Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-05-19
FALL OF MANILA.
Showed That IneHcicncy is the Note
of Modern Spain.
From the London Spectator.

From the London Spectator.
The inetficiency of which we have re-
peatedly spoken the note of modern
Spain comes out to the full in the accounts
Of the defense of Manila. Though the
Spaniards had months of warning, nothing
except the hearts of the seamen was ready
for the fight. Senior Sagasta says Spain
has spent f1OOOo0,OOO upon fortflcations
within the last twenty-five years, but
vhetLec Manila forgotten, or the
money was intercepted, or the engineers
were incompetent, the Notifications IN the
far eastern colony proved of no avail. Alex
andria was better defended against the
British fleet than Manila against the Amer
lean. The magnificent harbor, which would
hold all the fleets of Europe, Is one of TIE
most defensible positions in the world for
the entrance, only ten miles wide, Is divid-
ed into two channels. one of them very
dangerous, by the fortified island of Core
gidor which no vessel can pass unseen or
urassailed. Manila, on the east Of the bay,
and Cavite. five miles south of the capital,
are both fortified and IL they repulsed the
attacking squadron the foreign ships you'd
be caught as in a trap and must in the
end surrender.
Nevertheless the American, Commodore
Dewey, though his squadron was small and
had no place to which to retreat in case re-
fitting became necessary, on ne night of
April 30 steamed undauntedly into the h&r-
Dor. and passed Corregidor without dam
age He had not been expected, it was
night the searchlights were not ready and
the forts on the island did not even fire
until the invaders passed. The Spanish fleet
in the early morning was, however. ready,
and the seamen prepared to fight as if they
did not know that ship for ship they were
hopelessly overmatched; but the forts, we
suspect, were not In the best order. At
least, If they were, We do not know how
Commodore Dewey won the battle. Every
body says he had the stronger fleet, and
that is true; but they forget that Admiral
Montojo had the forts at his back, and that
they alone ought to have been able to drive
off the attacking squadron Two great
fcrtresses with Krupp guns mounted upon
Them, and Spanish artillerymen to man
them, ought surely to have given good
account Of four warships, none OF them of
the first class. with a gunDoat and some
tramp steamers laden with coal behind
them; but they did not. The American
commodore kept his ships IN incessant mo-
tion-he was driven to raaneuver," says
Admiral Montojo-and his squadron was
apparently not damaged by the fire from
the forts. while ship after ship opposed to
him sauk under his fire, or burst into
names, or retreated to the little inner har-
Dor Of Bakor, there to be destroyed by their
owners hands. The Spaniards fought
bravely, losing, 1t is asserted, two thous-
and men-we imagine this account includes
the wounded, while the other account with
its loss of four hundred, is limited to the
dead-but in four hours their fleet in the
Pacific was literally annihilated, and Com
modore Dewey left free to attack Monila
and Cavite.
The Philippines are lost to Spain. Senior
Sagasta says the garrison can and will
hold out, but garrisons do not hold out
when unable to reply to an encmy's fire;
the whole non-Spanish population, say Q5
per cent, Is unfriendly to Spain; the gov
error knows that help from the peninsula
within any reasonable time is physically
Impossible; there are vast multitudes of
hcuseless people to be fed from the hostile
in which equalization would involve no dis
credit even in soldiers eyes. Commodore
Dewey, who is to be supported by troops
flcm San Francisco. is, we doubt not, at
colony.