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About The Yamhill County reporter. (McMinnville, Or.) 1886-1904 | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1898)
T IS n far cry from tbe ol<l wood-1 | was used as a receiving-ship at the en frigate Constitution to the I Norfolk fiavy yard until 1829. Steam great iron-clad Oregon, a shot | vessels soon came to lie of great Im from one of whose thlrteen-lnch guns, portance in the coasting trade of both well aimed, would easily persuaile the Europe and America, and In 1819 a old-timer she had missed her calling steamer of 360 tons called the Savan and bad tietter “heave to.” And John nah made the passage from New York Paul Jones, whoso victory over the to Liverpool In twenty-six days, but she Serapls In revolutionary times has was heavily sparred and depended made his name familiar to every Amer largely on her sails. ican schoolboy, would !» quite as In 1840 vessels with screw propellers much passe on Ixaird "Fighting Bob” came into vogue. Captain John Erics Evans’ Iowa as the Bon Homme Rich son made a proposition to the English ard, his flagship, would lie jn Rear Ad government to apply the screw device miral Sampson's squadron. to war vessels, but his scheme was Time mnkt-s thrusts that the best of scouted as visionary. In 1843 Ericsson naval commanders cannot parry, and came to ¿lew York and built the Prince the most that any man can hope to do ton, which was the tlrst screw man-of- Is to keep up with the times. From the war ever constructed. The Princeton great, unwieldy wooden frigates and proving a success In every particular, schooners of the revolutionary period, England built the Duke of Wellington, with their nine nnd twelve pound guns, which outranked the Princeton, the lat- and from 500 to 1.000 tons displace ter being adjudged unsea worthy lu ment. our navy has progressed to the 1849. type of the Iowa, the Indiana and the The Crimean war demonstrated the Oregon, whose mammoth steel hulks usefulness of the screw propeller, al- displace 11,000 tons of water and though it was several years after that whose terrible rifle-bored guns throw the naval authorities of the world were 1.000 willing to trust to a full-powered screw, metal projectiles weighing pounds. unaided by sails. About this time tbe This remarkable evolution in naval Great Eastern, nlso called the “Won warfare was not the result of aecl- der ship," was built. She was con dent. It followed In oliedlence to the structed of Iron and wood, was 692 feet theory that nations, ns individuals, long and carried 12,000 tons of coaL must “fight tlie devil with fire;” yea, She plied between England and Aus with his own fire, be it ever so fierce tralia and, although not a man-of-war, and destructive. Moreover, naval war- properly speaking, was a formidable vessel. The day of tbe wooden wheels came to a close, however, when In 1869 the French built the lust sea going iron clad, which was christened La Gloire. She was originally Intended to carry ninety guns, but was cut down and plated with several Inches of Iron. She was provided with full steam power, with auxiliary sails and carried forty guns. Not to be outdone, England, ever jealous of her mistressship of the sea, constructed the Royal Oak and later the Warrior, the lutter being faster than any wooden vessel afloat and vastly superior to La Glolre. France replied with the Solferfno, re markable for her ram bow and for the JOHN PAUL JONES. fact that up to that time she was the fare has. as a rule, kept pace with Im only Ironclad carrying guns on two provements in the arts. With respect decks protected by armor. The Mino to size and strength, the navies of the taur war vessels were then Introduced world have generally taken rank ac by England, but they were too un cording as their necessities required wieldy for service and were aban- and the enforcement of their claims, doned. meritorious or otherwise, demanded. This see-saw competition was golng England, with a territory upon all on when the rebellion broke out in the of which tile sun never sets at one United States and we found ourselves time, has tbe most formidable navy In without a single Ironclad vessel and the world, and the rest of the world practically without a navy. At the out agrees that she needs it America, set, the Federal government made a whose acres are contiguous and whose foreign policy has I hhui preservative rather than aggressive, has hereto fore been satisfied with the fifth navy of the world, trusting to her noninter ference and the great bodies of salt water to her east and west as a de fense. The npiHirent Incompatability between the great commercial inter ests of the United States and the pov erty of her national defenses has long been the marvel of Europe, and a great many thinking people of our own coun try have doubted rhe policy of trusting too Implicitly in natural resources and natural defenses. Comparisons are not always odious, but they are usually <11171. ult To com pare the navy of colonial times with the navy of to-day Is like comparing tallow candles with arc lights, stage coaches with modern railway palaces and Fanuell hall with the Ch.cago Auditorium or Masonic Temple; it ;s comparing wood with steel, sailing tackle with twin screw motors and primitive gun powder with "brown prismatic," dynamite and nitroglycerin. I revolutionized the naval warfare of Europe. Tiie Monitor was slightingly characterised “a cheese box on a ratt,” but it proved to be the strongest cheese that ever was placed in a naval sand wich. The turret system, which was the essential feature of the original monitor, is familiar, ami does not re quire description here. The broadside system was said by contemporary crit ics to excel the turret system for ocean service, but the value of the “cheese box,” ironclad for clo.-e fighting In shal low water was never disputed. Some of our monitors, such as the Minntono- niali, Were constructed of wood, and the voyage of the Miantonomah to Eu rope and of the Monadnock to San Francisco via Cape Horn showed that these vessels could go to sea as well as fight in shallow waters. Of the two broadsides constructed by Captain Ericsson, one was a failure, and the other. New Ironsides, a decided success. After passing through the siege of Charleston and doing excellent service she was laid up In ordinary at League Island and afterward destroy ed by fire. England converted one of her liners into a monitor of the turret shape and called her the Captain. She was constructed according to a plan proposed by Captain Coles, but went down at sea with 500 on board, thus showing the lncompatablllty of sailing power with a low free board. As com JACKSON’S JOKE. Colonel Avery Did Not Appreciate the Substituted Authority. GEORGE DEWEY. pared with the English and French Ironclad«, the American vessels drew less water, but were more effective than the foreigners in shallow water. After the civil war Russia went wild over ironclads and built a large number of the naval cheese boxes. So much for the early navy of the colonies and civil war period. At the close of 1783 we had practically no navy at all; In 1874 we had five first- rate war vessels, carrying forty-five guns, with 3,000 tons displacement, thirty-one second-rate vessels carrying twenty guns with 2,200 tons displace ment, twenty-four third-rate vessels carrying eight guns with 800 tons dls- placement and five flftli-rate vessels carrying four guns with 406 tons dls- placement Our total strength was forty-eight Ironclads and twenty-six other vessels. Many of these, however, were unseaworthy and the term “Iron clad" was used more on account of courtesy than respect for the facts. At present we have in the regular navy eleven first-class battle-ships of 112,896 tons displacement, two armor ed cruisers of 17.471 tons displacement, twenty coast and harbor defense ves sels with 53.759 tons displacement, and protected cruisers and gunltoats of 86.- ooo tons displacement. We have thir teen protected cruisers, twenty gun boats and light protected cruisers, one dis[>atch boaL and twenty-two torp«lo- boat destroyers The battle-ships Indi ana. Massachusetts and Oregon have each a displacement of 10.300 tons, a belt armor of eighteen Inches steel and Hliil'« of u Bust Century, It might l>e noted that In October, 1776, the colonies owned twenty six ves sels, manning 536 guns; that the frigate of the revolution was generally forty feet long, propelled by oars and sails, carrying two small guns and a supply of small ordnance; that In 1798 tlie navy de|>artment was formally organ ized; that In 1806 Congress authorized the construction of 257 wooden war vessels, but finding the scheme too ex pensive and the first vessels too un- wieldly abandoned the enterprise; that the Bon Homme Richard, commanded by Paul Jones, carried twenty-eight twelve-pounders on her gun deck, four teen nine-pounders on her quarter deck and forecastle and a total armament of forty two guns, but these facts and fig ures give little Insight Into the real sit uation of the early days nnd afford no criterion whatever for comparison with Rear Admiral Sampson's fleet in the West Indies. A review of the early history of the American navy does not require, there fore, that the student go back farther than the beginning of the present cen tury, when steam was first applied to the propulsion of vessels. Passing by the discussion as to whether Fulton was In fact the first man who applied steam as a motor for ships, suffice It to say that In 1814 lie proposed to build a “floating battery” for the defense of New York harbor. a vessel to be pro pelled by steam, with a central paddle wheel, to carry twenty guns, with a speed of four knots an hour. Accord ing to this plan the vessel was to carry two submarine guns, one at each bow, so as to strike the enemy below the water line. Provision wns also made for throwing a large quantity of water on tbe enemy at close quarters. The