New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-04-16
WIZ no BE REspECTED.

A NApF TO BE RESPECTED.
The conduct of the officers of the American
feet at Apia was admirable from every point
Of view. They did everything in their power
TO save their ships, and displayed the highest
qualities of seamanship. Before the details of
the disaster were received it was natural to
infer that the British ship had escaped because
she had good supply of coal and was able to
steam out of the harbor, whereas fires were out
in the other vessels. This surmise was not
well founded. The seven ships were under full
Steam but only one of them had engines of
sufficient power to do anything more than to
ease the strain on the anchor cables temporarily.
The CaIliope escaped not through superior sea-
manship, but through the power of her en-
gines. Every American vessel was equally
well handled, and was lost neither through lack
of adequate precautions before the storm, nor
through any fault of the officers and men. The
hurricane did not come without warning For
forty eight hours the barometer had been stead
lily falling, and every warship in the harbor
was prepared, so far as human precautions were
Of any avail, to meet the storm. When the
crisis came every officer was cool, self possessed,
brave, capable and heroic. Mullan successfully
beached the shattered Nipsio after two German
ships had gone down under his eyes and no
other resource remained Schoonmaker and
his lieutenants acted with splendid gallantFy,
and lost their ship primarily through a collision
with a German vessel more unmanageable
than their own. The Trenton made a mag
nifcent fight, and would be afoat to-day If the
fires had not been put out through radical
fault in the construction Of the hawsepipes-
Even with the engines stopped. the rudder car
ried away by collision with wreckage, and
the canvas unmanageable, the fight was stub
bornly maintained with 400 sailors massed in
the rigging to take the place of sails. At the
end the American flag was run up, the " Star
Spangled Banner" was played, and the flagship
drifted down on the Vandalia to give despair
ing comrades, who had been chnging to the
rigging for twelve hours, their last chance Of
rescue.
There has been no achievement in American
naval history that has reflected greater credit
on the service than the splendid bearing and
heroic endurance of the officers Of these doomed
ships. Nature overpOwered them, but they
fought good fight and did what they could
for the honor Of the American name. The
habit of sn4ering at the navy and ridiculing
tUS pfCDcubiuls VI iHc OilCOiS w DO ~ lhbSiiI-
gent and skilful body of men as can be found
under any flag is one that is easily formed
during piping times Of peace. The antiquated
ships remaining in service and the loss of Ma
tional prestige through neglect to keep the
feet abreast with European navies have tended
to lower the standing of the officers in the
estimation Of the country. The catastrophe at
Apia silences caviling critics, and sets the real
character of the service in its true light
Americans now know that they have no cause
to be ashamed of their naval force as O we'll
differed and carefully disciplined fighting ser
vice. The ships are hopelessly behind the
times aud unworthy of a Nation of sixty mill
ions, but the officers and men are conspicuous
now, as they have ever been in the past, for
courage, endurance and practical seamanship.
The conduct of the Admiral, officers and
men on shore after the loss Of their vessels
was almost as noteworthy as their splendid be-
havior during the forty Eight hours battle with
| the tempest. The German officers were invited
to cooperate in the maintenance of order and
| discipline in Apia, but preferred to leave the
| Americans masters of the situation. The town
was at once policcd by marines from the ships;
| the sale Of liquor was prohibited; order was
restored with firm hand the castaways were
housed and fed and the injured were cared for in
temporary hospital, and the most cordial re-
| lations were established with the natives with
] out any unwarrantable usnpation Of authority
or interference with the rights of the people.
All the arrangements made by Admiral Kim
berry were judicious and sensible, and no Of
| fence was given to either Of the rival kings.
| II the Germans declined to share the respon-
dbiIty of providing for the orderly government
of the capital in the extraordinary emergency
| which had arisen, they had no cause for COM
plant and every reason to be grateful to the
American officers for stationing marine guard
in the streets and forestalling excuses out
| RACES and seamen's brawls between the rival
naval forces. Admiral Kimberly has shown
himself to be as wise and conciliatory a COM
mander of the naval forces on shore as he was
a brave and plucky sailor in his flagship beset
| with hurricane.
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