Mexico weekly ledger., 1898-05-12

tion of political health. One Of these
helpful incidents is personal obser-
vation of an important condition of
the battle of Manila, which seems
destined to be an addition to the list
of decisive battles"
Said MIR. Williams: fThe Maine
met sudden death on the night of Feb.
Is. On that day one-third of our war
ships were in dock or had their ma
chinery in repair shops. The nation
was short on shells and of powder.
The stealthy plot that exploded the
Maine failed to stampede the Ameri-
can people. Had we went rushing for
vengeance at that time we would have
stumbled into a ditch twenty times
deeper than Bull Run. Instead, we
unconscIously enjoyed triumph of
peace that is to be celebrated.
"Before the bubbles ceased to rise
from the sunken battle ship, ammuni-
ton that could not be duplicated IL all
America was ordered on the trains
that had the right of way over all that
came before their swift rush to San
Francisco. There these explosives,
that must be handled as carefully as
the mother holds babe, were tender
ly transported to the slow but steady
old war ship Mohican, and started for
Honolulu.
"There-at Honolulu-they were
again, as hastily as possible, unioaded
and again restored on the beautiful
but terrible Baltim ore. Every solid
foot of the Baltimore's magazines was
filed, and 400 tons more of modern
munitions were secured on her decks.
She was also filed to the utmost with
quantity of coal.
On March %, just "a days after tears
began to fall for the Maine, the Off
GERS and crew of the Baltimore mailed
their farewell letters and started on
the long sail of 5000 miles to Yokoha-
ma, aud thence to Hong Kong, where
Dewey and his intrepid blue jackets
were waiting for the food of war.
In the meantime the depleted arssn-
ais were refilled by agents that
made the powder mills run day and
night on both sides of the Atlantic,
for every American had answered aye
to the call for $50, 900, 900. On the same
day So fighting vessels were added to
the brave but slender line of steel that
marks sour first line of defense' on the
restless waves.
"While Dewey was filling his maga-
zines from the welcome stores of the
Baltimore Mckinley and Lee were
calmly but safely controlling the fierce
wrath of their countrymen, who were
clamoring for the shooting to begin.
As the last obtainable ton of coal sifted
down on the deeply hidden decks OF
his squadron Dewey hoisted the sig-
nails for sail and steered straight for
Manila.
GAN the world knows the quick and
gallant tight he made," concluded Mr..
Williams. "But no form of the brave
story will be complete without refer
ence to the dramatic conditions oi
which I have attempted brief re.
view"
| And when one comes to think OF Il
alto consider the obstacles which
were overcome-when one remem
bers that nearly all of the ammunition
in the United States navy went dowr
with the Maine, one is constrained tt
admit that there is some little wisdom
in Washington after all, and that thoss
who planned the war on street cor
ners and in grocery stores-and who
had Spain whipped before the first o
March, won their wars 80 easily be-
cause they did not have to transpor
their powder supplies thousands o
miles,