The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-05-08

dore Dewey. The publication of newspaper
dispatches telling OF terrible mortality
among the spaniards and the escape Of the
American forces. men and ships, from a se-
rfous injury added to the excitement and to
the intense satisfaction with which the long
expected news was received. There was an
instant rush of newspaper men to the Navy
Department TO secure further information
from official sources. Perhaps dismayed by
the number and impetuosity of the news
paper contingent, the officials of the Navi-
cation Bureau, where cipher dispatches are
Transcribed and translated, promptly closed
and locked their doors against invasion.
One of the officers, of the bureau had been
on DUTY every moment of the twenty-four
hours for several weeks past, waiting to
receive cablegrams of Importance. A SINH
lar state of affairs has prevailed at the
State Department, where one of the assist
ant secretaries and the chief clerk have d.
vided up the watches of the nights. sleeping
on temporary cots set up in the ante-room.
The state Department has the honor of re-
ceiving the first news. 1t came in the shape
of a cablegram of three words from United
States Consul Wildman at Hong-Kong, and
was as follows:
Hong Kong-McCulloch.
''WILDMAN."
That is the usual form in which naval
movements are reported by cable. This dis
patch was received by Third Assistant Sec
rotary Crider, who was turned out of his
cot by a messenger boy at 44O o'clock this
morning The naval officials were promptly
notified and awaited with intense interest
the dispatch which was expected to surely
follow from Commodore Dewey.
FIRST MESSAGE FROM DEWEY.
About $3.50 o'clock Manager Marien, of the
Western Union Telegraph Company APP
peared at the department, bringing with
him a sheet comprising four lines OF the
mysterious jargon which makes up the ma
val cipher. He handed this directly to Sec
rotary Long, who gazed at it for moment
and turned it over to Lieutenant Whittlesy,
one of the cipher experts of the Navigation
Bureau, for translation into English. Then
the secretary made a pretense of sitting
down at his desk to transact other bust
ness, but it was plainly to be seen that in
spirit he had joined the anxious throng of
newspaper men and officials who thronged
the reception room and the corridors, wait
ing for the news.
The naval cipher is one of the most COM
plex in the world The messages come in
words Of strange formation, taken from all
languages These words are turned by the
translating clerks into groups of figures,
and these, in turn, are resolved In their
equivalent words in English. All this takes
time. Meanwhile Secretary Alger, hearing
the War Department to see mis- colleague,
but he also was obliged to wait patiently
for the translation. Senator Hoar, a mem
Der of the foreign relations committee. also
joined Secretary Long and waited upon the
cable experts. About 10 o'clock a prominent
officer gave the newspaper men brief abb
stract of the cablegram so far as received
This only whetted the interest of the crowd
in waiting. Half an hour later Secretary
Long appeared with a copy of the translated
cipher in his hand. There was great rush
Ii, Int flo
naturally made allowance for the excite
ment of the crowd and smilingly read from
the corner of the room to which he had
been forced the following telegram:
MANILA, May 1.--Squadron arrived al
Manila at daybreak this morning. Imme-
diately engaged the enemy and destroyed
the following Spanish vessels: Reina Chris
tina, Castillo, Don Antonio de Ulloa Isla
de Luzon, Isla de Cuba, General Lezo Mar
ques de Duero, Correo, Velasco, Isla de
Mindanao, transport, and water battery
at Cavite. The squadron is uninjured and
only few men are slightly wounded Only
means of telegraphing is the American con-
sui at Hong-Kong, 1 shall communicate
with him. DEWEY"
DISPATCH NOT COMPLETE.
It was Immediately noticed that the cable
gram as officially promulgated did not en-
tirely agree with the brief summary of its
points which had been previously given out
and the immediate presumption was that in
the short time accorded for consideration
the officials had concluded that it was pub
lie policy to expurgate the dispatch Thus,
as made public, it contained no reference to
the cutting of the cable by Commodore
Dewey; to the fact that he lacked men to
take possession of the place, and, finally
that he had the entire bay of Manila at his
mercy. 1t was also noticed that the dis
patch bore date of May l. The McCulloch
could not have occupied six full
days in making the short run across to
Hong Kong. Therefore, it was Immediately
assumed that the above dispatch was only
the first of two or more that had been
brought over to Hong-Kong by the McCul-
loch. In other words, Commodore Dewey
had written Sunday night, giving a brief
account of the days work. Instead OF
sending Immediately by the McCuloch to
Hong-Kong he had delayed that vessel for
two or three days, at least, probably to use
her in the subsequent bombardment of the