The age-herald., 1898-05-06
DEWEY A TERROR
 IN A FIGHT The Heroic Naval Officer Who Captured Manila. OF GOOD Ol D YANKEE STOCK He Was Trained First to Be Soldier-Some Striking Points About His Former Life and Character and the Man
 as He Is Today.
OF GOOD Ol D YANKEE STOCK
From the New York World.


 about Acting Rear Admiral George Dewey, you will better understand why the Ameri- can inen-o'-war under Dewey's command
 smashed the Spanish fleet in the Bay of
 Manila and wiped out of existence the ves- sc.s commanded by the sailor whom the Ions delighted to honor as 'the fghtnlg EIento.o."
 In good truth and speaking calmly this fight off Cavite was the greatest battle be tween ironclads of all time. The battle of the Yalu between the Chinese and the l Japanese fleets is not to be compared with 1 it. For the Chinese did not do any fight l ing to speak of. And to give the Spaniards their due Montojo and his men did fight So there's all the more glory for Dewey, who is just the kind of an acting sea fighter tlat were Perry and Paul Jones and
 Lawrence and Farra6ut and Porter. This
 acting rear admiral in eight days after
 the declaration of war was issued sailed his fleet D miles and bravely struck most decisive blow that has given to his country n cii the splendie assurance of vic.ory and carried coafusion and demoraliza- tion to the Spaniards all over the world. This acting and active Rear Admiral Dewey sailed from Hong Kong with in- structions to do what was necessary in the | limits of civilized warfare to take possess sion of the Philippines. It's just as well that no more orders could reach Dewey He did what was necessary. Without wasting any time in cautious explorations and countermining, he steamed into the inner harbor of Manila, not knowing and not caring whether the harbor was planted
 with submarine mines as thick as tulips
 in the city's parks today. And after pass ing the islands Corregidor and Caballo he engaged the forts and SbinS . them and said politely but friendly, Hand over your guns, your torpedoes and the end of the telegraph cable or be bombarded
 oh ye Spaniards!' An acting rear ad- mral indeed!
 The Spanish abrves have been calling us Yankee pigs Yankee this and that. Of course, this whole nation is delighted to be known by the generic name Yankee"
 But it will not please the Spaniards to learn that George Dewey is a true Yam kee, Yankee of the Yankees a down.
 Easter, born of good American stock, in whose veins flows the best blood of Yer mont and New Hampshire.
 Dewey first breathed the free air among the green hills of Vermont sixty-one years ago He was born in fine old colonial house on State street, Montpelier, house surrounded by fine grounds and right oppo- site Vermonts state house. The acting | rear-admirals father was Dr. Julius Y. Dewey, now dead, fine gentleman of the old school, remembered and honored for his integrity and force of character. It is perhaps surprising that MT. Dewey was a pioneer in life insurance in this country, surprising, because his son has taken so many dangerous risks Commodore Dew ey's mother was very beautiful woman,
 born in Vermont, too. The old colonial house at Montpelier has long been the center of the best society in the state, and, besides being noted for her beauty, Mrs. Dauav Wa or tal V and social graces
 l O2ly once was she known to have been at loss for a courteous answer to put a guest at his ease, so they still tell this story at Montpelier.
 Years ago. when the acting rear-admiral was a much younger nan. Judge James Barrett was Mrs. Dewey's guest at tea party-Judge Barrett lives now at Rutland,
 but he used to live at Woodstock and fre- quently went to Mrs. Dewey's entertain I ments. This time the judge, usually most courtly. had drank his cup of tea Mother" said young Dewey, Judge Barretts cup is empty
 70, judge" cried Mrs. Dewey. '1et me | give you some tea"
 | Madam, I thank you" answered the | judge, "but will have no more tea.''
 ''But these cups are too small,' insisted | the hostess.
 Madam" said the judge lowing, q am l not responsible for the size of your tea cups"
 The judge wanted more tea, but was too polite to ask for second cup. What was
 his hostess to say?
 The Dewey family has always kept up it's ancient style. Mrs. pr. Dewey drove about Montpelier in a low hanging barouche, on whose horses silver-plated harness clanked. When the townspeople saw the barouche approaching, they said half in awe, half | testing, Here comes the Prince of Wales carriage"
 The Deweys are Episcopalians. and l George and his brothers, Charles and Ed ward, were brought up in the fear of God. | Those two brothers are now in business in Montpelier, the props of the National | Lne Insurance company, Charles the president and Edward director. Rear-Admirel Dewey's wife, it may be | said here, died in 1895 at Newport She was | the fit mate in blood and spirit for such a man. She was the daughter of Gov. Good | win, New Hampshires war governor-a | fighting democrat, who at his own expen e | fitted out the First New Hampshire regi- ment rather than call an extra session of l the legislature. The rear-admiral has one l son, George Goodwin Dewey, who was l graduated from Princeton university last | year and is now in business in this city. The young George Dewey was nearly ed ucated in the Montpelier public schools. | He wanted to go sea, but that he should be | & sailor did not meet his fathers wishes. l So they came to kind of compromise. | The young man from the public schools to the Norwich university at Northfield. Vt. | military school, where, if he should not l learn to be a saior, he could be taught 1 how to shoulder a musket and drill. | Incidentally he had some very good 1 training in pacing deck. For one form of 1 discipline at the Northfield school was to | punish an offender by making him walk shouldering a musket. a certain number of times around big elm tree on the school grounds The big elm had very l wide-spreadnig roots so that the punish ment was more severe than it sounds. And George Dewey tasted some of it. He was | a quiet young fellow. His father did not approve of fighting. He told his son: "Never fight; but when you do. fight for all | you are worth" It would seem the son l has borne in mind this advice. He remem- bered it at the Northfield school-and so he | walked around the elm tree once in a while When he was seventeen years old Dewey | won his way. and his family's influence had | him appointed to the Naval academy in | 1S54 He was then a slender vOllng fellow