The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-07-18
Fit Rewards for
Our Naval Heroes
From the Philadelphia Times.

NlNiH lIle tnllbuclpnld
nF THE WAR were to close today.
or at any time in the future without
any additional great victory achieved
III by the navy. the next TO uniVersal
judgment of the people or the whole
country would be that Rear Admiral
Dewey should be crowned Admiral as the
great naval hero of the war, and that
Commodore Schley should be made Rear
Admiral with the thanks OF congress.
There are scores OF lesser heroes devel-
oped in our great naval battles who have
made the public familiar with the names
Of Hobson, Wainwright and others, and
there are thousands who rank as the
man behind the gun" to whose skill
and courage we are LARGELY indebted FOR
our marvellous triumphs, but the two
men who stand in the very forefront OF
heroism today, and who will go into his
tory as the great naval heroes OF the
struggle. are Rear Admiral Dewey and
Commodore Schley.
Admiral Dewey has had the most diff
cult and delicate duties to perform of any
officer in either army or navy. He
startled the world by his destruction Of
the Spanish fleet in Manila harbor with
out the loss of a man or serious injury
to a vessel, but grand as Admiral Dewey
was in directing a great naval battle.
he has shown himself ever grander In
maintaining the honor and preserving
the peace of the nation by the most
mastery diplomacy. 1t is an open secret
that the large German fleet in the Philip
pine waters Is not only menace to
Admiral Dewey, but a serious menace
to the peace of the country. single
thoughtless act or unguarded expression
would be seized upon by the German
fleet to make a landing and hoist the
German flag on the Philippines. While
the German navy officers have been con-
stantly irritating and at. times cstenta-
tiously offensive. he has held them with
steady hand by his matchless skill in
defeating their purpose without giving
the semblance of cause for hostilities or
complaints.
Under the pretext of protecting the
German citizens in the besleged towns
of LuZon, the capital island of the
Philippines. Admiral Dewey has had to
disarm the Germans by permitting no
possible excuse for Intervention. He has
restrained Aguinaldo, the insurgent
leader to the point of compelling him
to observe the laws of civilized warfare,
ard the Germans now well understand
that Admiral Dewey and our army will
protect all classes and conditions in the
city of Manila. If the Germans could
| thus under the pretext of protecting the
| very few German citizens who are there,
| land a force in Manila in advance of
the Americans occupation of the city,
they would have the vantage ground of
| possession and would be a factor in die
| tating the terms of peace so far as the
Philippines are involved.
Being defeated at every turn by Ad-
| miral Dewey in their efforts to find a
| pretext for landing "A force in Manila
the German fleet assumed the response
| bility of protecting the Spanish garri-
| son on Isla Grande in Subig bay, that
| was threatened with capture by the in
surgents. When advised of this attitude
| of the German feet Admiral Dewey i'm
| mediately ordered the Raleigh and Con.
| cord, two of his minor war vessels, tc
| proceed at once to Isla Grande and attack
the Spanish fortifications and compel the
| surrender of the garrison. When the
\ Raleigh and Concord arrived in Subs
bay the German warship Irene was there
performing it's assigned task of pro-
| tecting the Spanish garrison from ths
| insurgents, but when Admiral Dewey!
| warships entered the bay to attack tn,
enemy of the United States the Iren,
dIscreetly retired and Isla Grande was
surrendered to Deweys officers
We regard Admiral Dewey's achieve
ments in diplomacy as even SURPRISING
| the battle with Montijos fleet, thai
| stands unexampled in the naval conflicts
| of the world. Heroic as he Is on hi.
| battleship in action, his mastery in deal
ing with the complicated internationa
| questions constantly confronting hin
| must rank. him as the first naval Officer
| of the United States and second to non,
| in any nation; and when the war shal
close and this government shall come tC
| take account of the achievements of II.
heroes, the name of Admiral Dewey mus
lead all others in naval honors.
| The people of the nation know but on,
| other great naval hero, and he is Com
modore Schley. He directed from star
| to finish the entire fleet that engaged
| Cervera in his attempt to escape from
Santiago, and destroyed every vessel un
der his command. Not only did he com
mand the fleet with supreme skill, bu
his flagship, although one of the weak
| est of our great war vessels, did more
hard fighting and more damage to tn,
enemy's ships than any other vesse
that was engaged. His flagship wa:
| struck by the enemy more frequently
than all the other vessels combined. II,
| headed off the Cristobal Colon. a vastly
| stronger ship than his own, and engaged
| single-handed and halted it until tn,
Oregon came up with her powerful gun:
| to aid in the final destruction. No mat
| ter what the naval regulations may re
quire in recognizing Admiral Sampson
as the commander of the fleet, in tn,
| considerate judgment and affectionat,
hearts of the American people there |,
but one great hero OF the naval battl,
at Santiago, and he is Commodore Schley
| ------