Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1898-05-26
Tic Lesson. OF NLaniIa Bay.

The Lessons OF Manila Bay.
The brilliant operations of the American
feet in Manila Bay have served TO EN-
phasize several well established princi-
pies q naval warfare, the truth Of
which has been recognized through
many centuries Of struggle Tor the mas
rery Of the seas We believe il was Ma
poleou who said that Providence was on
the side f big battaliJns. That may |
DC true on land, bat the history Of sea
fights without number has taught n |
that Providence j. on the side OF fore
thought. good Judgement. discipline,
dash, well-5imed audacity and above ali |
straight shooting. All Of these quail |
ties were conspicuousiy present in the |
compact little squadron Of half dozen |
-hirs which IN the gray dawn Of that !
eveutful morning clrcled around the |
bav before the astonlshed gaze Of the
enemy and al q predetermined hJuT and
on a Predetermined pldL began 70 blot
the Asiatic feet Of Spain ont Of exist |
euce.
The two most important facts brought
out by the Manila ngnt are the ability
OF modern ships. even Of the unarmOred
rrpes. 70 engage iand fOrrihcations. ana
the Incompatible value Of accurategun-
nerv ~ q means Of defence against the
shell fire Of the enemy The astonlsh-
inglv small casualties 70 our ships and
their crews during several hours Of
fighting is not all 10 be credited to poor
n narkmanship on the part Of the span
isb zunners. Il was largely the result
IF the rapiditv and deadly accuracy Of
the stOrln Of smells thrown by our YES
sells which rendered the gun positions
untenabie and probably disabled the
crews faster then they could be placed
at the guns a crack marksman be
hind a modern high powered rife Is
worth whole inches OF arlaOr protection
10 the ship on which he serves and ii
begins 10 look as though the theorists
might prove 10 be correct who contend
that modern fights viii be decided by
killing Of the gun crews rather than o.
penetrating belts and demolishing IN
arInored ends and upper works.
Not less remarkable Is the fact that
half dozen uuarmOred cruisers should
have run past shore batteries Of consid-
siderable strength amp blown out of ex-
istanCe feet that held strong posi-
ton under the guns Of powerful bat
terry The supreme confidence with
which this supposedly impossible feat
was undertaken is only equaled by the
qolendid andacity and cool deliberation
with which il was carried out. If the
Spanish feet was taken unaware5, It
was because its admiral judged-as by
all the canons Of naval warfare he was
| justified in doing-that the American
| fleet Of cruisers would never dare to un-
dertake an attack for which only heav-
| ilY arrnored battleships are supposed TO
be available The success with which
the fortifcations in Manila Bay were
attacked il certain 70 enhance the value
Cf the swift cruiser az against the more
mbersome battleship. The danger
will be that critics will lose sight Of the
fact that the forts and probably the
guns were not Of the latest description,
and will push too far the lessons that
nave been taught by the reduction of
Cavife arsenal
The battle has shown again the abso
Lutte necessity Of removing from a war
ship every piece Of woodwork that can
possibly be spared. Our shells loaded
with common brown powder served 10
set fire 10 Spanish ships carly in the
fight. and had the shells been loaded
with high eXplosives, the confederation
would have started sooner and burnt
even more herCely Fires were started
in two of our ships by exploding shells
aud, though they were speedily eztin-
gnished, they emphasize the necessity
for rgidly excluding all unnecessary
combustable material from a warship
The fight again demonstrated the fu
tility Of torpedo boat attack when car
ried out by daylight and in the open
Three separate attempts were made by
these little craft 10 run out from the
harbor and dash within firing range OF
the American ships but in each case
they were speedily crippled by the ~
FOUNDER and FOUNDER rapid fire batter
les If our cruisers The only possible
danger from torpedo boats by day
would be- when the &ttack wag made by
larger feet Of boats than . ships rapid
| IRE guns could cover. IN such 4 case the
| sarviyors would probably sink one or
| two If feet before they were them
ssiyes destroyed. Attacks by isolated
| boats, such as were made by the span
,-r,,r---.,-r-,, yrY efrtffc m fTny
we're splendidly heroic.
and this suggests the reflection that
mere courage ana heriosrn can never
| atone for the lack of skill and efficiency
| had the Spanish crcW been rs skilled
a. they were courageous, our ships ana
men would never have come 70 scath
| le3s ont of the fight II is 30 the com
! binatiOn Of both qualities in our navy
yhat ge must look for m explanation Of
shc amazing disparity in the losses sus
| tgined on this memorable day
We close with mention Of pleasing
| episode, one that IL highly character
| istic Of the man and in accordance
with the best traditions Of the navy
| We refer 70 tiie message which, accord
ling 10 an Associated Press dispatch
war cent by Commodore Dewey 10 the
admiral Of the beaten fleet. II have
pleasure in clasping your hand and Of
fering my congratulations on the gal
LIANT manner IN which you fought.
True courage is ever uiagnaninous; and
every acknowledgement Of the I'M
doubted bravery Of the vanquished is
an indirect tribute 10 the courage and
skill Of the yictor.-Scientific Ameri.
can