Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1903-03-07
SPANS LOSS OF CUEa
Secret History Of the Spanish
American War.
WooDFoRDs sPARRIEe FOR TIME

Remarkable story ToId by Former
American Minister at Nadrid-Tbp
Racing seated Express train
fair-wp win tnited stnsea a.a
10 Lack of roar Torpedo soas De-
Under the heading og The secret
History I'll d Modern War tie LoHdoa
magazine Black and White. prolaptca
by SPANS suit against Clyde ship.
builders for $4,000 damages because
Of failure TO deliver four torpedo boat
destroyers on time and which has Just
been won by the spanish government,
says:
There is q divinity that shapes our
ends. bat the Spanish government be-
lleves todev that bad she had the four
~gunboats Let were building for bor
she would have prevented Tie landing
Of rifles. %amlsu-ttlon and men and
having tho Cubais isolated from out.
side assistance. have suDjugated them
before the United States dreamed Of
interfering.
The law action IS 4 remarkable one
but there Is a stlH more extraordinary
story in connection with the Spanish.
American war.
spain was unready, her minister Of
marine tells us. Had she known what
we now know perhaps the government
would not have waited 50 long. Bad as
may have been tie condition of the
Spaniards. the Americans were ii a
still more parlous plight, and all the
diplomatic trickeries. the delays and
feints of which the world was witness
in the spring of 1898, We're parts of a
huge scheme to put Off the inevitable
declaration Of wal until America dared
safely make It.
'"The story is one of the most remark
able In the history of modern warfare
and is told by no less an authority than
Mr.. Stewart L.. Woodford. who ut the
time was American minister at Madrid.
Negotiations of a more or less delicate
character. with war always looming
in the distance, had been In progress
for some months, when on Feb, Is,
1898, the United States battleship
Maine was blown up in the harbor OF
Havana.
Through departments other than
the state department. Mr.. Woodford
has told us, i received telegraphic In
formation on Feb. is. There were not
on the American ships or in the ord
nance depots in the United States two
rounds of powder per gun at that time.
and | was told to eXhause the arts of
peace until April 10, the earliest date
at which we could be anywhere near
ready for war.
~ did the best ! could. bnt let me
tell you that had Ii not been for the
unfa ltering, unchanging and loyal
frlet 1ship of England and the attitude
of ltr minister at Madrid ! might have
failed to do the little | did do, because
the Representatives at Madrid of con-
i~tlnental Europe were ready at any
time to interfere with the plans of the
United States if the British minister
would only join them
so while Mr.. Woodford was fness-
ing and keeping the way open in Ma
drid the work of preparing for war
went on in America, and to how how
accurately the time was gauged the
run of a sealed express across the
American continent may be instanced.
No man outside Washington knew its
contents, and only two there. The train
had right of way over all others. When
it reached San Francisco it's cargo was
Fro pHfnrv.A1 fA "a EfNArif-T steamer
which raced to Honolulu. There the
cruiser Baltimore was waiting every
body wondered WHY at the time. The
cargo of the steamer was transferred
to the Baltimore, which carried IL to
Hongkong.
ION April % the cargo was distrib-
uted among the American warships
there and Admiral Dewey had the am
munition for which he had been pin
ing. He received orders on April "a to
sail for Manila. That ammunition Oh
May day awoke echoes in Manila bay
that were heard round the world and
took from Spain an empire of over
100000 square miles, with close upon
100000 people. History is written In
strange ways.
''The story of Americas race against
time was made known to the world for
the first time at a public banquet. Now
another page of this strange chapter
of history has been written in a Scot
fish court of law thousands of miles
from the scene of action.
THE American papers and public
men who decried their government for
the tardy throwing down of the char
lenge TO battle have, since the r
story was made known, devoutly
thanked their stars that long heads
and clearer knowledge prevailed over
popular outcry.
Had Americas secret weakness
been known what must she have lost
and Spain have gained! Americas
whole available store went down with
the Maine In Havana harbor."