The times., 1899-12-17
LONG AND THE GOLDFISH.
The Romance of the Spanish-Ameri-
can War.
(From the Chicago Tr!bune.l


Captain Mahans story of our naval opera
tions in the late Spanish-American war,
which has just been published is incOm~
plete, since it does not contain a chapter
showing how Secretary Long saved the
sacred Goldfish of Boston from being blown
into flinders 1t will be remembered that
a long, wailiug Macedonian cry was con
tinually sent by the summer residents along
the New England coast from Bar HarbOr
10 Newport that a feet of Spanish battle-
ships armed cruisers, protected cruisers,
gunboaJs, torpedo boats, torpedo boat de.
stroyers, and mosquito boats generally
was lowering about the coast and threat
ening to harry and lay waste and levy
tribute upon the cottagers OF Bar Harbor.
Portsmouth, Ipswich, Newburyport, Man
chesJer-by by-JheSea, Beverley by -the-De-
pot, Magnolia. Nahaut and so on via
Cape Cod and Block Island to Newport
The emergency at last became so grays
that it called for the Intervention of a man,
and fortunately the man was found who did
not hesitate to throw himself into the
breach when he learned that the sacred
Goldfish of Boston was in danger In re
spouse 10 the clamorous demand Secretary
Long sent two Of the swiftest and most
powerful triple screw cruisers in the navy,
Minneapolis and Columbia 10 patrol the
-NGh A-Las4eA4h NDuet anu vi NC blA lAG DJrilL-
ish fleet whenever it should put itself in
evidence. The officers of these cruisers
did not enjoy their job, and would much
rather have been OF Cuba or Porto Rico
but they submitted and labored like brave
men and true, making cruises from Bar
HaTbor TO Newport and back again, touch
ing occasionally at Nantucket and Nahant
to see that no Spanards We're in their
vicinity and that the sacred Goldfish was
safe, wrestling with storms and seeking
safe anehOrages. but always ready to form
in line OF battle and open the attack or to
Tepel bCarders.
As the result of that memorable sum
mer's work Bar Harbor was not harried,
Portsmouth was not bombarded. the quiet
Of Ipswich and Newburyport was not dis
turbed by the rude alarums of war the
people of Manchester-by by-the-Sea and Bey-
erley Farms did not have 10 dodge Spanish
shells, the vacant villas of Magnolia and
Nahant. whose occupants had packed up
their yaluabes and fled to rural resorts,
were left untouched. the Nantucket light
ship still proudly rides the swelling main,
PrcyincetOwn slept through it all. Boston
was saved and the sacred Goldfish was un-
injured even to the smallest scale.
For these services of the distinguished
member of the peace society at Wash
ngton who laid aside his regalia and sent
swift and strong war vessels to save BOs-
ton and the sacred Goldfish from the Span
iards who We're lowering about the coast
the country has not been sufficiently
grateful, nor has it ftly recognized the
services Of that distinguished naval mem
Der OF the peace society who commanded
the defences of New England at this crit
zeal time. These services might not have
been performed had it not been for Roose-
welt, who was stubborn enough to send
a fighting Admiral to Manila and assign a
peace admiral to look after the safety of
the sacred Goldfish. II Secretary Long had
had his way. Dewey would have been sent
to New England and a peace admiral TO
Hcngkong
The golden dome of the Massachusetts,
Statehouse stilI rises in the blue. The
sacred Goldfish still hangs above the
speakers chair. The cottagers of Bar
HarbCr can stiIl have their summer reyels
The butterflies can iuUter around Rye
Beach Maids may sit upon the rocks at
Magnolia and contemplate Norman's Wee
Captains Courageous sail unharmed from
the Georges into GlOucester's fair harbor
The dowagers of Nahant are safe. The
bells of old Nantucket have never rung
tidings of disaster. 1t is to be regretted
that Captain Mahan failed to tell the story
how the naval member OF the peace so
ciety saved the New England coast and
how the Cabinet member of the peace So
ciety saved the sacred goldfish