PROPERTY AFLOAT AS A PLEDGE OF PEACE--FOREIGN AGGRESSION HAD TAUGHT THE AMERICANS HOW TO BUILD AND SAIL SWIFT CRUISERS--ODD NAMES--THE FIRST PRIZES--COMMODORE JOSHUA BARNEY AND THE _ROSSIE_--A FAMOUS CRUISE--SOME RICH PRIZES WERE CAPTURED, BUT ONLY A FEW OF THE PRIVATEERS MADE MONEY--BEAT OFF A WAR-SHIP THAT THREW SIX TIMES HER WEIGHT OF METAL--A BATTLE IN SIGHT OF LA GUIRA. Among the people of every civilized nation the possession of property by an individual is, as has often been noted, a pledge of good citizenship. His selfish interest in his property, bluntly speaking, tends to make him behave himself becomingly. And one does not have to study the stories of history very long to see that the same rule applies in a way to nations. The possession of property liable to be lost through war is a pledge of peace on the part of the nation owning it. And of all such property there is none that makes a stronger pledge of peace than the over-sea ship with its cargo. In these last days of the nineteenth century, writers a-plenty have been found who, forgetting or failing to see this fact, have urged that the United States should agree with other nations that in case of war the private property afloat belonging to the enemy should be exempted from capture and destruction. They have urged that the nations who send ships to sea be exempted from this pledge of peace. Or, to put the matter in another way, they have urged the American people to declare to the aggressive nations of the earth: “If you wish to go to war with us we will promise you, as an inducement to you to do so, that we will not harm your private property afloat.” One has only to state the proposition clearly to show its absurdity. The doctrines of the Prince of Peace are never so beautiful as when they are in accord with one’s business interests--we are never so horrified by the wickedness of war as when we consider the destruction it would bring upon our property! Can we, indeed, view with complacency the proposition to sink a ship with five hundred unprepared souls by means of a torpedo, and yet shrink from the thought of preserving peace by the threat of capturing and destroying all of the property of an enemy that is found afloat after war is declared?