The record-union., 1898-05-08
EXCITING
DAY AT The
CAPITAL.
People Of Washington in
a Ferment
Over Glorious News Received
From Dewey.
Official Circles Wonder at the Ex-
Official Circles Wonder at the Ex-
traordinary Results Achieved
Without Loss of Life to the American
Sailors, and Almost Without In
jury TO ANY of the
Warshlps.

w 1O4Ns MAY "a Ody "
excitement such as to-day has not been
seen in Washington since the days
when reports came in of the great vic
tories of the civil war Official and un-
official Washington was in a ferment,
and few of the employees in any of the
departments could maintain their COM
posure sufficiently to go on with their
routine work.
The excitement was contagious. and
Senators and Representatives mixed
into the crowds that gathered around
the navy headquarters and gazed visit
fully at the mahogany doors of the
Navigation Bureau, behind which the
cipher experts, under lock and key,
We're sloyly deciphering the words that
conveyed Dewey's glorious message to
the American people
A close study of Admiral Dewey's
two cablegrams during the day only
increased the wonder felt early in the
day by the naval experts at the extra
ordinary results achieved by the Ad-
miral, almost without injury. The re-
ports that came before the cutting of
p ae cable were of a character to ind
cate that Dewey was going to make
quick and thorough work of the seizure
or Manila, but it was feared that in so
nerce an engagement against a Span
1sh fleet combined with the shore de-
lenses, the American fleet must surely
nave sustained a great deal of damage,
loss of life and other injuries. That
was regarded as inevitable in a combat
between two navies, for even the Chi
nese, in the great battle of Yalu. man.
aged to infict a considerable amount
OF damage upon their Japanese antago-
mist.
Yet. in this battle of Manila, lasting
two hours at least, according to the
reports received, and resulting in the
destruction Of the entire Spanish fleet
and the silencing of their forts. not an
American life was lost. and not an
American ship was seriously injured. A
Few men, it is true, We're slightly
wounded, but that is frequently the
case where vessels indulge in target
practice. There are all sorts of theories
among the officials to account for this.
but in the absence of facts it is hard to
form reasonable hypothesis. Prob
ably the true explanation will not be
forthcoming until mail advices are at
hand, but the Spanish naval prestige
has received blow from the battle of
Manila from which it cannot recover
for many years.
Admiral Dewey cut the cable himself.
and though he offers no explanation for
doing so it is believed his purpose was
not only to prevent the Spanish Gov
ernor-General from communicating
with his own Government, but also to
prevent the foreign Consuls at Manila
from interfering with his plans by
cabling protests to their Governments.
He made it impossible for them to sum-
mon any war vessels to enforce the pro-
tests they were expected to make
against the siege of Manila.
A closer examination of the two
cablegrams shows that in the news as
originally given out, the names of two
Spanish vessels had been omitted from
the list of those destroyed. They were
the Don Juan de Austria and the Isla
de LuZon. The Austria was /, 130-ton
vessel fourteen knots carrying four
seven-inch guns and also machine guns.
The Luzon was a 1,000-ton gunboat,
partially armored This makes eleven
ships destroyed by Dewey in the short
space of two hours. As he left the
Navy Department this afternoon Sec
retary Long said in answer to ques-
tion that he had given to the public all
the McCuloch had brought, save
trifiing detail not of general interest,
and important only to the department..
The receipt of a dispatch to the State
Department from commercial sources
indicates that further news may be
coming by commercial steamers.
If Congress does not prematurely act
as they did in the case of Worden,
when he achieved his famous victory
over the Merrimac, Acting Admiral
Dewey will become an actual Admiral
in a few days The laws Of July Is.
1882, provide that naval officers who,
upon the recommendation of the Presi-
dent, receive the thanks of Congress,
may be advanced one grade. The
President win do this in Dewey's case,