The herald. [microfilm reel], April 03, 1898, Image 20

About The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
THE NEW CRADLE OF LIBERTY.
"Spain and the Spaniards" was the
topic submitted by our correspondent
to Col. Ingersool. It Interested him and
the words that flowed from his lips had
in them indignation and contempt and
the fire of eloquence. Here they are
exactly as he uttered thorn:
"Spain has always been exceed
ingly religious nnd exceedingly cruel.
That country had an unfortunate
experience. The Spaniards fought
the Moors for about seven hun
dred or eight hundred years, and
during that time Catholicism and pa
triotism became synonymous. They
■were fighting the Moslems. It was a
religious war. For this reason they be
came intense in their Catholicism, and
they were fearful that if they should
grant the least concession to the Moor,
God would destroy them. Their idea
was that the only way to secure Di
vine aid was to have absolute faith,
and this faith was proved by their
hatred of all ideas inconsistent with
their own.
"Spain has been and is the victim of
superstition. The Spaniards expelled
I
the Jews, who at that time represented
A good deal of wealth and considerable
Intelligence. This expulsion was char
acterized by infinite brutality and by
cruelties that words cannot express.
They drove out the Moors at last. Not
satisfied with this, they drove out the
Moriscoes. These were Moors who had
been converted to Catholicism.
"The Spaniards, however, had no con
fidence in the honesty of the conver
sion, and for the purpose of gaining
the good will of their God, they drove
them out. They had succeeded in get
ting rid of Jews, Moors and Moriscoes;
that is to say, of the intelligence and
WHY SPANIARDS ARE CRUEL.
Starting With Bad Blood From Several
Sources They Are Not to Be Pitied
Because They Are Pitiless*
That the Spaniards are, as a race, ex
ceptionally and notoriously cruel 1 shad
take fur granted. It Is an opinion al
most universally received, and with
most people argument would be stlper-
Jluoiis. The question of real interest is,
What hus made them so? For nature
ls never arbitrary; not even the seem
ingly wilful perversities of men are
Without cause.
In the cuse of Spain some of the
causes date very far back; they began
their work almost before the dawn of
history—as we might expect from the
dogged persistency of the traits devel
oped. It is v. case of bad blood almost
from the beginning.
Spaniards Roasting a Man to Death,
Yet not wholly bad, at first. The old
Iberians were a passionate, fickle race,
—as is the Spaniard of todiy. From
»hem he has inherited bis hot and reck
ROBERT G. INGERSOLL
industry of Spain. Nothing was left
but Spaniards; that is to say, indolence,
pride, cruelty and infinite superstition.
So Spain destroyed all freedom of
thought through the Inquisition, and
for many years the sky was livid with
the flarnea of the Auto-da-fe; Spain
was busy carrying fagots to the feet
of philosophy, busy in burning people
for thinking, for investigation, for ex
pressing honest opinions. The result
was that a great darkness settled over
Spain, pierced by no star and shone up- j
on by no rising sun.
"At one time Spain was the greatest
of powers, owner of half the world, and
now she has only a few islands, the
small change of her great fortune, the
few pennies in the almost empty purse,
souvenirs of departed wealth, of van
ished greatness. Now Spain is bank
rupt, bankrupt not only in purse, but in
the higher faculties of the mind, a na
tion without progress, without thought;
still devoted to bull-light.- and super
stition, still tryinn to affright, conta
gious diseases by religious processions.
Spain is a part of the mediaeval ages,
belongs to an ancient generation. It
really has no place in the nineteenth
century.
"Spain has always been cruel. S. S.
Prentice, many years ago, speakinf of
Spain said: 'On the shore of discovery
it leaped an armed robber, and sought
for gold even In the throats of its vic
tims.' The bloodiest pages in the his
tory of this world have been written
by Spain. Spain in Peru, in Mexico,
Spain in the Low Countries—all pos
sible cruelties come back to the mind
Damien Being Torn to Pieces,
when we say Philip 11., when we say
the Duke of Alva, when we pronounce
the names of Ferdinand and Isabella.
Spain has intlicted every torture, has
practised every cruelty, has been
guilty of every possible outrage. There
has been no break between Torque
ma da anil Weyler, between the Inquisi
tion and the infamies committed in
Cuba.
