, and from subordinate
to chief, and at last I received tho fol
lowing satisfactory promise: If you
will write a petition to the chief of the
telegraph, asking that the money lie
refunded you for tho suppressed mes
sages, he will deal with it In due time."
"What Is due time?" 1 ventured to In
quire. "Well, wo cannot promise any
thing," said my Informant, Senor Fores:,
"except that, when the funds allow it.
you shall havu your money back."
"Hut could you, perhaps, say approxi
mately when?" He could nut, but an
other olllclal could, and did "Any
time between two and four months!''
Such Is a specimen a tame, hum
drum specimen of the methods of pro
cedure In the Constitutional Kingdom
of Spain, under tho most Liberal of
Liberal governments, In the cultured
capital of Madrid. What takes place
In tho provinces and what took place
In Cuba wp cannot ntllrm with cer
tainty, but here the old proverb un
doubtedly holds good: "If they do these
things In a green tree, whnt shall be
done In the dry?" Spain has truly
fallen upon evil days.
run ci.oiiv or i.mmativi:.
COST OF WAR IN
MODERN TIAIES
Enormus Outlay ol Men nnd Money as
Shown In Hit Records.
t'Nrt.n sam has sim:nt bkvkn nit,-
LION DOLLARS AND LOST NHAHLY
3.0011,000 MKN-ACTFAL FIGURES
FItOM ALL TUB WAltS. INCLUDING!
TIIF. HKVOLUTION-COMPAIUSONS
WITH TIIOSK OF OTtlKIt COtTN
TIUF.9 IN MODtniN TIMKS-LONO
AND SHOUT SKS8ION8 OF CON-(IIIKSS.
tJtllllllllllllllllllUIIIIIIIIIIIlIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllltllllllllllllllllllUIllIIUIIIlIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISIEIIlIIIIIHItlllllllllllllMiHj
5 JONAS LONG'S SONS.
THE GREAT STORE.
THE GREAT STORE.
JONAS LONQ'S SONS.
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MILK
CRUST
When our baby boy waa three months old,
be had tho milk crust very badly on liU head,
o that all tho hair raiuo out, anil Itched so
bad. ue made It lileyl by scratching It. I pot
a cake of Coticuka Soai and a box of l'c n
cuba. (ointment). I applied tho Ccnrciix
and put a thin rap on his head, ami it fore t
had uttd half it lax It vas tntirtUi rum), and
bit hair commenced to grow out 'nicely.
reU.24&8. Mrs. Iiajft)I.MEa, Ashland, Or.
Concci Himni'ir. pp.il with Irrwittblf forct t
tiothi.,nutt. tail ill hiving Ib.c.r.of chlldr.D. To
now Ih.tmnjl. pplieitlon will .Jjid initial relief.
pwmlt ml Hi linn, ind point la iptcdr run In Iht
moil tortarlDf.tnd dtlflgurlnf of Ikln ind icilp diieliei,
with Iom of hair, ind not lo tin tnimli to liilta your duly.
Bi.nrforSicii.Toini.iib lUnm.ndniir lot 'I l WD
Motrins In wirm buh with Ccirika botr, nd a
llofl uiolstlng with Cmicnm, tmliil of i tin curtl.
fold iBrouthout tho world. I'urrit I) O. Coir-., Polo
ropi'i UmIou. uw to Curo llib'i Bllu Uuwimi, (:.
What It Meant lor Admiral Dewey nt
Manila.
New Yoik Commercial-Advertiser.
It is the delight of a true sea lighter
to get out of reach of yrders nnd to
smash th" ir.cmy with a free hand.
This is the wny Nelson won victories
and undying glory. Trafalgar was
straight work and matter of course,
and ni- f.ime had so grown by then
that the llritlsh navy was embodied In
his poison and the admiralty were his
staft. Hut the lung pursuit of tho
l'roiith licet cut him off from superiors
and put him out of reach of dispatches
before tho battle of the Nile, and left
him fiie to take risks which would
lwve terrllled either St. Vincent or tho
admiralty. That splendid success em
boldentd him. and ut Copenhagen Judic
ial blindness pi evented his seeing the
admiral's signal t.i retreat till he had
Mnashed the Hanish ships.
