SPAIN'S DREADED TORPEDO FLEET COULD STRIKE A FEAREDL BLOWTJ. S.S. NEW YORK TJ. S. S. INDIANA SPANISH TORPEDO BOATS AZOR AND BXETU

V. S. S. MINNEAPOLIS

U. S. TORPEDO BOAT ERICSSON U. S. S. IOWA SPANISH TORPEDO BOATDESTROYER FUROR

SPANISH TORPEDO BOATDESTROYER TERROR

iSPAKTSH TORPEDO BOATDESTROYER PLUTON

JUST HOW A GREAT MARINE BATTLE WOULD APPEAR BETWEEN SPAIN'S CRACK CRUISERS, ASSISTED BY HER BIG TORPEDO FLEET, AND THE AMERICAN BATTLESHIPS UNSUPPORTED BY AN ADEQUATE TOR-PEDO FLOTILLA. SPAIN'S TORPEDO BOATS ARE SHOWN TO THE RIGHT OF THE PICTURE RUSHING INTO THE MIDST OF OUR FLEET.

WASHINGTON. D. C? April4 ?(SpecialCorrespondence to The Herald.) Out ofthe present turmoil of preparations for warnnd striving for peace the United StatesWill emerge Whether Ihe climax be war orpeace, with many useful lessons learned.There have been strange rumors, emanat-ing from high places, which have beenspeedily stilled, to the effect that UncleSam's "ready!" is a bold bluff so far asmany essential features of a nation inarms are concerned.

Stories have been whispered about thatguns, purchased at great cost, are uselessbecause the carriages, without wliich tbeguns are no more formidable than bean

shooters, ha\'e not been provided, and can-not be got ready in time, should war bedeclared in the mar future. The strengthof our fleets has been enlarged upon, andthe most made of the fact that, we aremore than a match for Spain with ournavy pitted against theirs, in one gre at sealight.

terribly effective war craft, the torpedoboat deslroyer. So important does GreatBritain, the leading naval nation of tneworld, consider this type of fightingvessel,that she possesses nearly a hundred ofthem. Spain has seventeen and Is buildingmore, while all the nations have smallfleets of "destroyers."

They art inexpensive boats, when com-pared with the big fighting machines, butexperience may prove that they can do anenormous amount of damage in a sea bat-tie. In recent English naval maneuversthe eyes of the admiralty officials wereopened lo the Importance of possessing- anumerous contingent of this speedy,

wicked little craft, and the British ship-builders are at present engaged In buildingmany of an improved type that will short-lybe added to her majesty's navy.

The torpedo boat destroyers possessedby Spain are mostly oC the newest type.The Furor anel Terror, two d.estroyers

built to order for Ihe Spanish government,in a British shipbuilding yard, are splendid

little craft. They have a length of 220 feet,a breadth of 22 feet, and a depth of 13 feetand displace 3SO tons. When equipped forservice they are armed with two 14---pounder rapid lire guns, one forward, abovethe conning tower, and the other aft; twosix-pounder guns, one in each broadside,

and two automatic machine guns, Inchdiameter. They have two torpedo tubes onthe upper deck from which torpedoes canbe fired on either side. Each vessel carriesfour torpedoes.

The great value of these small boats liesin their speediness. They can easily maketwenty-eight knots an hour. Seventy tonsof coal will be sufficient to carry the littlecraft from Spain to Porto Rico or Havana,

and this amount of coal they can easilycarry. Seventy men usually comprise thecrew of a destroyer.

But the of our fleet, as com-pared with tha:-It!Spain', has not been Ihe

than one. They can take chances thatwould be madness for a larger craft to at-

tempt; stealing up to an enemy's boatsunder cover of darkness, and flitting

around when the big snips are ln acton,awaiting the first opportunity to discharge

a torpedo at the nearest enemy, protecting

the cruisers and battleships from the at-

tack of torpr-do boats by engaging anddestroying those dangerous craft; run-ning the blockade of closed ports and act-ing as dispatch boats when a small fleetof marine messengers Is needed. Theirusefulness is incalculable, aud yet theUnited States navy is without them.

