The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-03-06
PREPARLNG EOR The lKAn.

Senator Lodge sets forth concisely
for March the early efforts that were
made by the navy department to equip
our squadrons for offensive operations,
not only before war was declared, but
even before the Maine had been blown
up or the nearness of war had begun
to be realized by the people.
In January, nearly a month before
the disaster of the Maine, the COM
manders of the European ard Asiatic
squadrons were ordered to retain all
men whose enlistments had expired and
| to assemble their ships respectively at
Lisbon and Hong Kong. The Olympia
had been previously ordered to San
Francisco for repairs, but Dewey was
now ordered to keep her with him I'll
further advised. Ten days after the
sinking of the Maine, the squadron
commanders were ordered to fill their
! bunkers with coal and to be ready to
move at a moments notice On the
| third of March the Mohican, loaded
with ammunition, sailed from San
Francisco for Honolulu, there to await
| the Baltimore, which was to carry the
war stores across the Pacific to Dewey's
squadron.
Meanwhile, the commodore himself
was busy gathering war material He
bought the British steamer Nanshan,
loaded as she was with 5000 tons of
| Cardiff coal. The Zafro, a steamer of
the Manila Hong Kong line, was his
next purchase, and with the boat he took
also her coal and provisions and made
room on board for the expected ammu-
milton. AS early as March 2S Deweys
| squadron was assembled and ready for
| duty. April IS, the day before congress
adopted the war resolution, the revenue
cutter McCulloch, larger than the gun
boat Petrol and nearly as large as the
| Concord, though not so heavily armsd
as either, arrived at Hong Kong and
was added to Dewey's fleet. The next
day the ships put on their war paint
and on April 81, the day Gen Wood
! ford left Madrid and Senior Polo quit
| Washington, the Baltimore ARR yed
with the additional supply of ammuni-
| ton. There was just time for recoaI-
| ing and painting, for four days later
| the British proclamation of neutrality
was issued. the squadron set sail from
Hong Kong, and the following day,
| April 26, Dewey received his orders to
| leave his temporary berth at Mrs Bay.
and proceed to the Philippines The
very next day he steamed away. and
! four days afterwards destroyed the
! Spanish fleet and sienced the batter
les in Manila bay.
| The preparations for this epoch-mak-
/ ing event were complete. The oraers
| of Secretary Long had been executed
by his subordinates as if by clock
work. There was no slip; nobody was
behind time. Moreover, the movements
ness but conducted with secrecy. Be
You'd the ordinary maritime reports OF
the sailing Of vessels, nothing was
known of the war preparations.
Surprise has been expressed that SIM
liar activity was not displayed in the
conditions were wholly different. As a
matter Of fact, guns ana few other
supplies for the land forces had been
bought in Europe while our agcr Is
were making purchases for the navy
but there was very little that could
be done to equip the army without
making noisy parade about it, and
that would have inevitably FASTENED
war. Delay was our best card. The
army contract regulations made Sc
crecy impossible in the collection OF
supplies and equipments, and outside
Of these things very little preparation
was possible. 1t is said to be the pur.
pose of the administration hereat.
ter to accumulate war stores in sucf
quantity that the army will never agar
be found in an absolutely impoverished
condition. That would be a sensil L
policy, but the temper shown in con.
gress, for the last month, does not en-
courage the people to expect that 81
sane and provident measure would be
favored.