The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-06-24
CAPTAIN MANNBY'S FEAT
Naval Officers Still Discussing His
He'll Gate Exploit.

/ Instructions to Officers Not TO Make
| Such an Attempt Again Regarded
THTarraHted Censure-PrniSes
/ for the massachusetts Commander
! Naval officers have not ceased to talk
4 over the feat of Captain Manney. OF the
/ Massachusetts,, in taking that heavy bat
tleship through Hell Gate. Although
/ some officers believe that the Navy De-
partment did a wise thing in forbidding
commanders of war vessels from taking
such risks in future there are others who
/ insist that Captain Manney did a proper
and strictly professional piece of work
that will be favored throughout the ser
! vice
There is no disposition to take the de-
partment to task for deciding that no fur
Their attempt to go through the treacher-
Gus channel should be made without au-
thority from Washington. or in case of
great emergency, but the opinion is ex-
pressed in some quarters that the depart
ment would have done well to wait until
Captain Manney's exploit had ceased to
excite comment before issuing the IN
strHctions on the subject The announce
ment that these instructions had been
sent Immediately following the successful
gUed be construed as other than an Off
ciaf eensure OF Captain MaDney. but
Secretary Long has denied that there was
any censure Intended and has praised
Captain Manney for the commendabIe way
in which he performed the dangerous feat
Of navigation
One of the oldest, best-known. and high
est ranking officers of the naval service
said today that it was not true that any
considerable number of naval officers be-
lieved that Captain Manuey should not
have taken the risk. On the contrary. he
said, the service generally regarded his
act as worthy of the highest praise, not
for the skill in navigation displayed, but
for the lesson It taught
1T was one of the finest things ever
done by naval officer in time of peace
in fact the very finest thing that I can
recall, he said. 1T was magnificent
act of daring and professional skiII-the
most conspicuous of the kind in recent
history of the navy. Nancy has demon
strated that a battlesbip can get through
Hell Gate That was something that
needed demonstration When he did that
Manney took his commission in his hands
Had he failed he should have lost his
commission But he did not fail and his
reward should be all the greater for the
risks he ran. He should be commended
officially in the highest terms.
Nancy was new man on the Massa-
chusetts. He had never handled her be-
fore except in the short and easy run
from TompkinsviIle. to the New York
Yard. But he was not afraid to handle
the ship. Such men as ne win victories
for the nation The navy wants officers
who know when to take chances and Man
ney IS of that kind.
Now let me show why he performed
feat that will prove of value TO the navy.
1t is necessary TO pass through Hell Gate
to get to New York's inner line of de-
fence In time Of war with a foreign
feet of New York it might be extremely
dangerous to have vessels take the out
side route to get into Long Island Sound
To pass into that body of water without
endangering the American ships it would
be necessary to 20 through Hell Gate.
Gun Island and Fishers Island with be-
tween them that tide-rip passage known
~ the race mark the eastern TrA of
New York's defence Fishers Island has
been fortified, and to support its batteries
a squadron from New York must make
the Hell Gate passage.
so you see how important it was for
somebody to demonstrate that the thing
could be done safely by the largest yes
sells. Manney has given the demonstra;-
ton He will never be forgotten in the
naval service for that courageous act. On
his own ship he viii have the loyal sup
port Of every officer and enlisted man In
the 70 castle they call the captain the cid
man. and I tell you that on the Massa-
chusetts and whatever other ship NIanney
may command nothing the old man
wants done Will be too hard to do. and it
won't be safe for anybody to offer word
of criticism of old man Nancy"