"When Columbus found Cuba, the
original inhabitants were the kindest
and gentlest of people. They practised
no inhuman rites, they were good, con
tented people. The Spaniards enslaved
them or sought to enslave them. The
less temper, as well as his swarthy
complexion; but an infusion of this
blood does not necessarily result in a
cruel and treacherous disposition,—
though it gives an uncommonly keen
edge to such traits when they appear.
And they appeared soon; the Importa
tion of the virus of cruelty began early.
That the Phoenicians—perhaps tho
most atrociously cruel of the races of
antiquity—gained foothold in Spain In
almost prehistoric times may be passed
by with men- mention. These are the
people whip gave its name to Cadiz, anil
who in the height of their alleged
civilization fed Moloch with human
sacrifices. We know too little of the
extent of their Influence—probably
quite limited—to attempt to measure
it; but whatever it amounted to, it was
morally pernicious.
people rising, they were hunted with
dogs, they were tortured, they were
murdered, and finally exterminated.
This was the commencement of Spanish
rule on the island of Cuba. The Same
spirit is In Spain to-day that was in
Spain then. The idea is not to con
ciliate but to coerce, not to treat justly
but to rob and enslave. No Spaniard
regards a Cuban as having equal rights
with himself. He looks upon the island
as property, and upon the people as a
: part of that property, both equally be-
I longing to Spain.
"Spain has kept no promise made to
the Cubans, and never will. At last
the Cubans know exactly what Spain
is, anil they have made up their minds
to be free or to be exterminated. There
is nothing in history to equal the atro
cities and outrages that have been per
petrated by Spain upon Cuba. What
Spain is all know as only a repetition
of what Spain has done, only a proph
ecy of what Spain will do if it has the
power.
"As far as I am concerned, I have
no idea that there is to be any war be
tween Spain and the t'nited States. A
country that can't conquer Cuba cer-
tatnly has no very flattering chance of
overwhelming the United States. Of
course, there is some wisdom even in
Spain, and the Spaniards who know
anything Of this country know that it
would be absolute madness and the ut
most extreme of folly to attack us. I
believe in treating even Spain with per
fect fairness. I feel about that coun
try as Burns did about the devil: 'O,
wad ye tak' a thought an' mend!' I
know that nations, like people, do as
they must, and I regard Spain as the
victim and result of conditions, the
fruit of a tree that was planted by ig
norance and watered by superstition.
"I believe that Cuba is to be free, and
I want that island to give a new flag
to the air, whether it ever becomes a
part of the United States or not. My
sympathies are all with those who are
struggling for their rights, trying to get
the clutch of tyranny from their
throats; for those who are defending
their homes, their firesides, against ty
rants and robbers.
"Whether the Maine was blown up
That intercourse with the Phoeni
cians did, after all, have considerable
effect on the impressionable Iberian
character, is strongly suggested by the
ease with which the Carthaginians sub
sequently attained a dominant influ
ence in Spain. This was practically the
same thing, for these new invaders
were an offshoot of the same evil stock.
They were about as merciful as our
American Indians—every one is famil
ial' with the horrible story of Regulus—
and "Punic faith" was a by-word.
These Carthaginians overran most of
the country, and we know that their
generals encouraged Intermarriages
between soldiers and natives Very
popular for a time were the Carthagi
nians in Spain—the accepted type of
cleverness and manhood. Pew traces
of their blood probably remain; Pat it
was a b»d start. The clay was still
soft, and their example was potent.
"Like master, like man."
Then came the Romans, with a yet
more masterful dominion that lasted
for centuries. Here there was no poison
in th" blood, hut again the example
was baneful. Rome's method of deal
ing with subject provinces, which
Spain learned by bitter experience, she
seems tn have adopted a model for all
time. Every Bchool-boy has read of the
rapacity and arrogance and inhumanity
of the Roman governors, who regard
ed provincials merely as a source of
revenue, with no rights that a lordly
Roman need respect. These notions
seem to have fallen on a singularly fer
tile soil, and unlucky Cuba is today
leaping the fruits of Spain's Roman
training. No masters are so Intoler
able as those who have learned the
trick of tyranny in the school of servi
tude.
