The Washington herald., 1909-06-06

eral everything had 70 Be reeons,serss
ana MontoJo called a council TO decide
e-- "-e-i-ef the defense should ba
mace az CaTlte OF al Sublg. The major
ity voted for Subig. and agosrin a.
proved IN view Of the faer mar p-sr.o
ue RIVERA had previously given ais own
approval --'S 0"A
It IS certainly not 70 be wondered AZ
maj slonto1o, az this point OF his narre-
I'VE oI e4kS INTO laneutarfon Ha eo-,iF
set neither advice nor assistance 4-or7
nome whether he kept his soua6-o- =,
OaFlie or took L % Sublg. the Aroe~ics,
squadron would follow MIN. and AroeriD
Nol-u NOT assume any responsiblitv.
n----NeFef OF Ine tWO positions he chose.
mere was Only one other thing 10 bs
ooAe and that was 20 scatter his reeeaIs
but AsosIil would rot perrlr fhs- srS
even II he did the Americans .v-e-e f,srer
heatler ano better drilled and bis vessels
"ould simply be picked Up one by one.
Discoveries TOO Late.
Finally. on April 2. the A,,e-i..- g.
SUI Williams. sailed FOR Hongkong and
on the night OF the 18th. 1fontoio rool-
his squadron 10 subig. On his arrivsT
10 his supreme disgust. he foun6 rbs-
none Of the guns 70 Strengthen bfs -
sition had been mounted. II had bee,
counted upon that BIZ dividing rba s,,,
between the Eland and the north 4bo-s
aiter The eastern channel had be-,
blocked bJ sunken huIks. an exoere--
cross Are could be secured. but zoo ra-a
u was discovered that The north sb,-e
was 100 steep % permit empIaceue-rs
-or t-e guns. so lLat even II those on rba
Island had been mounted the roSfrio7
was no longer secure. Before vro~I-
could De started the dispatch come iron,
---e spanish consul. in HOngkOng. thar
De~es AaQ saieQ The hl..zs we're fhe,
sunk IN the east chsnneI 0Vyhv9, sDT
then there was only one thfrg ~ -
return 10 CaTlte and make the stand
there -'
AT this point the narrative awai-s ,ta
arrival or the next issue OF La Fsps7a
Accerna. which. doubtless. Is exclusively
devoted 10 the details Cf the battle ITSELF
MltE that every one IS familiar. 50 thar II
can scarcely have the real interest thar
attaches 10 this description Of the me-
lmlnary events which uninteurI0nq1v
brings out clearly the condition Of hose
less Inactivity and lack Of initiative exist
ms az Manila, that was as blaneworrhv
Is tne neglect Of the home authorities
Walls at Waste OF Blood.
In This respect, the old admiral fnn7-
Gently eoafounds his own arguments ra-
peatedly- Con6emning the supfDenesS NJ
his government for not providing ra-e7-
Iorcemen-s. be honlIizes over The sad
fate that awaits battalion OF Hght cav
airy that went out on the man steam
snip with him and walls an The V,as-a
Of good Spanish blood in pourina ra-.-o-
iorceUents into Cuba
II the coIncil Of March u ba -sr7s
attention % The contrast between rrs
lnocern and thoroughly equipped vessels
az Dewey, as compared win his o---
anuqu2ted squadron. losing sight 81 +ra
Iact that Notwithstanding The so.,,.-
superiority of the Individual vessels 80
were practically OF the same 5sres ~
construction and length OF time on frs
station FeelngIy he speaks OF re
recent ADDITION 20 the American SQUADRON
or the splendid Olympia. but thar vessel
nae gone % the Asiatic SQUADRON o-r,-
SIX months after his own facsl,- 49,.
Maria Christina He refers in 1i,a bsvfT-
ning 70 The 1act that the new. runboafs
Isla De cuba and Is-a de Iuzcn are ~
oe sent our % him. bur does not notioA
me significance OF his own sra+e7,a--
that Dewey received early notice 10 rarsf-,
the Concord on the station. although -
q IuiSins time was Up. and that TIE UttIs
tetrel had been cruising in those waters
longer Than any of his own vessels.
Decentralization Aboard.
II IS pitiable 10 be forced 10 make tbs
really true inference from his remarks
concerning the fact that there were few
among his crews who understood han
ding the guns properly. thar from t,a
time that a snip was put in conuisyio,
deterioration Of personnel as weu as
material, was accepted as a natural oo-
currence- Therein lies The true secret .os
the great DISPARITY NOntOi0 in council
makes the serious statement thar rba
Yankees must be preparing for war as
they had landed the women who usually
accompanied their husbands. and. TOO
late. learns thar Z was the dangerous
woodwork or the ships that was being
put ashore. that instead Of iunketiae h
had been driIls and target practice thar
he'd Kept Dewey's ships trained 70 rhe
minute. while MS Own had been help
leSsly waiting for Instructions from some
where % do something. OF right le
hewails the failure 70 mount the guns nj
Subig. but without seeing the absurdiry
OF his statement that lit only reoui-e5
TWO weeks % mount those at Correei6or.
Lader the urgent necessities oF the case
squad OF Dewey's men would hava
done The work In two DAYS
Fully decided 70 make his rendezvous
at Subig. he sends 600 tons OF coal I'D.
when 500 would have been none TOO
much Planning on his chart the deadly
cross fire that he can create at the Subis
entrance, be learns when too late. and
after TWO years in command OF The sra
ton that The north shore OF the hav IS
too steep TO permit mounting guns with
his squadron iu SubiE as a deliberate,
long-cOnsidered movement. performed
expressly 20 meet the expected attack
Of the Americans. the warning message
from Hongkong that Dewey has sailed
brings him back ar once 70 Cavite. barely
IN time 20 anchor his ships before Dewey
arrives. and all TOO late ne finds that his
defensive position Is a veritable trap.
where he cannot maneuver. and from
which escape is impossible. The narrs-'
tive IS interesting. but sad beyond words.
GeOrgiRn's Catch OF 500 Fish.
Roberta crrcsuondence Atlanta Conztirssian
The largest catch o. 6sh yet recorded
is that which is reported here 10 have
been made by sid PheIan, jr., x Atlanta,