ship was launclied, as proposed. In November, 1814, and In June of the following year the machinery wns in place. She wns called the Demologo«, and after tbs death of her Inventor was recUristeued the Fulton. Tbe Fulton OLD AND NEW WARSHIPS. vigorous attempt to get control, of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, which. It was thought, would ticcome theaters In the war. Accordingly, a contract was awarded to Jumes B. Eads, of St. Louis, for the construction of several Ironclad steamers suitable for river navigation. In OctolsT, 1861. forty flve (lays after laying the keel the St. Louts was luunehed. This was the tlrst ironclad owned by the United State«. The un fortunate abandonment of the Norfolk navy yard, however, had given to the lusurgent forces possession of several vessels, notably the Hue steam frigate, Merrimac, a vessel built like the IVa Imsh. The Confederates were busy transforming this vessel Into a broad side caaemated Ironclad, with a slop ing roof calculated to cause the ene my's shot to glance without Injuring tbe vessel, when the Monitor type of Ironclad came Into being. Captain Ericsson hail been given contracts for tbe construction of two broadside Iron clads ami one veaael of special design. The Monitor, which later defeated the Merrimac, was of “special design," and It was this same Monitor and her successors during tbe civil war that and turrets In which the big guns of the enemy are mounted, while the small-lwire rapid-firing guns are used to sweep the decks and very often to find the range of the enemy. In sea fight ing the small guns are used first, the big guns keeping silence until a range : f 1,000 yards or thereabouts Is reached. In the great fight which Commodore Dewey made In Manila bay neither | Spain nor the United States had an i armored ship. Dewey’s boats were protected cruisers with steel decks and comparatively small guns. Early naval warfare, in which sailing vessels were used, had to deal practic ally with guns aloue. and tlie measure of strength was the weight of metal fired In one broadside. To-day the de signer has to reckon with shell power, ram power, torpedo power and power of resistance. The modern battleship is therefore a compromise. Thus. I roughly speaking, the weight allownl j for armor determines the defensive1 power of a Vessel, the weight of bat teries, ammunition and torpedoes the offensive power, while the weight of coal and machinery determines the speed and endurance of a vessel—the distance a vessel can go without re coaling. Notwithstanding the American navy is rapidly taking rank with the navies of the world, it Is interesting to note that we have 3,060 miles of sea coast, excluding Alaska, and a tonnage of licensed, registered and enrolled Amer ican vessels aggregating 4,428,000 tons, which is far more than the total mer cantile tonnage of Russia, Germany, Italy. Japan and Spain. It might also be mentioned that we have more prop erty on shore assailable from the water than any other nation, that we have more property afloat than any other nation and that with the exception of Great Britain we have more merchant ships afloat on the oceans and great I lakes than the five greatest naval pow- I ers of the world combined. At this term. May, 1788. “Andrew Jackson, Esq., come into court and pro duced a license as an attorney, with a certificate sufficiently attested of his taking the oaths necessary to said of fice, and was admitted as on attorney in tills county court.” Jackson had reached his majority two months be fore this date. He had studied law nt Salisbury, N. C., under Spruce MeCay. who had for several years visited the courts at Jonesborough in the capacity of lawyer and Judge and was well ac quainted with the country and people. It is altogether probable that Jackson came to the Western country under the advice of McCay. Tbe fledgling, short ly after his arrival In Jonesborough, was retained in his first suit, which proved to be the occasion of his first duel as well. His opponent was the older and more learned WolghstLD Avery. It seems that Col. Avery had the better side of the cause, and that Jackson, foreseeing defeat, tried tc break his fall by a bit of pleasantry in the perpetration of a practical joke on his opponent. Avery, as was the cus tom In those days of circuit riding, car tied a few books and his briefs in a pair of saddlebags. Jackson knew that the authority relied upon by Colonel Avery to win the ease was Bacon’s "Abridgements.” and. knowing where the book was kept, he went to the sad dlebags and extracted the !>ook. sub stituting a piece of bacon of the same shape. When In the course of his argu ment Avery had occasion to appeal to his authority, he took from his saddle bags the package and unfolded It before the court and jury. His precedent did not apply. Suspecting Jackson of being the guilty person. Avery turn«! upon him and gave him a tongue lashing. Jackson wns much angered in turn nnd wrote upon the fly leaf of a law-book a demand for retraction. This was not forthcoming and Jackson sent this challenge: August 12. 