The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-11-09
WHEELER AND ROBSON GIFTS Spanish MaStS Moved to
 Capitol. CEREMONIES OUTLINED Raising Will Make New Ala
 bama History. The State is Now in Possession of Relics of Spanish-American War That No Other State
 Can Boast.

loaded from tne ItlBut Sdic o"" to the Capitol grounds
 Within few weeks the majestic main mast of the Spanish warship Don Juan de Austria, which went to her doom Tn the waters of Manila Bay, stricken by the sho- and shell of Admiral George Dewey American fleet, will occupy Tn Moh'eoth,, , cry an imposing position on the peautiiui grounds surrounding the historic old cap Ito, building of Alabama. Above the mainmast will be nailed 35-1oot spar taken from the burned Spanish vessel Oouendo. which bore the brunt of Ad- niral Schley's terrible fire at Santiago. From the topmast pinnacle an American flag will float to Alabama breezes ana tell it's silent taie of grim war. IL VIII be the flag which signaliZed the victory of American soldiers at Santiago-the first flag run up over the besieged city, taking the place of the saffron emblem of the Spani dons.
 Two sons of Alabama played conspicu- ous parts in the Spanish-American cam paisn The name of Alabama went hurting around the world when General wheeler-"Little Fighting Joe"-saved the day at Santiago. Again Alabama was heralded as the home of heroes when Richmond Pearson HohsCn startled the civilized nations by his heroic perform ance in the mouth of Santiago Bay IL is appropriate, therc fore, that these tro- phies of valorous victory should ind a resting place on Alabama soil, ana Tn the Canital City of the State which pro duced these mn.
 The flag which first f1oated over Santi- ago was preserved by General Wheeler and by him presented to the State or Ala hama. The mainmast of the Don Juan de Austria and the spar from the Oauendo have been donated to the State through the efforts of Captain Hobson.
 While the mast, spar and flag nave all ready arrivad in Montgomery. the date Of their raising and the formal ceremonies connected herewith have not yet been agreed upon. It is expected that General wheeler and Captain Hobson will be here to participate in the formal presentation of the relics to the State and the local committees which has charge of the mat ter believes that it will be one of the moot memorable occasions in the history of Alabama.
 The spar taken from the Spanish war ship Oquendo Is S5 feet in length. It was badly burned when the vessel was de- .troyed by Admiral Schley, but it Is well enough preserved to be nailed to the mainmast taken from the Don Juan de Austria This spar has been stored away at the barns of the Montgomery Street Railway Company, where 1t will remain until the workmen are ready to place 1t in position in the Capitol grounds.
 The huge mainmast of the Don Juan de Austria, which reached Montgomery Thursday morning from the Brooklyn Navy Yard will be taken to the Capit ol grounds, where it will lie until it is rais- ed by a detachment of sailors from the Pensacola Navy Yard, sent to Montgom- cry for this purpose, by order of the Navy Department
 This detachment will consist of Boat swain G. B. Hendry and Quartermasters C. Ehlers E. Hermansen and w. Hansen. The men have already received their tn- structions, and thev will come to Mont gomery as soon as they are advised by thes local committee that the mast and spar are ready to be raised.
 Eight hundred feet of stay wire will be u+ed to hold the mast in position, and it will be put up SO that it will stand for hundreds of years. It Is said it will re- uulre weeks time for the sailors to complete the work
 The mast will be rai~ed near the en- trance to tho Capitol grounds and its base, which will b. constructed of cement and Alabama stone. will be just east Of the old cannon which has recently been mounted on the lawn.
 The huge ears of thH Pennsylvania Rail- road Company and their historical freight the mainmast of the Don Juan de Austria attracted a g"oat deal of atten- ton yesterday in the yards of the West ern Railroad of Alabama. The two nat cars each of which is 54 feet long. are lying at the foot of Coosa Street.
 The mast is "A feet inches long and extends the length of the two cars which were joined together in trans porting it, The historic piece of timber Is 5 feet inches at it's base and feet I inches in diameter at its top. It looks as though II was hewn from a giant Norway pine. Many places in the mast show evil dences of DcwcY's shot and shell. It is filled with g~ape shot fired from the flag ship Olympia, tho Concord the Balti- more and other American fighting ma Chires of the sea
 The transportation of this giant piece of timber from Brooklyn to Montgomery gave the railroads much concern, and for some time it was declared that 1t was an impossibillty. Railroad officials declared that it would endanger their trains to join cars together for so great a distance. Others said that it's extreme length and weight, 1000 pounds. made it too cum bersome to accept as freight. Finally, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company pro- vided two of its solid steel flat cars and undertook to handle the historic freight. providing, however, that it would not be responsible for it's delivery and that the rate would be determined after its deliV- | cry.
 The cars came through to Montgomery after much delay and inconvenience to the railroad companies, but there was no accident. They were consigned by the storekecper of the Brooklyn Navy Yard | to The State of Alabama, care the Mayor of Montgomery. Alabama. The l freight bill was $3l2 5S, but owing 10 the 1 interest and efforts of local railroad men men Si624 of this amount was reoated' | The history of the donation or thes' masts to Alabama by Captain Hooson + | familiar to the reading pubic II, young naval officer some time ago aoNiS'' | the Governor that he had shlppeu t"eI' to America and had arranged to nat them to his native State. Upon th'iF ar l rival in this country it was cohttlN'' that they were the property or me sN
 ernment and could not be donated to UT
 State. Considerable correspondence th | sued between Captain Hobsoh anu 'h'
 Navy Department. The sympathy Colonel Hilary A. Herbert ana C'Ls eS7
 man A A. Wiley were enlisted flhaiI'
 the Navy Department decided 'h't lh
 masts could be shipped to Aiaoaiha dll'
 that bill would be passed oE tie e.n.N m. | Congres donating them to the 9'@.r Congressman Wiley has pronllseu '' II,
 troduce the bill and look ai'e' ''' P''S
 sage .,..a.u,.--
 The Street Fair Asso0iati2p unatr r'."
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