The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1899-02-07
DEWEY AND LEE.

/ fiFHfE W dkItfS8u 10 N9At ANfIliI al Ifot
| Dewey end Gen. Fitznugh Lee togethel
| as a Democratic Presidential team has
/ kicked up quite a gabfest as everybody
| knows. regarding the AdmiTeTs Tea
1 political status. l can tell you something
/ about this
Admiral Dewey is a Republican OF this
/ straightout cult. He belongs to the New
: England school Of Republicans. whose
/ abolition fanaticism vas the immediaJ,
! cause of the civil war. and dragged into
conflict the conservative elements OF
the West. represented by SUCH men as
Abraham Lincoln, salmon p. Chase. oil
YER p. Morton. Samuel /. KirkWoOd, and
James r. Doolittle. who would have pre-
/ served the peace by gentler methods. by
compromise, a. long as there was the pos
siDility Of success. The Admirals earlier
associations were thoSe in active sym
pathy with the Wendell Phillipses the
William Lloyd GarrisOns. the GeTritI
Smiths, and he was thoroughly imbued
with their sentiments. young as he was.
Taen these pOrtcniOus events were brew
ing.
Anybody who says sat there is any
thing neutral or sloppy in Admiral Dew
ey's political opinions is driving his pigs
10 poor market indeed. The Admiral il
q Republican. such as Wendell Phillips
would be We're he living to-day. and he is
bright. thinking Republican who
knows just why he is a Republican, and
who harbOrs an estimate of the other
party which, though not often expressed
is anything but fiattery.
The closest friend the Admiral has in
the navy is Admiral John G. Walker. Ad-
miral Walker, though raised in the West
is another type Of the extreme abolition
RePubiicaniSm of New England, where he
was born and partly reared. Ii was by
the personal influence of Admiral Walker,
made effective through his foster
brother. Senator Allison. that the then
capt. Dewey was made chief of the Blu
reau Of Equipment and Recruiting in the
Navy Department. A number of capabIe
naval officers were making an active
search for this choice billet when il be-
came known that Commodore Schlev was
10 quit the shore and command the BaIti-
more bat Admiral Walker held il open
several weeks for his friend. Dewey. who
WAS then just returning from the com
mand oil the flagship Pensacola. in the
mediterranean. after mis- memorable and
Ions-drawn-out quarrel with Admiral sam
FRANKLIN. Having been until that time
cnieI clerk OF the bureau, l became by law
me acting chief during this interregnum
IN Cue season the new chief came along
ana look up his duties at the bureau In
the TWO years or less that | served with
MN there were many opportunities tc
study MS character and 10 ind out his
views personal. literary, and political /
will relate an incident.
one morning the Commodore came into
my room holding The Washington Post
before him He mad been reading a re-
port of David b. Hills speech at Grafton.
on the Baltimore and Ohio Railway.
think, in which Mr.. Hill sought to impress
his personality upon the people as a
Presidential aspirant by the frequent use
OF cabalisuc phrase, Il am a Demo-
crat."
i am Democrat" repeated the Com
mod0re, with the peculiar musing manner
he sometimes fell into-his word for it
was 'mulling-" What is a Democrat
these days anyhow" he asked.
1T would take quite d little time. |
think. 10 define that at this moment"
was the reply Of his subordinate.
Wen, III tell you what a Democrat is
said the Commodore, with some asperlty
OF tone IN time of war a Democrat was
a damned traitor; IN time Of peace he is a
damned fool"
But that was seven or eight years ago.
Inc CommoaOreS views may have soft
ened with advancing age. / always found
nis opinions. when il came in my way
in the incidents of service TO hear them |
TO be invariably clean-cut, and he never
minced words in making them known.
Like most navy men, he expressed HIM
self with strong emphasis. He will swear
picturesqUely and volubly on occasion, !
and wholesome vigor may fairly be called |
he words Df his 4 IL
friends know this, as well as a good many |
who are not his friends.
What | have written above is merely a !
little incident but il is typical 1t shows |
just what this strong-headed, candid man
would wish TO have shown-that he is a /
Republican by instinct and by raising and I
that he would not for an instant, from /
the intensity of his craftsmanship, De rated |
as sailing under false colors. though be- !
Ing an officer militant of the United |
States, he does not carry his politics on |
his sleeve. He Was appointed chief of bu- |
reau by Republican President because |
he was Republican. on the recommenda- |
ton of the leading Republican OF the /
West, whose cooperation was enlisted bv |
the strongest Republican in the United |
States Navy, unless the exception be !
Admiral Dewey himself. But this should /
not necessarily diminish his availability |
As running mate for Gen. Lee on Col. 1
patriotic platform Ii is rath- /
n an argument in its favor. This Is an /
FRA of inSpirat!OEal patriotism. good feel 1
ng. Cancellation, and such hopeful and al /
together lovely sentiments as these could /
not possibly be better persORified than BY /
ticket made Up OF the two Undermined |
War heT0eS-DeV the New England |
lbolitionist, the hater of Democracy, and /
Lee the States rights Democrat. whose |
owes do not, 10 breach it gently flow TO
ne abolition cults of New England.
Bully for Dewey and Lee,
EDISON BRACE.
ST. Louis, Mo, Feb. ..