1788. Sir—When a man's feelings nnd charac ter are injured he ought to seek a speedy redress. You received a few lines from me yesterday nnd undoubtedly under stand me. My character you have in jured. ami. further, you have insulted me in the presence of n court and a large audience. I therefore call ui>on yott as a gentleman to give satisfaction for the same, nnd I further call upon you to give me an answer immediately without equiv ocation. and I hope you can do without dinner until the business is done, for it is consistent with the character of a gentle man when he injnres n mnn to make speedy reparation. Therefore I hope you nail not fail in meeting me this dav. From yr obt sL ANDREW JACKSON. To Colonel Avery. F. S.- This evening after court ad journed. Avery accepted the challenge and the , duel was fought at dusk of Aug. 12. j 1788. In a ravine near the court house j Ln Jonesboro. After the exchange of a : few shots Jackson declared himself sat- ! isfied. and the antagonist left the field to become fast friends.—Memphis Com mercial-Appeal. turret armor of seventeen Inches. The following table shows the armament carried by our armored vessels : Weight of No. Total wgt. Caliber. shot, lbs. guns. fired. Thirteen Inches . 1,000 12 13.260 Twelve inches. . 860 12 7.S H • Ten inches. ... . 5<>O 18 9.600 46 Eight inches... . 256 11.500 Gold Coast. Six inches........ . 1(M) 18 1.800 The Gold Coast Is a long way from ' Five inches.. .. . 50 12 (mo Four inches... . 33 28 924 the Cape of Good Hope. The latter is [ one of the termini of Eastern Africa— Totals .... • • • 146 44,834 the former Is wholly In Western Afri Our unlt«l nrmored ships can throw ca. The Gold Coast takes Its nann, one and one-half pounds of metal for from the precious metal having tw-eu every pound tluit Spain enn give us In discovered there in abundance by the return, although the dons have It» early Portuguese and English naviga j guns. If our armor«! force were re tors. duced to an average we would have a Cheeee Exported from Rome. ship of 6,750 tons, with ten-inch twit, The valne of the cheese exported | 11.5-inch turret, ten guns of eight-inch from Rome Is only 31.600 less than the I caliber, throwing a projecttie weighing value of the paintings, cheese being i 3tY» pounds, while Spain would hare a second article on the list of exports I battleship of 7.456 tons, with 0.6-ineh from Rome. belt, 9.7-lnch turret, thirteen guns of seven-inch caliber, throwing a projec Caacer from Estlna Meat. tile weighing ISO pounds. The officers of a leading London hos Tbe guns of eight-inch caliber and pital believe that the general increase over are used to attack the belt of a of cancer is due to excess In meat eat ship In order to disable the machinery ing. I HOBSON AND HlS LITTLE BAND OF HEROES. These are the portraits of Lieut. Richmond Pearson Hobson and his gallant crew of seven who sank the Merrimac in tlie mouth of Santiago Bay, and who will live in history as among the bravest of the world’s heroes. The ninth pic ture in the group is thnt of Naval Cadet Joseph W. Powell, who commanded tlie launch that followed the Merrimac, braving death to rescue the forlorn hopers. Hobson, the leader and originator of the plan, is a naval constructor, with the relative rank of lieutenant, junior grade. George Charette was a gunner's mate of the first-class on board the cruiser New York. He lives nt Lowell. Mass., and is 31 years old. J. C. Murphy was the coxswain of the Iowa. Osborn Warren Deignan was bom in Stuart, Iowa, and is 31 years old. He has been in the navy several years, and was one of the Merrimac's original crew. Francis Kelly was also one of the crew of the Merrimac. He is a Boston man, and is 28 years old. George E. Phillipa is 34 years old. and was born in Cambridgeport, Muss. He enlisted on the Merrimac ns a machinist soon after the collier was bought by the government. Randolph Clausen was coxswain of tbe New York, and smuggled himself aboard the Merrimac without permission. SECOND CITY OF CUBA. Matanzaa Noted for Its Qnaintneos and Sn[>erb Beanty. Mntanzas is the second city of Cuba In size, wealth and commercial InqfOrt- ance and is noted for its healthfulness, quaintness and beauty. Before the war the population of the city was 66, 006, but it dwindled to one-half, thou sands of its best citizens having joined the Insurgent army, and other thou sands having been scattered or killed owing to the exigencies of war. Tlie province has always been noted for Its fiatriotlsm. The San Juan River divides the city Into two parts, the Pueblo Nuevo—new town—and Versailles, and the river Is spanned by several handsome stone bridges. Pueblo Nuevo contains the railway depot and one of the most beautiful avenues in all Cut>a—the Cal- zeda de San Estevan. For two miles it is lined with imposing villas, all with pillared porticoes in front, paved, like