In this day of omnipresent cables and
omniscient naval strategy boards a sea
(iKhter Mddoni enjoys the delight and
glory of initiative, even utter ho has
won the fame that Nelson took to Tra
falgar. It Is sheer luck when a sub
ordinate can tight away from unlets
and win glory with his own mind as
well as his own hand. That was Dew
ey's luck. It gave him the opportunity
of Immortality and he grasped It splen
didly. Cables gave him general orders
and unlimited credit to buy coal and
supplies, and tho department sent him
n shipload of ammunition. The rest
was for him, and he did It with a skill
and dash and thoroughness that make
one regret the old days of Initiative nt
sea. Fiotn the duy Dewey loft Hong
Kong he was as Independent of con
trol und as dependent on his own re
sources ns was Mngellan on his first
approach to the Philippines.
They who feared the modern system
would mako naval olllcers dependent
may well marvel at the result. This
gentle habitue of tho Washington clubs
blazed across the l'aclllc lll.,.u viking
reincarnate. Ho fell upon Manila as
Drake fell upon Panama. His font
seems all dash nnd valor, but there
was just that nice mixture of Judg
ment in It which wins success. His
preparation was complete. Ho lenrned
all he could about the enemy and then
went at him. U(f took every risk pie
vlslon could not avoid. With tho best
pilots lie could get, he steamed over
mines and by forts, ns If parading on
a summer sea, nnd wont straight to the
ships It wus his business to sink. That
done, ho gavo nttention to the town,
which lils by now, no matter how;
he win report In due time. Nobody
cures much what Dewey's orders were
or how closely hn followed them. He
has dune his appointed work, and ho
has given a most Inspiring Dictum of
a sea-fighter doing it In traditional
fashion. Wo must make the most of
this. It will bo seen more rarely as
tho whole world cumow more In touch.
.Indgpil by llor (Jaib.
"I sco tho scientists huvo figured out
there nro "OO.ooo.ooij people, in tho world
who aro only partially dressed."
"Well, well! Then tho society girl Is
not one of tho 400 hut aim of tho "OO.WJ,
000, Isn't she?" Olnclnnutl Hmiulrer.
1
I'linntlco.
"I stopped In at tho revival incotln'.
They wanted mo to give up drlnkl'i',
swenrln', gainblln' und shoolln'."
"Voa; I hcerd thoy wuz down on all
sorts of amusements." Puck.
From the (llobe-I)emocrat.
On tho daybreak of a struggle In
which, for the first time In over a half
ciititury, tho United States has been
lined up ns a whole against an oppos
ing foe, It Is Interesting to glance back
to tho American conlllcts, and as well
to some of tho more Important wars of
tho century now closing. Thero has
licon a general Impression, erroneous,
to be rure, that Undo Sam's battle
month Is April nnd that ho hua always
begun his scraps with his neighbor
during the month of showers. This Is
not a fact, although the Hevolutlon
started April 21. 1S31, und the rebellion
April IS. ISGl, although really the first
blood shed was In the streets of Balti
more when the 6th Massachusetts en
countered the mob April 10, while en
route from the Hub to tho capital.
Some comparison of the number of men
and the cost of those various struggles
serve to show the growth of the coun
try. The revolution cost In round num
bers, according to the best estimate
obtainable. J133.19S.703, and In this
Btvuuglcwhlch lasted within eight days
of eight years, there were employed,
during the whole time, 291,701 men,
divided us follows: Hogulars, 130,711;
militia and volunteers, 164.0S0. No nc
cmate figures, an to the number of
men lust, can bo obtained. The first
battle was at Lexington nnd Concord,
and the c essatlon of hostilities came
April 11, 17S3.
