Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1899-06-08
ROOSEVELT STARTED 1T.
His Preparations for War the Day he
Was Acting Secretary of the Navy.

When John D. Long came back to
Washington after some years absence
to take his place as secretary of the
navy in McKinley's cabinet, he was
president of the Peace society in Bos-
ton, and all his hopes and aspirations
were for peace. He had lost all inclina-
ton for strife of any kind, not even
caring for that eXhilarating effort to
keep his place in public office by the
suffrages of his constituents. He was
not aroused from his dream of peace
even by the explosion in Havana har-
Dor, which aroused the whole world to
the danger of war. He assured every
body that it was all an accident, and
so stated to the world through the
newspapers. 1t was not until the
court of inquiry got to work and be-
gan to reveal the plot of the Spaniards
that Secretary Long dropped his ac-
cident theory and at the same time
put away his peace platform to stand
up for war. His department was pre-
pared, because his assistant secretary,
Theodore Roosevelt, was just his OPP
posite in temperament and was more
alert to the danger of war.
1t was while Secretary Long was
still worrying over the horrible &C.
cident" to the Maine and had taken a
few days vacation that Theodore
Roosevelt, as acting secretary, on
February Is, 1898, sent Commodore
Dewey the now famous cablegram to
hold his fleet in readiness at Hong
Kong for an attack upon the Spanish
fleet at Mania. The history of that
dispatch is interesting. Secretary Long
had been so worried" about the ac-
cident to the Maine that on February
"a, eight days after the news came
from Havana, he decided to take a
short vacation. The next day, Fri
day, February %, Assistant Secre-
tary Roosevelt took charge as acting
secretary of the navy, and the first
thing he did was to send the follow
ing cablegram:
Washington, Feb. 25.-Dewey,
Hong Kong: (Secret and confidential.)
Order the squadron, except Monocacy,
to Hong Kong; keep full of coal. In
the event of declaration of war against
Spain your duty will be to see that
the Spanish squadron does not leave
the Asiatic coast, and then offensive
operations in Philippine islands. Keep
Olympia until further orders Roose-
Welt"
In that one day Theodore Roose-
welt made much preparation for war
and the navy department changed sud-
denly from theorizing over accidents
to battleships to preparing for war.
The news went out from Washington
that Roosevelt was preparing for war,
and the next day Secretary Long re-
turned to the department, cutting
short his vacation. But the word
had gone out, and could not be recall
ed Long could not undo what his
assistant secretary had done in one
short day, so he accepted the situa-
ton, and on the same day of his re-
turn, February 26, sent the following
message to the commanders of all the
American squadrons:
keep full of coal, the best that can
be had"
This went to Dewey, as we'll as to
all other commanders, and the navy
continued to make ready for war 1t
was a fortunate day for the navy
when Teddy Roosevelt became acting
secretary for one day, on February
25, even though the department was
made uncomfortably cool for him
thereafter, until he resigned and
sought a place in the army as lieu
tenant colonel of the rough riders
Washington Letter.