And still the corruption of blood
wciu on; if Spain had been made the
world's penal colony she could scarcely
have fared worse. After the Romans
came the Vandals, whose name has be
come a synnnyme for brutal dostruc
tlveness; and close on their heels, the
Visigoths, id' whom a celebrated au
thority has declared that to them "may
be traced all the maxims of the mod
ern Inquisition."
Even this was not enough. The dis
tracted country—as yet it could hardly
be called a nation —was next overrun
by a horde of Moors from Africa,
bringing an alien and fanatic creed to
be enforced by the edge of the sword.
Under this regime the Spanish Chris
tians soon became even more Intolerant
than their Moslem conquerors. The
ferocious racial and religious strife
which ensued lasted for the major part
.of a millennium before it received Its
LOS ANGELES HERALDi SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL 3, 1898.
by the Spaniards is still a question. I
suppose It will soon be decided. In my
own opinion, the disaster came from
the outside, but I do not know, and not
knowing, I am willing to wait for the
sake of human nature. I sincerely hope
that it was an accident. I hate to think
that there are people base and cruel
enough to commit such an act. Still
I think that all these matters will be
settled without war.
"I am in favor of an International
court, the members to be selected by
the ruling nations of the world; and
before this court I think all questions
between nations should be decided, and
the only army and the only navy should
be under its direction, and used only
for the purpose enforcing its de
crees. Were there cuch a court now,
before which Cuba could appear and
tell the story of her wrongs, of the
murders, the assassinations, the treach
ery, the starvings, the cruelty, I think
that the decision would instantly be in
her favor and that Spain would be
driven from the Island. Until there is
such a court there is no need of talking
about the world being civilized.
"I am not a Christian, but I do be
lieve in the religion of justice, of kind
ness. I believe in humanity. I do be
lieve that usefulness is the highest pos
sible form of worship. The useful man
is the good man, the useful man is the
real saint. I care nothing about super
natural myths and mysteries, but I do
care for human beings. I have a little
short creed of my own, not very hard
to understand, that has in it no con
tradictions, and it is this: 'Happiness
is the only good. The time to be happy
is now. The place to be happy is here.
The way to be happy is to make others
so." I think this creed, if adopted,
would do away with war. I think It
would destroy superstition, and I think
it would civilize even Spain.
"While my sympathies are all with
Cuba, and while I have been anxious
that the Unite* States should acknowl
edge the independence of Cuba, still I
am willing to admit that President Mc-
Kinley knqjvs more about this matter
than I do; and I think that probably
he has many facts in his possession of
which I know nothing. Now I am sat
isfied that he is a brave and patriotic
man. I am satisfied that he sympa
thizes with al! people struggling to be
free, and consequently I am willing to
wait, believing that the end will jus
tify his course. At the same time I re
member, and I hope the administration
will not forget, that the people of
America are with Cuba."
Copyright, 189 i
Feeding Elephants in the Indian
Army,
The manner in which the elephants
of the Indian army are fed is most
peculiar. It is also economical, for by
the method employed not a single grain
of rice is wasted. An elephant's break
fast includes ten pounds of raw rice,
done up in leaves and then tied with
grass. At meal time, the elephants are
drawn up in line before a row of piles
of this food. At the word "Attention!"
each elephant raises its trunk and a
package is thrown into its capacious
mouth. The promptness and precision
of this movement make the sight not
only interesting but amusing.
Beau Brummelfs Grave,
In the Protestant cemetery at Caen,
surrounded with yew and cypress tree 3,
there is a tomb which has just been re
stored. The stone bears these words:
"In memory of George Brummell, Esq.,
who departed this life on the 29th of
March, 1840; aged sixty-two years."
The tomb contains the remains of the
noted favorite of George IV.
final quietus by the expulsion of the
Moors, and probably had more to do
with making Spanish character what
t now is than all that had gone before.
In such a conflict, almost of necessity,
piety became bigotry, patriotism but
inotner name for cruelty, and loyalty
to friends synonymous with treachery
to foes. Such conditions, of course,
have from time to time arisen else
ivhere, but rarely have they been so
prolonged or so acute.