The next time that your Uncle Samu
el had occasion to call upon his boys to
show the stuff they were made of, came
In 1S12, wur being declared by the
president Juno 18 of that year. While
there hnd been no battles fought pre
vious to tho declaration of hostilities,
yet nrent llrltnln had angered the
young nation by Insisting on ItB claim
ed right to impress Into the llritlsh
navy former subjects of Great llrltnln,
wherever found. This war closed mi
Feb. 17, ISt.. Thoio were engaged In
tho strife it total force of 471.CJ2 men,
of whom only about 85,000 were regular
soldiers and stamen, the rest being
volunteers. This war of nearly three
yeuis cost In round numbers JI07.159,
000. Tho next could hardly be called a
war, although It Is designated In his- i S
tory as the Jllack Hawk war. There is
no data preserved by which an accu
rate estimate could be given either as
to tho cost of the number of men en
gaged. The war lasted a little over a
year, beginning In April, 1S31, and end
ing Sept. 30, 1S32. The Seminole war
Is hardly worth the name of more than
a series of scrimmages.
It was fifteen years after tho out
break with the ISlack Hawk Indians
that the Ainu lean eagle ngaln became
war-like and plumed itself for battle.
President Polk notllled congress. In
May, lSlfi, that less than a month be
t'oie a. small detachment of United
States troopn had been captured by tho
Mexicans. Congress nt once declared
war, and authorized tho president to
raise an army of 50,000 men and to
spend $10,000,000. From the best rec
ords obtainable In tho war department.
It Is shown that tho United States put
Into the field an army of 30,031 regulars
and 73,770 volunteeis. This war, which
ended in 181.'., cost about $100,000,000.
The great struggle, which came In
1KC1-03, was the most expenslvo the
country ever saw, both from Its cost
In priceless human life and In the
money spenc. Reckoned as a whole,
tho country spent for this war no less
than $7,400,000,000, of which the North
expended $3,110,000,000, and the devoted
people of tho South tho balance In up
holding a hopeless cause. It Is esti
mated that, during the whole of the
war, Uncle Sam's boys numbered alto
gether 2.018 2C0 men, but the number
of men which tho South put Into the
field could only be estimated, at best.
Tho losses sustained by the armies In
the war of the rebellion have been
stated ns high as fioo.000 men, but ex
Deputy Commissioner of Patents Hell
states that tl'ls Is greatly exaggerated,
as the best ligures obtainable show the
total losses did not exceed 101,500. In
citing Instances of exaggeintlon ho
said It wns claimed that nt Gettysburg
something like 10.000 mpn wero lost,
whll". as a matter of fact. In that three
days' light the union forces had killed
2S3I men and tho Confederates 3500 men.
The battle of the Wilderness, accord
ing to this authority, had much great
er fatalities, as tho union loss then wns
.V.07 nnd tho Confederate loss about
2000. Thus It can be Been that Uncle
Sam altogether has spent for wars
$7,742.352,7011, and has put into tho field
In various ways a total of 2.9S6,lfiS men,
nrme-d and teiulpped for lighting, not
counting the Indian affairs.
OTHKU MODI3HN WA11S.
Tho cost to other nations of Impor
tant wars has not been as largo nti
this. Tho Franco-Prussian war was
waged nt a cost to Franco of nbout
$3,100,000,000, and tho number of killed,
wounded nnd Muk amounted to G3'.12l
men. Clermany's expense wns much
less, ns the war cost her but JC00.000,
000, and the number of killed was C0,
000. The Husso-Turklsh war w.-.s compar
atively a cheap affair, costing but $123,
(10'i.OOcj. with a total number killed and
disabled, as gleaned from senil-oillclal
sources, 250,000 men. Much more ex
pensive In money wus the war between
Prussia and Austria, which cost $330,
Oi'O.OOO nnd a loss of llfo of 15,000. Tho
Servo-llulgarian war cost $170,000,000,
with no approximate estimate of the
number of men lost. The Afghanistan
war $18,250,000, and the African war
about $S,770,000, none of them appreci
ating in cost and fatnlltles to tho civil
w ar.