the terraces, with mosaic of black' and white marble, or blue and yellow tiles. These casas of the old-tline till«! gar dens are colored pea-green, sky-blue, rose-pink, lavender, purple, crush«l strawberry, and yellow, but the colors, which elsewhere would seem to stand eternally swearing at the landscape, act. War Is the paradox of jurispru dence. It sanctions that which It has forbidden; honors that which it pun ishes, and rewards that which it re proves. Its criterion is the result. There Is no question of justice or of injustice. There is a question merely of victory or defeat. The Romans, who. whatever their faults may have been, were not easuists, summed it up in a sentence—vae vletls—woe to the vanquished. War and humanity are congenital. They appear«! on earth together. In the Old Testament the most ancient chronicle is a tale of mur der. There two brothers are fact to face. Their ideas conflict. One kills the other. The brothers are succeed ed by families, the latter by clans. There are tents and passions. There are races, nations, empires. But al ways the conflict of ideas, always tlie battle which ensues. History has the monotony of the Infernal regions. It is made up of groans. The lesson which disengages from it is the right of might. There never has been any oth er. The early warriors had the whirl wind for ally. The moon was their servant. To aid them the sun stood still. The terror of Sinai gleamed from their breastplates. Men could not see their faces and live. They encroached and conquered. On the rock-bound bill MATANZAS, CUBA'S SECOND here tone ft so perfectly with the tropic sky and foliage that you fall to notice the violent contrasts. All the houses are set flush with the pavement, but each has its beautiful garden at the sides, filled with flowers and stately palms, surround«! by Lail iron railings and stone pillars topped with urns. After the great conflagration of for ty-three years ago, Ln which more than half of Matanzas was burned, the well- to-do losers rebuilt their homes on tlie heights above the city, where ocean breezes blow fresh and cool and the wide-spreading bay affords a charm ing picture. Unfortunately, perhaps, the old and uncomfortable public build ings remained untouched by the flames. The musty cath«lral, whose corner stone was laid more than three cen- ttiries ago. is imposing by reason of massiveness and rude architectural beauty. The custom house. erect«l near the beginning of the present cen tury, is long and low, with overhanging roof of r«l tiles and pillar«! inner cor ridors. Matanzas rejoices in the pos- session of a splendid new theater, which Is said to be the finest in the West Indies, not even excepting Ha ban»'« "Theater of a Hundred Door«.” There are several handsomely appoint ed club houses and casinos, too; for in Cuban cities, as in Pnrls, London and Madrid, club life flourishes, at the ex pense of domestic Institutions. The view of the city from the summit of the hills above San Severino Castle is magnificent and Includes more than thirty miles of undulating shore line. LARGEST CITY. | they found«l a line of kings, Present- ly Vengeance incarnate talked Assy rian. They were swept Into chains and remained there until it occurred to Cy rus to change the Euphrates’ course. With Alexander, who chased kings hither and thither, came more might. When the Roman eagles pounced upon their prey there was more. There was always more. In history there is little else. Of justice or injustice never a word. Spain knows IL It is might that made her. But might is not (per nal. Even Hercules is dead. XBItonaire Actors. Some of f (Br actors are wealthy men. rsoWls rated at 32,600,006 and Joe Jeffersol Sol Smith h . IBissell is a close second. with something over $1,506,000 to his credit. Joe Murphy, of Kerry Gow fame, while not as rich as Jefferson or Rus sell, Is in no danger of going to the poorhouse. He has made nearly a mil lion out of Kerry Gow and it has brought him in 360,000 for many years. An amusing story Is told of this pop ular actor. It was his custom years ago to ostentatiously borrow $5 on the Rialto every morning from a certain manager, and always return it in the evening. A noticeable point was that in asking for the money Murphy never lowered his voice or »«-med to want to keep the matter a secret from bystand ing actors. After this thing had gone on for some time tbe manager asked for an explanation. "Well, you see.” said Murphy, ’If these fellows thought I had money about me. they’d strike THE RIGHT OF MIGHT. me for a loan, but when they see m« War In All Ita Horror ITaa Been with tiorrowing myself, they think It’s no use." Us Since the Birth of Time. War has been defined as murder When a toy begins to smoke. It Is glorified. The scaffold replaced by a triumphal arch would perhaps be more time for him to quit school. figurative. A condition of things quali After a woman has reach«! a certain fied as extra legal would be more ex- age she never mentions lu