The record-union., 1898-06-05
WAS A BOLD EXPLOIT.
The Sinking of the Collier Merri-
mac at Santiago Channel.

WASHINGTON. June 4-"The cork
is driven in the bottle" was the com
ment of the naval officers at the Navy
| Department this morning upon the
sinking of the collier Merrimac in the
channel at the entrance of Santiago
harbor. They are absolutely satisfied
that the ship was sent in by design
of Sampson to close the channel and
prevent the escape of the Spanish
squadron, and that the undertaking
was successful If so, this will rank
as one of the boldest achievements in
naval history. 1t will outrank even
Cushing's famous attack upon the AL
bermarle with his little torpedo Loaf.
That is the opinion of the Navy De-
partment, at least.
The officers say that Gushing had
| hghting chance to escape after maxi
ing his attack. and he did indeed es-
cape. There was no such chance for
the men who took the Merrimac into
Santiago harbor under the guns. which
Schley's report described as of great
power, and over nests Of submarine
mines, any one of which was sufficient
to crush in the bottom of the ship 1t
is not possible to learn who made up
this crew that is destined to be fa-
opinion at the Navy Department is that
Admiral Sampson directed that no man
! be ordered into dangerous duty, but
that volunteers be called for. There is
no doubt, however. that at least two of
the officers We're aboard. namely, Com
! mander ]. NJ. Miller of Missouri and
Assistant Engineer r. K. Crank of
Texas. The Captain could be relied up
on, it is said, to stick to his ship 10
the last. and from what is known Of
Crank's character he would not be like
| ly to leave the ship, being the only
commanding officer on board.
There is only one opinion at the de-
partment OF the courage of the man
who coolly stood at the engine levers
down in the hold and directly above the
bottom OF the ship that he momentari
ly expected to come flying upward on
the blast of mine or torpedo
One of the reasons that form the
basis OF the conviction that the Mer-
rimac was purposely sunk in the chan
mel is the fact that the ship was of
little value as a naval vessel She had
broken down in her machinery, and
was kept at work only with difficulty.
Some of Crank's letters are at once
laughable and pathetic in their recital
of the trials and tribulations of the
young officer Che is about - years old)
suffered in his efforts to make the ma
chinery work at ALL This is just the
kind of craft that would be selecta to
block up the channel She is of iron
and therefore not likely to be easily
removed by the Spaniards Then she
! was empty. and so of no Immediate
| value to the fleet
Another reason for believing that the
Merrimac was purposely sunk is the
| small number of the crew aboard. ac-
| cording to the reports. There seems
| to have been just enough men on her
! to steer the ship and keep the engines
! moving. The normal crew of the collier
! was about forty men, so that the others
must have been taken off in advance
| 1t is said at the Navy Department
that there is no possibility that the
American sailors captured by the Span
| iards will suffer. They are not spies. in
| any sense, but prisoners Of war. and
so far there has been no disposition
shown by the Spaniards to mistreat
| such prisoners.
| AS to the change wrought in the situ-
| alton by this bold exploit it is said
that it will now be possible to draw
off the larger part of the American
| feet for service elsewhere than at
| Santiago. perhaps at San Juan de
| Porto Rico or Havana, for instance
| A small force of. say two monitors
| and a cruiser would suffice to keep
| guard at Santiago for all that Is neg
essary now, which would be able to
| bring enough guns to bear upon the
| channel to prevent the Spaniards from
| attempting to clear away the wreck