We havo some splendid torpedo boats.

subject ot eloquent speeches aril lengthynewspaper articles on this side of the At-lantic, although It has in Spain. U Is W( 1to face the truth, however unpleasant itmay be to this patriotic people.

We are entirely lacking In tha; small, but

With their rapid lire guns and their tor-pedoes, theses mall boats are threateningenough, but they are useful in more ways

:TJ. S. S. 3ffONTGOSCEB,TC

but Spain has nearly a score of the de»stroyers, which are in reality a larger tor-pedo boat, while we have nothing of thekind to oppose them. There is a possibilitythat Captain Brownson, who is nowabroad on a ship-purchasing expedition forthe United Slates, my be able to securesome torpedo boat destroyers. When itis remembered that $400,000 will buy a de-stroyer capable of steaming at dashingspeed it Is not too much to hope that Cap-tain Brownson will be abLe to send back awhole fleet of destroyers?say enough togive us one of the useful little boats forevery one that Spain possesses. Itwillbemoney well invested.

WILL REMEMBER THE COWBOYSFull Particulars of the Novel Plan to Organize the Heroes

of the PlainsHorn's the most Strikingly novel offer yet made the war department.Twelve troops of cowboys to light Spain.Judge Torrey of Wyoming makes the Oiler ln good faith. He will be chosen

their commander.Judge Torrey Is known throughout tbe country as the author of the Torrey

bankruptcy bill. He is now at the head of one of the biggest cattle outfits of Wyoming, and hence is In Intimate touch with the cowboys of the northwestern coun-try. He formerly commanded a battalion of militia, ln Missouri, and was .assistantadjutant general of the eastern district ot that stale during the administration oftwo bridadier generals. 'WRITTEN BY JUDGE JAY L. TORREY

At tho beginning of the last war thegouave regiments which were first or-ganized were received with great popularenthusiasm and did much to arouse themartial spirit. Now the war with Spainseems imminent, tho military enthusiasmBeems likely to be aroused for quite v dif-ferent kind of organization and yet onoWhich bids fair to be equally picturesque.Irefer to my voluntary offer to organizea regiment of oowboyH for service againstthe Spaniards. 1 was presented by Sena-tor Warren of Wyoming the other day tothe president and asked authority to im-mediately organize twelve troops of cow-boys, urging their known loyalty and ad-mitted bravery as a reason why they shouldbe called into service and referred to themas hardy men, perfect horsemen und ableto cope with all difficulties and competent

to provide for themselves under all cir-cumstances. The president expressed bisthanks and Without making any promisesassured both Senator Warren and myself

that in uny case of necessity the cowboys

should be remembered.We ulso failed upon General Nelson A.

Miles, commanding the army, and can-vassed the situation nnd considered atlength the subject of the organization ofthe cowboy rangers. Upon tho subject General Miles said: "The services of such aregiment would prove Invaluable to thegovernment. The cowboys are able ln apre-eminent degree to take cure of them-selves. They are always at home andknow where they are; even a blizzard Isunavailing to lose one of thorn. They arethe best horsemen in the world and do notknow what fear Is."

In reply to the inquiry as to what mightbe done In a preliminary way towards get-ting ready, he said: "Pick out your subor-dinate officers and find out where your monfere ln the event they aro required."

1 telegraphed Governor Richards of Wy-oming, asking if he would approve the or-ganization Of a regiment of cowboy rang-ers and the governor answered that hewould.

It Is not proposed by the organization ofthe new regiment to interfere in any wayWith the Wyoming militia for actual ser-vice in the event of war, but to simplyorganize the additional regiment so thatthere may be a distinct cowboy organiza-tion for mounted service wherever needed.If il transpires that special legislation is

needed in order to provide for the desiredregiment, I have no doubt it will be passedwith the same unanimity as tbe appropria-tion for lifty millions of dollars.

As to the probable effect of such lcgisla-

tion it will no doubt provide for the elec-tion of the troop officers by tho men. Theyare all men of independent characters andWould not consent to be commanded byofficers other than those of their ownchoice. The Held officers could be chosenby tho troop officers. In this way everyofficer would be the choice of the men andin consequence would be much nearer tothem than they would be ifappointed.

