New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-07-22
WAR TINES IN PHILIPPINES.
.nN1RAL DEWEY'S POLITENESS - CON
DITION OF CAVITE, MANILA AND
THE SJINKEN SPANISH SHIPS.

.tont,a June 29-The British gunboat SWIM
.-r,ved here a few days ago from Hong hohs
nth mails. which 1t was thought the Aner'-
,.n naval commander. Rear-Admirai Dewey
.,,cb. not see his way TO pass. for fear OF
.o.hr,caI breach Of the blockade. but he made
- d,f1culty whatever. and said laushingiy:
". n, OF dispatches from America congratu-
,..,re us ON our success arrived by the last
g., and accidentally went ashore to the Span
ten Admiral He sent them TO me through the
pr,.,sb Consul so politely that think can
A. ,oth,nc less than let the Spanish mails go
through"
ca all tne mails went ashore, and perfect
r,dsend they were 10 the poor blockaded Mania
,os,dents People who have TO work for their
,,,.rs, have 70 attend to their business In war
.,,,ss nc hest they can apd there are business
err,s with immense interests at stake. all de-
,ansine on mail advices now that the telegraph
.obles are cut For few days the lloilo cable
NOS used messages being forwarded thence by
,oa, ~ Iahuan but that did not last long, for
.ho Americans found out that the Spaniaros
,r.rs communicating with their home Govern
-, on war matters and 80 they had to apply
the closure.
The last message said to have been received
,,o-, Madrid was TO the effect that squadron
-, four armored cruisers accompanied by coal
sh;ns and conveying torpedo-boats and troop
.h,ns with ten thousand soldiers on board. had
LEFT Spain for the Philippines
CAvIrE AND ITS CONDITION.
Admiral Dewey is most courteous and oblig-
ing He readily gave permission 10 visit the
arsenal at Cavite. Cavite is on a low. sandy
snot about eight miles from Manila as the
crow flies. but nearly thirty miles by road' as
there Is a broad. shallow bay Intervening ana
the shores are very swampy for some distance
inland The Cavite peninsula points In the d.
rection Of Manila. and s Joined to the MAN.
land by a low. narrow isthmus where during
lac, years rebellion. two bodies OF Spanish
.roons met and mistook each other for rebels.
Ovsr a thousand OF the soldiers lost their lives
,broueh the blunder The country is covered
,,,,h trees down 10 the waters edge. and the
.roons could not see who were firing at them
A, the end Of the peninsula are two points.
q large one outside named Sang'ey. smalIer
one. Cavlte properly. on the inner SIDE. Ju'''he
ont between the upper and lower parts Of Cavi'e
Raw. On Sangley Point is the slipway Tor re-
rairing ships. and a small battery OF two krupp
15-centimelye guns AT Cavite arsenal seVerai
Of the very oldest type Of Armstrong muzzie-
loading 6-inch guns are mounted. In the ar
senal inclosure are buildings OF the usuai sor''
machine sheds ammunition stores. etc
When the arsenal was started, about thirty
wears ago, a well-known Manila merchant OBJ
tanned contract to supply iron bars ices
angles and so on. at a handsome profit. which
should have figured out about SJoVO net
Whatever may have been the exact figure, he
managed TO increase his gains to SsoooO. just
sixteen times as much, by the simple expedient
tho Mt
while leaving the price in piculs
PAID FOR USELESS IRON.
Soon IT was noticed that an Unfortunately
large quantity Of iron was being landed at the
arsenal and il was found that he had been
authorized TO supply only the.smaller amount.
bu; he hurried away to Madrid. engaged the
best lawyer (who also happened just then to
be an influential Cabinet Minister). and his claim
upheld.
That is how the arsenal came to be burdened
with shploads Of useless iron. and worse still.
traditions of jobbery from the beginning. The
stacks Of iron are still TO be seen there un-
moved by the Commandment and footing which
they did so much to facilitate.
There is not much to be seen in the arsenal
now The engine-shop is kept In good order
by the Americans. 1t is small. but quite useful.
lsh makers. and has been maintained in
satisfactory state Of repair. All the rest. maya
zines. officers quarters. hospital and barracks.
had been looted and relooted. first by the Span
ish on withdrawing. then by the rebels. Here
and there the buildings show a great devas-
tating shot-hole. through walls and floors. big
pit dug in the earth at one end corresponding
10 huge gap in the roof and rafters at the
other
The Spanish ships in the bay tell pitifdl and
terrible tale The poor old Castillo is the worst.
though she shows the least. for she is now al
most entirely submerged. She was a wooden
cruiser. and all her woodwork burned TO the
waters edge leaving only the metal skeleton,
the ribs and frames tunnels, ventilators ash
boists and gun-shields. battered. perforated In
hundreds Of places, and hammered and twisted
almost out Of all recognition She is wonder
full, terrible testimony 10 the destructiveness of
modern weapons we'll handled
SPANISH GUNS POORLY HANDLED.
Well handled-that Is the point. for she has
yet guns on board that might have done
much TO the ships Of the United States squad
ron. instead OF allowing them to proudly show
their paint Inscratched. The Castilla's tunnels
must have been struck some hundreds OF times
and that simply indicates that the vessel was
swept from stem to stern. But she never hit
an American funnel Judging from the shot
hoies large and small on the visible ironwork
OF the Castillo there must have been hardly a
square foot Of her entire hull unhit
The Reina Crstina is less submerged. less
burned. but shows more battering. OF her
bridge only the starboard supports and foot
or two Of the bridge itself remain. The rest
was evidently blown into atoms, with all who
stood there by a she'll, which went on and
struck the funnel near the base. and appar-
emily exploded inside.
Manila is doomed city. for the insurgents
are closing in rapidly and the city could no
more survive big battle than a house of cards
would withstand Hphoon Even II the
strength and skill OF the defenders be commen-
surate with their vaor and patriotism even II