The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-01-27
DEWEY INCIDENT.
The Admiral Didn't Withdraw
For Breakfast.
Lieutenant Stickney Tells the
Real Reason.
A STORY SHATTERED
I'm the Great Naval Battle at
Manila.
The American Commander Had
STORY SHATTERED
The American Commander Had
Little Ammunition.

/ Nl6SdZlI1G IOT CpI0d1S ~
Lieutenant Joseph L. Stickney (retired),
U. S. N, who cabled the great New
York Herald story from Hong Kong.
| Alas! the breakfast incident was a
! fiction. Lieutenant Stickney ought to
know, for he was the author of it. This
| fine, dramatic fiction covered the fact
that Dewey retired to see If he had am
munition enough left to continue the
| battle. Lieutenant Stickney says in
| Harper's:
| WHY DEWEY DISCONTINUED THE
BATTLE.
ST do not exaggerate in the least when
| say that, as we hauled off into the
| bay, the gloom on the bridge Of the
| Olympia was thicker than a London fog
| in November. Neither Commodore
| Dewey nor any of the staff believed that
| the Spanish ships had been sufficiently
injured by our fire to prevent them
from renewing the battle quite as fur
iously as they had previously fought
Indeed, we had all been distinctly dis
appointed in the results of our fire. Our
projectiles seemed to go too high or TOO
low-just as had been the case with
those fired at US by the Spaniards. Sew
eral times the commodore had expressed
dissatisfaction with the failure of our
gunnerS to hit the enemy. We had be-
gun the firing at too great a distance,
but we had gradually worked in fur
Their at each of the turns, until we were
within about $500 yards at the close of
the fifth round. At that distance, in a
smooth sea, we ought to have made
large percentage of hits; yet, so far as
we could judge, we had not sensibly
crippled the foe. Consequently Commo-
dore Dewey hauled out into the open
bay at the end of the fifth round to take
stock of ammunition and devise new
plan of attack.
THE MEN WEREN'T GLOOMY.
The Olympia had only eighty-five
rounds of five-inch shells left! The men,
however, did not share the gloom of
the bridge. Lieutenant Stickney adds:
THE gun captains were well satisfied
with the results of their work. Whether
they had a better knowledge of the ac-
curacy of their aim than we had on the
bridge, or whether they took it for
granted that the enemy must have Suf-
fered severely after SO much fighting,
do not know; but, at any rate, they
were eager to go on with the battle,
and were confident of victory. told one
of them that we were merely hauling off
for breakfast, which statement ELECTED
the appeal to Captain Lamberton, as he
came past a moment later:
" For Gods sake, captain, don't let
US stop now; to hell with breakfast
when I told the commodore that
intended to attribute our withdrawal to
the need of breakfast, he intimated that
it was not a matter of much Importance
what reason gave, so long as did not
give the true one. And so the breakfast
episode went to the world as plausi-
BILE excuse for what seemed like an ex-
traordinary strategic maneuver-one
which has been the subject of more COM
ment than almost any other event dur
ing the battle. Many people have said
to me that it would be a pity to spoil
so good a story by telling the truth; but,
as the commodore will be sure to let
the cat out of the bag some day, may
as well let her have her freedom now"
Lieutenant Stickney gives for the fine
story he spells new one, almost as
gOOd-thiS:
REPORTS WORTHY OF A CAESAR.
ha MT IF he in
cidents OF the day was the manner in
which the commanding officers report
ed the lack of serious casualties when
they came aboard the flagship after the
first battle. Having passed through
such a hail of projectiles as made es-
cape from a long list of killed and
wounded appear almost miraculous, and
believing it to be impossible that all the
other vessels had been similarly for
tunate, every captain seemed to feel
that the failure of his ship to catch any
Of the enemy's shells in a way to harm
any of his crew might lead the COM
modore to think that his command had
not been the target for the Spaniard's
fire to the same extent as the vessels
which had suffered loss of life. Con-
sequently, as each captain came over
the Olympia's side, he replied to the
eager query, How many killed?' in a
manner that indicated very much
mixed state of mind. Mingled with sat
isfaction at having lost no man was an
evident, desire to have it understood
absence of danger.
q Only eight wounded" replied Captain
But six shells struck us, and two burst
1npoard without hurting anyone
way the next captain reported.
49,, None eo killed and none Wounded was
but don't Yet Know Know how It happened ape .e
next report made @4 with sort of defa amt
air, as if the speaker would like to hear
if inSinnafnd ha ri in
ing ss,, his men in a safe place.
s,d t the 80sto9s t captain c am along
it was known that his ship had been on on
killed nor wounded the news quickly |
cReered Vociferousi ISL 's SNIP anu Inc 'A-en
The. story in Harper's is even more in
immediateiy followed the oo eabiegra ans.
While the revelation of Dewey,s sore !
feature of the latest story all of it is fine. |
Dewey's bluff of the Germans may now |
and put up a great bluff THESE are ex- !
one incident, Which have already men
one 9r 6rlsfy IN my is worthy
the feelings of the enlisted men for, the
commander-in-chief, The commodore,
the starboard side Of the upper deck. no
tieed that one Of the petty officers-a man
thereHWas making a pretense of finding
sisn keengn 20 90 on tn9 Io PGrt side put was
modore. This mans record of nearly 40
years of service in the navy and army of
the United States had caused him to be
regarded with special interest by the Of
ficers of the Olympia and he was to a
certain extent, privileged character. So
the commodore, being familiar with the
manners of seamen, and seeing that the
old man had something on his mind"
said to him:
We'll, Purdy what is ft?''
Il hope, sir, replied Purdy. straighten-
ing up and saluting, I'VE don't intend to
dght on the Sd OF Nay