The Saint Paul globe., 1899-12-10
CERVERA,s STORY.

When the fleet of Admiral Cervera ap-
peared in West 1rd'an waters in the sum
! mer of 1895, and fed like hunted thing
from one safety point to another. beset
en- all sides by@the -overpowering naval
force which sought to do battle with it,
the world. Wondered what possible mis-
sion Of good sto,the. Spanish cause could
have brought thats.f1eet TO these waters.
Capture. or, destruction. seemed It's allot-
ted share as surefFEas that the sun rose
each day, and it never appeared possible
to any thou ghtfuEpeEson that it could
be more than a mere matter of time when
one Or the other fate would overtake the
gallant Spanish admiral -
The cause of fCervera's appearance is
| now made plain; and pathetic story it
reveals ;Cefvefa3 some months ago re-
| ceived the permission ,cf his sovereign to
publish the; official correspondence relat-
ing to his errand to Western waters dur
Ing that fatal SUMNER and now the cor
respondence appears in printed and bound
form. Such syncp.ical sta tements Of Its
scontehts as '1safes sappeefsd tsua far tell
very pftitfdlsagnd whdsls incrs dfblS tqie,
BY council of war held III Madrid,
Cervera was directed to-proceed to the
Antilles. He was to- call at some neutral
port on his way and secure infortna ion.
thereafter going, Ander instructions, to
Cuba or Porto Rico. He was absolutely
without further specific orders, and his
instructions from this famous council
were simply TOGO '<as his skill, courage
and discretion might suggest after he
had reached his destination. Cervera ac-
ccrdfngly came and saw and was ami
hilated, just as he knew would happen.
He had in vain protested against the
+ madness of SUCH as tep. He had foretold,
for the benef1tof his superiors, all that
| afterwards happ:9nef, b2th to the lend and
naval forces; OF. .SRaiR.; Indeed, this pub
lished corresB esBenaence shows that as far
back as 1896 t1f1s gallant and farsighted
gentleman had been urging; eon his min
lister ef nrariI1e The absolute need of yield
ing everything rapd anything in reason to
the United StStes SO as to avoid conflict
which could, only sGhd In the ruin of his
country and II Tie .wanton sacrifice of
the lives of her ;ehildren. His warnings
and advice pissed dnheeded. All of the
commanders 1uhndSP him united in the
warnings which, were spoken and written
| by their chief. EIt was all in vain. Whom
the gods wish to destroy they first make
mad
The saddest chapter of the story, allie
from the true Castiiian grandeur and
dignity with which Cervera and his men
following telegram sent by the Spanish
minister of marine, under date of May
12, to Cervera at Martinique, which, Of
|; course, was neyeEz.received, as. the ad-
miral>was then bottled in Santiago
+ Since your. saifing the situation has
fed so fthatTif you'>judge that the squad
ron |cahnot operate to. advantage where
you are. you may return to Spain. choos-
ing your own, route and port OF call,
though this would preferably be Cadiz.
Acknowledge receipt and advise of your
decision :5'f'' @@1 5 -
Victor Hugo; In hfs great drama, Don
Caesar de Bazan.' > places on the literary
canvas, with all the power of his great
genius, scenes which portray the opera
ton of the seeds. of decadence which d
been laid, so desp in the Spanish state in
early stages Of fits downward career IS a
world power Everywhere are revealed in
competence, Gishonssty and foolish van
ity. There issnntlsag more tragic in HUI
go's famous ,fseital than this telegram.
read in the light Of the events which pre-
ceded and followed IT.
And yet ftIswas19eft for the unhappy
Blaneo. twe&tty:fty8S days later. to dem
onstrate the truth that the supreme pos
sibllities of Spanish folly had not been
reached: He-aid sr when, on June 8, ne
ordered cerIera - run the Santiago
blockade and go to Manila to-do what?
To smash DeHey! Banlty. says this spen-
did naval herb aaatmartyr. Cervera, was
the origin Of this order. If this be SO.
what an extraordinary product is this
vanity of modern Spanish hidalgo
The story of 'Cervera's defeat is well
known With the prescience of the race,
the American people had discovered in