It mnv not bo umlss to schedulo the
wars of tho century beginning with fiur
own trouble with llrltuln In 1312, tho
Grecian war of 1P20-21, the French.
Helglnii and Poland revolts of 1S30, the
Hrltlsh-Chlnese opium war of 1840-42,
when Ilrltaln went to war because Sin,
Hie ereut mogul of China, demanded
the right of tho Chinese to seize opium
from tho subjects of Great Ilrltaln
without pay, tho Mexican war of 1S4,
tho Afghanistan wars of 1S46-79 and
1SS0, tho French revolution of 1S18, the
OrlmH'an war.the Italian trouble of 1859,
tho scrap between Prussia and Austria
against Denmark In 1SC4, the Husso
Turklsh war of 1S75 and the almost
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Not $75.00 J1 J
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17.9
For a HighGrade Bicycle.
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FULLY GUARANTEED.
WELL-KNOWN manufacturer of very high-grade bicycles came to us
the other day with a proposition to take a certain quantity of wheels in
exchange for cash, which he badly needed. Knew that he dealt in big lots
that if the goods were up to the high standard required by us, we would be
prompt customers. The wheels WERE ALL right we knew that by their
name and worth and the reputation of their maker. He offered them to us
at an absurdly little price conditionally that his name should not be revealed
nor the name of the wheel. We accepted his terms, and .
Just 100 Will Be Sold Saturday,
flay 14th, at 9 O'clock.
Not a wheel will be sold before that hour that our big trading public from
far and near may have an equal chance at this great bargain. The specifica
tions call for every requirement in an up-to-date high-grade wheel. No need
going into details over a point on which you can satisfy yourself by examination
before buying.
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Models for
Ladies and flen.
Is the Price.
Three
Colors of Enamel,
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THE GREAT STORE.
JONAS LONG'S SONS.
KViEsiiiiiiiiiiciniigiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiEiiaiiiiEiiiiiiiiiiBiiGiBiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiictiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisiiiir
JONAS LONG'S SONS.
THE QREAT STORE.
rnntmual wtvr.i of Spain with her col
onies and at honu.
War, unfortunately, means battle,
and battles mean death, and a com
parison of the number killed un Injured
In the wars of the century would
seem to show that, with all tho Im
proveBiejit in arms, the death list
has not greatly Increased. Aside from
liettysburg, Antlotam and Metz, the
principal losses In tho leading battles
have been as follows:
Jena, 1S0C Prussian loss, 21,000 out
of 105,000; French loss, 18,000 out of
00,000.
Ilattle of Kylnn. 1S07 Russian loss,
25,000 out of 73,000 engnged; French
loss, 30,000 out of 83,000 engaged.
Wagram, 1S09 Austrian loss, 25,000
nut of 100,000; French loss, 23,000, with
the same number engaged.
Aspern, May 21-22, 1S09 Napoleon's
first defeat. The Ivittlo Corporal lost
35.000 out of an army of 70,000, while
the Austrian! lost 20,000 out of a force
of SO.000, Napoleon's loss being ejulte
50 per cent, of his anny.
Horodius-Moscow French lost 50,000
out of 132,000, and the llussinns 43,000
out of 123,000.
Konlggrntz, ISfiS End of the Prusso
Austrlnn wnr. About 400.000 men wore
engaged altogether, and In this battle
Austria lost 40,000, while Piussla lost
but one-quarter as many.
The battle of I.elpslg was fearfully
fatal to French arms, as out of 100,000
men they lost fully (10,000, while the
allies lost but 42,000 out of an army of
2SS.000.
