The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-02-20

ancient or modern, can it be said that in a
period of 365 days it opened with its own
blood and treasure the path of liberty to
l0OlGOO people Of a foreign tongue and a
differently colored skin. The years climaxes
may be summed up as follows:
-1S9S.-
Feb. 15.........B Battle ship Maine blown up
April 22.......War against Spain declared
May l.......Dewey destroys Montejo's fleet
June .Shafter invades Cuba
July Neutrality-suspicious.. Battle of San Juan
July ............... Ceryera's fleet destroyed
July ...........-...... Santiago ~surrenders
aug. Peace protocol signed
Dec. Treaty Of peace signed
-1S99.-
Jan. Observation-Disclosures dehes America
Feb. 5............... Second battle of Manila
EEebb, 5i."...senat ratifies peace treaty
Feb. 15............Keel of the new Maine laid
The mine or torpedo which sank the Maine
in the harbor of Havana was exploded at
$40 o'clock on the night of Feb. 10, 1898. Or
derby William Anthony, on duty at Captain
Sissbee's cabin door, saluted as that officer
staggered from within and said:
Il have to report, sir, that the ship is
blown UP and sinking"
Unknown to the s., 0O0.0 900 people of the
United States and to the 10000, 600 of Cuba,
Porto Rico and the Philippines, their racial
interests became one at that moment-fused
in the twinkling of an eye by the fire from
Spanish treachery. One Of the few surviv-
ing instruments of the dark ages was dulled
OF edge forever. Then. and above the waters
rushing into the Maine, rose the hand of
fate to reillumine the torch of liberty and
hang anew beneath it the red wreath of war
and the white one of peace.
Thirty years of Spanish brutality visited
upon the battling insurgents of Cuba had
not been sufficient cause in the minds of
the common people for the interference of a
third party. The destruction of an Amer
lean battle ship by means as treacherous as
those employed by COrteZ or PiZarro did not
fer the moment even seem sufficient prov
ocation for declaration of battle. But when
on March 10 the divers began their exami-
nation of the hull of the Maine, the people
Of the United States were rapidly forced to
a conclusion, aptly expressed four months
later by Captain Robley d. Evans in the
sentence: If there be any living man who
still believes that the Maine was destroyed
by interior explosion let him visit the
wrecks of the Oquendo and Vizcaya, on the
south coast of Cuba, and see how interior
explosions really do their work.
WAR PRECIPITATED.
The divers had not completed their work
when the country accepted the situation as
one necessary for war, and awaited the
action of Congress and President Mckinley.
No secret is revealed now when it is said
that the best posted men of Congress and
the closest intimates of the President had
regarded war as inevitable almost a year
before the destruction of the Maine. The
Maine explosion was a precipitation.
The destruction of the Maine brought
strongly to the fore the Spanish estimate of
American haracter-"pigs.' That estimate
has been revised since the morning of May
], 1893. The declaration of war by the Pres
1dent on. April y was followed by confirma-
tory action on the part of Congress April 26.
The mobilization of the army commenced
April 70, and about the same time Schley and
Sampson, with the North American SQUAD
ron, moved on Havana, while Dewey slipped
MS moor1ngS at HOng-Kong and steamed
quietly away for Subig bay and Manila.
Tina d0TiOnnn with Urhinh Gynf, uroJaA~1A1
the advance of the United States was echoed
by the foreign press. The Spanish-American
war has been called a political war and a
guerrlua war. Neither term fits. Conti-
mental statesmen use these terms with their
customary short-sightedness when great
race movements occur. Napoleon was the
only leader of modern Europe who appre-
GATED and foresaw racial advances. The
SpaniSh-American war will eventually be
termed a sociological conflict. and men in
stead of marking the beginning of the end
for the monarchies of Europe from the date
determined undermining from Dewey's bat
tie In Manila bay with Montejo, admiral of
Spain. Dewey shot shells into every throne
of Europe when he fired upon Montejo.
Americans are a people slow to wrath and
prone to be pessimistic as to their own
strength Until aroused. The country was
not in a hopeful mood when the morning
Of May /, 1888, dawned. The blockade of
HAVANA had not been successful; the
rapid mobilization of thousands of volun-
teers had brought forth unexpected COM
plants and emergencies. Vicious clements
just dS conspicuous lnen as InGX We're IN
1916, 1912 and 1861 hedged in the President.
his Cabinet and Congress with irritating and
harmful criticism. The apparent spectacle
was presented to carping Europe of a ma
ton apparently divided against itself. Spain.
a pursuer of rainboWs since the expulsion
OF the Moors, an air-castle building people,
Wanted the strength of Montejo at Manila;
OF CerVera, gathering a squadron at home
for the rayaging of our eastern seaboard.
George Dewey, of Vermont, sixty years of
age, a plain everyday citizen, changed the
entire situation. He gave to May day a new
significance in the minds of Americans. He
unified his own people as to the course to
be pursued with Spain. He made England
the open ally of the United States He re-
moved the Latin forever from the progress
of civilization as a first factor and stamped
the words English speaking on every
acre of Spanish possession in the waters
of the Pacific. More than that, he brought
the Orient and the Occident face to face, as
they had never been before.
A TRIBUTE TO DEWEY.
Lord Charles Beresford aptly describes
the battle of Manila bay, the victory, and
the man who brought it about. in these
words: "When an admiral can organize his
fleet so as to intiict a crushing blow on his
adversary with little damage to himself the
victory is considered by some as too easy to
be of much consequence-too cheap to be
good; but it should be considered a master
full piece of strategy, combined with per-
feet organization and discipline. The Amer
| AN0AA HNOIlO 1 justly BAOhd VI tiiNAA ANNNAh
victories, but the best ships and the best
trained crews are useless IN action unless
commanded by d brilliant leader, who ADDS
to MS qualifications a master mind to enable
kim to place his feet quickly in position OF
advantage. The American nation has such
a man IN Admiral George Dewey"
Dewey is the only past master the war
created. Hobson sank the Merrimac on
June 3, was captured by Cervera, received
lis freedom through Shafter, and kissed his
fame away before II was given time to bios
som. His attempt TO blockade the harbor
OF Santiago was marVelously daring; his os-
culation surprisingly ridiculous. American
shells sank the Relna Mercedes at Santiago
a few days after Hobson was captured.
Sampson and Schley bottled CerVera IN
Santiago harbor. The Oregon IN its ire
mendous flight from San Francisco to Cuba
educated the entire world as to the latent
powers of American battle ships. Shafter
landed in Cuba the latter part OF June with
! l7,V1 troops. Wheeler was with him, and
Roosevelt, Chaffee, Ludlow, Sumner, Kent
and a willing body OF fighters Spain or
dered Camara with a hastily organized fleet
TO sail for Manila via the SueZ canal.
Dewey awaited him.
Las Guasimas was fought. All the way up
to FL Caney and san Juan American blood
stained the crooked trails. July 1 We're
fought the two battles which were to decide
the rate of Santiago.
Il beheld the Incredible wrote Capt.
Arthur Lee of the British army, who was
at III Caney. Il saw troops setting at de-
hance all the laws of Notwithstanding
fortified positions without artillery, gong up
hreSwept hillSides with their naked hands
and marvellous grit"