El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-05-01
ONE YEAR AGO TODAY.

One year ago today the whole Vorlo
was stirred by the news of one OF the
greatest and most decisive battles OF his
tory. Commodore Dewey, now admi-
raj, met under the heavy guns OF forts
and in a harbor studded with mines
and torpedoes q fleet more numerous
than his own, and without the loss OF
single American sailor he destroyed
the entire Spanish fleet, killed many
hundreds of Spaniards, and secured
the key to the city of Manila, great
metropolis of three hundred thousand
Inhabitants. Thus at a stroke he
crushed irretrievsbly SPANS power In
the orient, cut her off forever from any
further pretensions in that direction,
secured one of the richest island groups
in the world for the United States, and
made sure of the possession for all time
in the name of the United States OF one
of the most important strategic points
In the far east.
Such is history in q nutshell.
The world stood spell bound at the
marvellous intrepidity of the Americ-
ans. The United States had by stroke
entered upon a new regime SO differ
emit from any she had yet known that
adjustment to the new conditions was
difficult. The day after the battle the
HERALD printed editorially the ar
ticle reprinted on this page. The
headlines of the news columns on that
eventful day will be of renewed inter-
est.
So much has happened in a year to
add to the pages of our national his
tory that it were idle to try to go over
the ground even briefly. Manila has
fallen, and after a long struggle with
the natives of the Philippines they
have sued for that peace which is 60
d esirable and so necessary If the ISL
ands are to be lifted from the lower
to a higher plane through the bene-
ficent influences of American civilizs-
ton.
The country has been divided during |
the last,few months as to the righteous
ness of the conflict in the Philippines.
Men have arisen who have lost their |
manhood and thrust behind them their |
patriotism in tie recklessness OF their |
traitorous attempts to seduce the brave |
defenders of their country in the far
away islands of the sea, and cause them
to mutiny against the power for whose
integrity they volunteered to shed
their life blood.
With all the sorrow and loss that
have come since Dewey crushed his
adversary there still seems to be
promise that lights the way to time
of better things. There must be q
reason for all this. We believe that
what we have done has been well
done, and that no other course was
possible. We have been forced to
meet the conditions that were thrust
upon us, and we have met them as be- {
comes true Americans, unf1in chingly. =
Csrping critics OF the administra alton
can talk, but it takes q Dewey to
change the course of nations.
Some tday, not far distant, these
things that are now in shadow will all !
be made plain, and it shall appear why ]
history for our nation has. been writ
ten in glaring letters, even of the blood
If our sons.
For today, let us glorify the great
nan, than whom no other in the his
;ory of the United States is more ex-
Ilted, and glorify the mighty deed he l
worked that day just year ago, when
ne held two nations in the hollow of
lis hand and changed the tate of both '
ID one bright Sunday morning in May, G
low twelvemonth gone.