At Waterloo, last fateful act in the
real drama of Napoleon's life, the
French lost 30,000 out of a splendid
army of 73,000, very nearly ono-linlf,
while the loss to the allies was but
23,000 out of R3.000. This was tho most
destructive of any nppearlng on tho
record, ns the loss on both sides was
over 33 per cent
At Pedan, before the terrible fire
of the German guns. 30,000 Frenchmen
out of an army of 150,000 were killed,
while the German loss In killed and
wounded was but 8, lull, and this out of
an army of 230,000.
THK GALLANT AUMSTHONG.
It Is more than interesting to recnll
the fact that America owes Its suc
cess In tho battle of New Orleans not
ubuie to General Jackson's bravery,
behind the cotton bales at tho ('resent
city, but to a little lnslgnltlcnnt naval
engagement which took place In the
very waters near which America's
squadron was hovering. Karly In 1812
Lord Castlereagh, then Premier, con
ceived the brilliant scheme of making
a conquest of Louisiana, and by so do
ing grab all the territory west of tho
Mississippi river. His plan was to
make a feint at Washington and
Ualttmore with the lleet under
Admiral Cochran. thus drawing
the nttention of the govern
ment, and then to withdraw that
lleet and have It combine with the
transports and fleet under Commodore
I.loyd, both of which had been direct
ed to rendezvous nt Negrll Hay, Jamai
ca, The demonstration against Wash
ington and llultlmore wns a success, as
was shown by the burning of the cap!
tol and the hurried moving. btween
tw days of the go eminent headquar
ters to York. Pa. After this Admiral
Cochran withdrew his ships in good
order to tha AVest Indies. Arriving
there with his lleet, he found the pri
vate urmed brig Gen. Armstrong.
Cochran had In his lleet 130 guns, while
the Armstrong boasted but seven.
Three engagements took place within
twenty-four hours, in which tho llrit
lsh lost 210 killed nnd 140 wounded,
while the Armstrong, which waa prue
tically destroyed, had but two killed
and peven wnunded. Such great dam
age, however, had the Armstrong's
guns lnltktcd on tho British fleet that
sixteen days were required to put the
lleet in readiness to sail. This gave
General Jackson time enough to reach
Now Orleans, and he arrived only four
dnys before the famous engagement to
throw up the hasty embankments and
to drive Lord Pakcnham and his army
forever from United States soil. One
brig agnlnst'a lleet, but It was enough.
SESSIONS OF CONGRKSS.
There bus been a mistaken impres
sion in many minds as to tho probabil
ity of a very long session of congress,
rendered necessary by the war. hut
history shows that tho opposite Is like
ly to be tru It Is hardly necessary
to take Into account the sessions dur
ing the war of the revolution, for con
greus was then a great deal like a
peripatetic photographer's car, not
long for nnv one place, but after the
revolution some of the shortest sessions
ever held were those during the wars.
The Twelfth congress was in session
during the wnr of IS12. It met Nov. 1,
1SU, and June is, 1112, passed a decla
ration of war and vet adjourned July
C, 1M2. The t'ccoiid session of this con
gress which met Nov. 2, 1812, expired
by limitation March 2, 1813. It wan
found necessary to call the congress to
gether In extraordinary session May 24,
1S13, but even then a long session does
not seem to have been necessary, for
adjournment wns had Aug. 2, after a
resslon of only Feventy-one days. The
other sesslot.s of this congress were
shorter than ordinary, although a spe
cial session was summoned Sept. 19,
1MI, and held until the close of the
wnr, or. rather fifteen davs after tho
close, namely, March 3, 1815, when It
expired by limitation.
Leaving out the Indian troubles the
next war congress was tho twenty
ninth, which nssemhled Pce. 7, 1SI3,
and closed Aug. 10. 1S45. Tho session
lahted 233 days, but this was not a
long time for the long session of con
gress, as the Twenty-eighth congress.
In time of peaie, lasted nearly 300 days
for the long session; tho Thirtieth af
ter tho war, was over 231 days, and tho
Thirty-first W'i days, nnd this In a war
that lasted nearly two years.