The usual "newspaper cowboy" is quitedifferent from the real article. When arowdy puts on spurs and acts in a disgrace-ful way he is sometimes improperly her-alded iv the newspapers as a "bad cow-boy;" in tills way a wrong impression isgiven nut of the true character of the gen-uine cowboy. As a class they are fearless,

adventurous, absolutely truthful and al-ways reliable. I never have known a classof men who can be so thoroughly reliedupon. When it is time to have fun theyhave it; but when the time for business ar-rives they attend to it thoroughly and well.

Concerning the uniforms and equipmentsof the men the plan is to have a distinct uni-form which will be both serviceable andornamental and characteristic of them.They are men of taste and appreciategood clothes. In my judgment, their equip-

ment?that is, saddles, bridles, etc.?are thebest that the worlel lias ever seen, and Ihave no doubt but that they will be per-mittee! to retain them. As to arms, Ishallendeavor to avoid everything thatis useless except for ornament, in-

eluding sabers, and have the menfurnished, if possible, each with acouple of slxshooters nnd a longrange rifle.In close quartets they can guide theirhorses with their knees anel handle a six-shooter in each hand. In this way theywould be more effective than if they wererequired to use a sabre. ,

As to the time needed to get organizedI have already communicated with goodtrue men ln all parts ofWyoming and theyare busy, in a quiet way, getting the namesof the boys and making ready so as to re-sponel immediately, if occasion shall re-quire.

Regarding the horses likely to be used,they would of course be native Wyominghorses. Our boys woulil not ride plow

horses. We have, I believe, the best on

earth. Last year a deputy sheriff sum-moned an outfit of our boys to go with himas a posse; they rode grass-fed bare-footedhorses and covered thirtymiles in one hourand fifty minutes.

They would prove to be ideal fighters.

They have all had experience on the fron-tier, and first and last most of them havehad experience ln charging and retreatingunder difficult circumstances and know ailabout Indian fighting. Ifthe method of thewarfare of the Spaniards in Cuba is a fairsample of their fighting capabilities they

would be able to secure a liberal educationby facing our boys.

PERFECT: TYPE OF THE TORPEDO BOAT DESTROYER. THE UNITED STATES IS IN SORE NEED OF MORE VESSELS OF THIS CHARACTER TO SINK SPAIN'S FLEET

His Servant Was Well TrainedAt an auction 6ale of snuffboxes which

enlivened London some time ago one ottho most valuable mysteriously disap-peared and has not yet been recovered.The loss has brought up a host of similaroccurrences, and one newspaper corre-spondent recalls a story current two gen-

erations ago, the Duke ot Sussex beingthe hero. He had presided at a dinner ofvirtuosi, and a distinguished diplomat'stamong the company produced a snuffboxset in precious stones, the giftof a crownedhead to one of his ancestors. The precioussouvenir was handed around for everyoneto examine, while the conversation wentmerrily on.

Presently the owner said to his nextneighbor, "Kindly hand me the snuffbox."The inquiry went around the table, but no-body knew what had become of the article.A thorough search of the room and theservants failed to reveal any t.ace of It,

and the party broke up In a gloom. Somemonths after the duke had occasion to dononce more the particular uniform worn onthis occasion, and, putting his hand intoone of the pockets, felt a bulkysubstanceand drew out the missing box.

"You rascal," he said to his body servant,"you must have noticed it when you putaway my coat."

"Yes, your royal highness," was the re»ply. "I noticed, and indeed I saw youfroyal highness put the box in your pocket.'*

"And you never mentioned it?""Certainly not. I hope I know my duty

to your royal highness better than that."??Pittsburg Dispatch.

His Trust in Her"Before I go to war, Louise, Ihave a few

words to say to you? a trust <to piaoe Inyour hands."

"Speak, Arthur; toil me all!""Take good care of my wheel whll*I'm

gone."?Chicago Record.

LOS ANGELES HERALDt SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL 10, 1898 17