Out of this fiery ordeal—too often
iterally exemplified on the cringing
lesh —Spain emerged with Just one
•ommendablc quality. The Spaniard
lad become a fierce fighter, whether in
private broil or open battle, —and this
test for fighting, even at desperate
Idds, he has retained. It Is a fact not
:o be forgotten nor ignored.
For a season this prowess and feroc
ty In war made Spain one of the fore
nost nations of Europe, though in al
uost everything else one of the most
jackward—a few brilliant instances to
he contrary notwithstanding. Her
>oasted art was a tlorid foreign impor
;atton. Her literature is bombastic in
ityle, and full of the mendacity and
ixaggeration which seem to character
ise Spanisli thought. For the discovery
if America she is entitled to small
redit; but the ingratitude with which
the requited those who had served her,
md the greedy savagery with which
die seized and ruled and robbed the
territory thus acquired) are quite her
jwn.
To this period, likewise, belongs the
Inquisition, This, in the opinion of the
present writer, is often seriously trils
inderstood. it was not the outcome jf
ier creed but nf her character; it was
essentially Spanish. True, persecution
,vas no new thing; in a barbarous age
nen are sure to give a barbarous In
terpretation to their religion—even
though it be the Gospel of Peace. But
the abominations of injustice anri
GREAT EFFECTIVENESS OF
TORPEDOES
IN MODERN WARFARE
Many of the Best Informed Assert That Ten Years
Hence All Naval Conflicts Will Be Fought
With Them Exclusively.
The most ingenious and, indeed, the
most destructive engine of modern
warfare, is the torpedo. People do not
commonly realize that this instrument
of annihilation was already in use in
1555. In that year an Italian engineer,
Znmbelli, constructed vessels carrying
heavily charged magazines which float
ed down the Scheldt river at Antwerp
nnd, ignited by clock-work, destroyed
the bridge. A certain Van Drebbel ex
perimented In England, in 1624, with a
diving boat which, laden with explo
sives, was so directed ns to strike a
ship below the water line. But the
first genuine submarine torpedo was in
vented in 1730 by a Frenchman, Desa
guliers. This rocket torpedo, as it was
called, destroyed several boats. The
first craft actually sunk by a submarine
mine was one attacked by a device of
Robert Fulton, of steamboat renown,
in 1801, charged with twenty pounds
of gunpowder. Four years later the
brig Dorothea was completely demol
ished at Dover, England, by two tor
pedoes ilred by clockwork. Yet it was
not until our Civil War that the tor
pedo became a successful, systematic
agent of destruction. On December 12,
1862, the United States Ironclad Cairo
was destroyed in the Yazoo river by
two torpedoes which exploded directly
beneath her. She was so shattered she
sank In twelve minutes. Again in the
following year we lost the ironclad
Baron de Kalb in the same fashion.
From this time on torpedoes of diver
sified types have been in pretty general
use. On May 6. 1864. an electric torpedo
charged with 1.750 pounds of gunpow
der completely demolished the Com
modore Jones Directly after this event
two federal transports and the moni
tor Teeumseh were sunk almost In
stantly on collision with submarine
mines. In the succeeding year, the
monitor Patapsco was destroyed at
Charleston with sixty-two men. The
Confederates, during the war. suffered
only the loss of the ironclad Albemarle,
which wns blown up by a so-called bar
rel torpedo.
In recent years the most vivid ex
emplifications of the effectiveness of
torpedoes have been in South American
waters. A Peruvian guard boat was
the first craft to be sunk by an "auto
mobile" torpedo. Still fresh in our
memory is the collapse of the Brazilian
Aquidaban from the same cause. A
torpedo was fired from a gunboat
broadside at the Aquidaban, striking
her twenty-five feet from the bow and
ten feVt below the water line, and mak
ing a hole fourteen feet by twelve on
one side and a three-foot hole on the
other Quite as illustrative of the
eruptive force of the torpedo was the
destruction of the Huasear by Paul
Boynton, who placed a torpedo under
her bow and discharged it from a safe
distance by means of an electric cable.