There have been many statements
made as to tho length of congress, tho
Thirty-seventh nnd Thirty-eighth ex
tending from 1S61 to 1803. As a matter
of fact, the shortest session ever held
v.a that after the lieglnnlng of the
war of the rebellion. President Lin
coln bummoncd congress to meet July
4, 1SP1. It met on that date. and. af
ter thirty days In session, adjourned
Aug. 4, 1861. Throo sessions were held
eif this congress, and all three amount
ed to a smaller number of days than
half the congressional term. The Thirty-eighth
congress, which met In De
cember, 1863, and continued to the end
of the wnr, was In session during the
two terms, hut 299 days. Since that
tlmo thero have been but three con
gresses which held In session u smaller
number of duys, while the Fiftieth con-
gress was in session 412 days; the
Forty-sixth. M3 days; the Fifty-first,
3;i7 days, and tho others averaging all
the way from 329 to 347. It should ho
remembered that tho number of days
takes in ull the time spent by tho con
gressmen and includes both sessions of
each congrestj. Based on this historical
punt, tho prediction is made by the
mathematicians in both house nnd sen
ate that June 15, at least, will roe the
'congressmen und senators out of Washington.
f -H-H- -M- -M- -M- 4M""r -M- -f-f 4-M- ft -M-M- -t-M-t
OUR WAR WITH SPAIN RIGHTEOUS..
Bishop Whitaker, of Pennsylvania, on the Duty of
Citizens at the Present Time.
Philadelphia, May 11.-Tho annual convention of the Protettant Episcopal
diocese of Pennsylvania began here yesterday. The feature of tho opening
proceedings was tho address of Ulshop Ozl W. Whlttaker, In which ho jus
tified the war with Spain. In spea;ting of the duty of churchmen and citi
zens he said:
"1'nder tho Intluence of a constraining desire for peace, a desire which is
strong In tho heart of every good nnd wise man, thero aro thoso who are
asking whether the end we are seeking might not huvo been obtained
without resort to war. If congress hud been more del'birutc In Its uctlon
nnd more conciliatory In its utterances, If the president had been left free
to secure the continuance of peace by diplomacy, might ho not have brought
the awful suffering in Cuba to an end without the firing of a gun? Devout
ly as I wish this might have been, I do not believe it could have been. Wo
had to deal with a power whose methods have discredited her in the realms
of truth and Justice, a power which has never llfte-d Its heel from the neck
of a subjugated peoplo until compelled by force. The course of events
during the paHt three years has tended steadily toward the situation at
which wo have now arrived."
Quoting President McKlnley's statement of April II. that the only hope
of relief from a condition that could no longer be cnduicd was tho en
forced pacification of Cuba, Ulshop Whlttaker said:
"Tho only way to enforce this humune and righteous determination was
by tho forco of arms, and that means war. it is suld that Spain has offered
to arbitrate) the destruction of tho Maine. Hut that destruction, atrocious
ns It was, was not the Impending motlvo of tho war. Wnr would have
come, thomjh perhaps not so soon, bud tho Maine remained undisturbed. It
Is said that Sptln hns declared an armistice, flut who that has read tho
history of Spanish diplomacy can bellovo that the Spanish army would ever
have been withdrawn from Cuba so long as tho L'nltcd States was seeking
to effect Its removal by diplomatic methods alone?
"lielng a just cause. It Is our duty to bustnln It with nil the weight ot our
Influence, and to bo helpful to tho prosldcnt nnd to congress In every possi
ble way, to rise above party prejudice and ,il! 1 nrthun nr-isures and meth
ods, and to encourage thoso upon whom th s ' r .-:ujusllilllty of con
ducting tb" war Is placed to carry It forward with utmost vigor and dis
patch, that It may be brought to a ipeedy and honorul le end. It Is our duty
to pray for the president and his advisers, for our scr.utp and house of rep
resentatives, for our army and navy, for eVery admiral and soldier and
marine In the rank ur.d file, and the humblest cjuI payser, that every man
may do his duty In tho fear of God."
1
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iUODLKN HKA HATTLU.
Likely to Hu Trouble.
"ilnw, ulr't a man and his boy two
persons?"
"Certiuinly, Willie. Why do yon ask
such a question us that?"
" 'Cnuce I bet Hob Hicks my knife
agin his bug of marbles that It's right to
suy 'Dombey & Son ure a very Interest
ing book' nn' If ho doesn't puy It I'm u
goln' to lick lm! Chlcugo Tribune.
An Ugitinpla Which Shows That
HrniiiH Vet Utile.
From tho Chicago Inter-Ocean.
On the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 1(1,
1S94. u fleet of eleven Japanese men-of-war,
accompanied by torepdo bouts,
attacked fourteen Chinese Ironclads
mid cruisers, also accompanied by tor
pedo boats. The battle of tho Yalu
began at a little after 1 o'clock and
lasted until C. This was not a battle,
us has been Ignorantly said, between
"the old Junks of the Chinese navy and
tho well equipped und modern lleet
of Japan." It wns a fight betw. e
armured and protected ships and ere
ers, with rapld-ilro guns, and
nil equipments of modern science,
contending forces were nut very
evenly balanced, though tho Chliu
hud an advantage, not only In tl
number of ships, but also In n great
preponderance of armament nnd arm
or In their two best vessels, the Chen
Yuen nnd the Ting-Yuen. Kach of
these ships had a displacement of
7,430 tons, armor from eight to four
teen Inches thick nn the side, and
twelve Inches barbette. Kach carried
two twelve-Inch guns, two five nnd
i.ine-tenths inch guns, and eight inn
chlnei guns.
Contrary to the frequent nssertlon
of the uninformed that one serious
concussion of shot must be fatal to a
modern Ironclad, tho Chen-Yuen
showed 120 shot holes In her Hides at
the time of her retreat, and tho Ting
Yuen, though leaking so badly as to
bo three feet down by the head, kept
alloat. The Chlh-Yuen, a Chinese ves
sel of heavy armament, with a speed
accorded tho honor of lending the Chl
of eighteen und one-half knots, wus
nese van; she was struck 200 times
beforo she went down. She cnrrled
three eight and three-tenths Inch guns,
two six-Inch, eight ulx-pouuders, and
two three-pounders. Tho King-Yuen,
which rushed to her relief, went down
beforo accomplishing her purpose,
struck by a torpedo, ns the Chlnepo
ay, or by u shot, as the Japanese as
sert. Her armor was from flvo and
one-half to nlno and one-half Indies
thick. She carried four heavy puna
and seven mnchlno guns. These wero
fair examples of the Chinese lleet
which, after a live hours' engagement
and the loss of four vessels bv sink
ing, conflagration, or running aground,
was nble to retreat to Port Arthur,
where It was bottled up by tho Japa
nese and mado of no effect until the
cessation of hostilities.
Not a single Japanese ship was sunk,
though the flagship Matushlma, steel
clad, and with one twelve-Inch turret,
one twelve nnd eight-tenths Inch rapid
tiring and eight machine guns, wns no
badly crippled as to be sent homo for
repairs. Two other Japanese ships
suffered considerably, but yet wero ro
garded as seaworthy enough to remain
With the fleet.
Here, then, we have a battle between
two fleets of modern type. It is true
that In neither of them wero vessels
equal In speed, displacement, armor,
or armament to some of those that nro
likely soon to engage In strife. Hut
they were representative vessels of
their class, and their class Is that
which Is most numerous In every navy,
The lesson of the conflict Is that mod
ern naval wnrfare Is neither so de
structlve nor so purely mechunlcnl as
certain wiseacres would have us be
llev'e. Seamanship nnd courage still
count In lighting at sea.
Another Solemn Truth.
"They say it Is unlucky to get engaged "
during Lent." ' "
"I know If, but sometimes If you don't
catch a man when he's feeling depressed
nnd penitent you won't get him at all.
Chlcugo Record,