Curiously enough, the wrecking of the
cruiser, Blanco Euclada, in the harbor
of Valparaiso was much like that of
the battleship Maine in Havana harbor.
cruelty practised in Spain—whether di
rected against infidels or Jews or here
tics —reach an extreme hardly to be
paralleled elsewhere, and they persist
ed and intensified in an age of Increas
ing enlightenment until the whole civil
ized world stood aghast at them. And
while the horrors of the Inquisition
were the inevitable outcome of Spanish
history and Spanish c harac ter, the sys
tem continually reacted to foster the
traits that had given it birth. So,
while the world advanced, Spain lagged
behind in Mediaeval darkness,—and she
is still far to the rear.
j That is the trouble today. With
Phoenician cruelty, and Carthaginian
duplicity, and Roman arrogance, and
Vandal greed, and Moslem intolerance.
Spain belongs to the dark ages—an ata
vistic survival. We look upon her with
amazement as she sits in the tawdry
remnants of her "ancient grandeur,"
intent upon her bull-fights, metaphori
cal and literal, while all the other na
tions of the earth are marching onward
But this "ancient grandeur" never
was anything but tawdry; like all
things Spanish it has been made the
subject: of gross exaggeration. In the
ca/ie of a people whose more than Chi
nese vanity makes them almost incap
able of listening to the truth, who
habitually turn defeat into victory—in
words —and magnify the most common
place occurrences until all sense of pro
portion is lost, the statements which
they make in glorification of themselves
must be taken with large allowances.
Many passages in Spanish history read
like a mixture of their Cuban war dis
patches and their melodramatic ro
mances. Especially is this true of the
extravagant tales about Mexico and
Peru—where the too credulous Prescott
seems to have relied with rather child
like faith upon his "authorities." Eater
investigators have been more cautious,
and perhaps there is still room for the
skeptic.
Rack With Spiked Roller..
A careful examination of both wrecks
conclusively proved that the explosives
the vessels contained remained prac
tically Intact.
Turning from historic Illustration, we
shall have to confront an elaborate
classification to define the various
kinds of torpedoes. There are three
chief divisions consisting of buoyant
mines, subaqueous mines nnd locomo
tive torpedoes. The first class of tor
pedoes, as well as the second, is purely
for purposes of coast defense. Although
the authorities on the subject enter
tain pretty diverse views, it is gener
ally held that these contact mines are
available for use only in rather shnl
low water. Their use involves many
perplexing conditions, such as the
twisting and wearing of the cnbles and
moorings, the depression due to cur
rents, the danger of sympathetic ex
plosions, the leaking of the cases. So
difficult, indeed, is the problem that
the best torpedo system of today Is
really a compromise between conflict
ing requirements. As obstacles in
shunting off a hostile squadron, the use
of these mines Is Imperative In modern
warfare. Beside the surface mine are
the submarine mines, sub-divided into
(1) observation mines, fired by an elec
tric current when the enemy appears
within the destructive area of the
mine; (2) electro-contact mines, which,
on concussion, explode by automatic
ally completing the electric circuit
from the boitery ashore, and (3) me
chanical mines, which, on collision, ex
plode through the ac tion of a contriv
ance within them and which are in no
way connected with the shore. The
question as to whether a channel or
harbor shall be used for navigation de
termines the choice of the system. Rut
no system at present is alone sufficient
for coast defense.
The charge of a mine is exploded by
means of a detonator containing ful
minate of mercury. In gun-cotton
In Ambush.
It may well be doubted that Spain
was ever prosperous in any proper
sense of the word. In her best days
the number of beggars in the country
was appalling. I hesitate to quote the
figures—for they are Spanish—but 150,
--000 is the estimate. During the same
period there were scarcely any manu
factures. The exports were in the main
the products of a soil practically un
filled,—such as wool, hides, minerals,
raw silk, kermes, and olives. What
does this signify? It means that Spain
in her palmiest estate was largely oc
cupied by mining camps and cattle
ranches; anl this conclusion is in per
fect accord with Spanish characteris
The popular ideas about pastoral life
are diametrically wrong. Far from be
ing one of the most peaceful occupa-
Torture Inflicted on Geleyn Cornelius Who Was Afterwards Burnt.
tlons, as pictured by poets, lt Is one of
the roughest and most savage. The
real shepherd goes about armed to the
teeth, often followed by a pack of fierce
dogs, ever ready and often forced to
right for life and property. What he
becomes under the most favorable con
ditions may be seen in the modern cow
boy. In. earlier times we simply find
the knife and spear in place of the re-'
mines the detonator Is inserted ln a
priming charge of dry gun-cotton with
in a metal case surrounded by wet gun
cotton. The least distance between
mines for safety -Is one hundred feet,
so that two or more lines of mines are
necessary to insure a vessel's hitting a
mine. A torpedo electrically connect
ed with the shore, if struck by an out
rigging or netting of the enemy's ship,
signals the fact to the operator in tho
casemate, who delays sending the fir
ing battery current through the fuse
until the torpedo Is directly under the
hull of the vessel.
Small vessels of great speed, known
as torpedo boats, carry and discharge
these ponderous missiles. This torpedo
resembles in shape a porpoise. Its orig
inal design, in fact, was said to be
fashioned after this fish. It ia made
chiefly of steel, weighs eight hundred
and fifty pounds and is about twelve
feet in length. It consists of four prin
cipal sections, the head, which carries
the explosive; the flash, or air-receiver,
which ls filled with compressed air at
a pressure of 1,360 pounds to the square
inch.—the escape of this air runs the
engine and propels the torpedo; the Im
mersion chamber, which contains the
mechanism for regulating the depth
und position of the torpedo; the en
gine, fed by compressed air which
passes through the valves of a pipe so
adjusted as to fix the speed and dura
tion of the run. The apparatus ln the
third section consists of a pendulum
and hydrostatic piston that control a
horizontal rudder through an air steer
ing-engine. This rudder is movable; If
the torpedo goes too deep or inclines
downward this rudder moves up, bring
ing the torpedo to the set depth. If the
reverse takes place the rudder moves
down. The engine of the fourth section
turns a shaft on which there are two
propellors moving In opposite directions
at the tall of the torpedo. Finally on
ench side of the tail are vertical rud
ders which keep the torpedo in a
straight path.
The head of the torpedo Is made of
bronze and is charged with one hundred
and twenty pounds of wet gun-cotton.
The point of the head contains the
"pistol," consisting of a propellor
Torpedo Partially in Tube.
which, set ln revolution, frees a plung
er which. In turn, on the Impact of the
torpedo, Is forced down upon a ful
minate cap surrounded by a tube of
dry gun-cotton. Wet gun-cotton ex
plodes when ignited in contact with
dry gun-cotton. The freeing of the
plunger by the propellor Insures that
the torpedo must run a certain distance
from the vessel discharging it ere tt
can explode.
The deviation from any set depth in
the passage of the torpedo must not
exceed fifteen inches at a range of
eight hundred yards. Thus, as the tor
pedo can be set to run at a depth of
from five to twenty feet, lt ls evident
that it may be depended upon to smite
a vessel at almost any point below the
armor line where the explosion will do
the most damage. It is said our Amer
ican torpedoes are better adjusted for
actual service than those In any other
navy In the world. However that may
be, we have come to realize that the
torpedo is about the most important
feature of naval warfare. There are
those, indeed, among the best author
ities, who assert that In a decade hence
all naval conflicts will be fought with
the torpedo. OLIVER HENSHAW.
Copyright, 1898.
volverand rifle, while the shepherd him
self is rather more like a wild animal.
Much the same may be said of the
miners. In such a state of society laws
are Ineffective, brigandage runs ram
pant, and lynching, as the only means
of restraining crime, becomes a sys
tem. All this is familiar to us ln the
history of the wilder parts of our own
West; and all this, and worse, was the
condition of Spain for centuries—an-
other reason why the Spanish are not
a gentle race. In this connection lt is
rather interesting to note that Just as
our cowboys sometimes string up a
h*se-thief on the nearest tree and
make him a target for their revolvers,
so the Spanish lynching parties used ta
hoist their victim upon a pole and shoot
him full of arrows—so closely does his
tory repeat itself under similar condl-
tlons. We, however, do not boast of the
"grandeur" of '49, nor of the cattle
ranch.
That he should excessively pride him
self upon his lineage seems rather ex
traordinary in view of the facts; but
it is really nothing to wonder at. Tho
worse the stock the more insufferable
the pride of blood —as the pedigree ')t
many a royal house bears witness.