The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1911-05-04

and never deserted a angle ship un-
Ii. abe weat to the bottom. Dewey
sent the Spanish admiral a message
communicating htm ios the GOODNESS
and courase ae had displayed in the
! presence OF death and received frc::
him a cordial reply.
] When the stirring news reached
Washington. President Mckinley
sent to Congress an eloquent message
In which he said in part:
The magnitude of this victory can
handy be measured by the ordinary
standards of naval warfare. Out
weighing any material advantage is
the moral effect of this initial success.
AT this unsurpassed achievement the
great heart of our nation throbs, not
with Boosting o with greed of con-
quest, but with deep gratitude that
this triumph has come in a just
cause. and that by the grace of God
an effective step has thus been taken
toward the attainment of the wish
editor peace. To those whose skill,
courage and devotion have won the
fight, to the gallant commander and
the brave officers and men who aid
ed him, our country owes an meal
tculable debt.
1 now recommend that, following
our national precedents and express
ing the fervent gratitude of every pa
%triotic heart, the thanks of Congress
be given Acting Rear-Ad1airal George
Dewey, of the United States Navy,
for highly distinguished conduct in
Lconfict with the enemy, and to the
Officers and men under his command
for their gallantry in the destruction
of the enemy's fleet and the capture
of the enemy's Notifications in the
Bay of Manila.
William Mckinley.
Executive Mansion, May 8, 1898.
In response to this message, Con-
gress passed a set of resolutions
thanking Dewey and his men in the
name of Congress and the American
people for what they had achieved.
At the suggestion of Senator Quay.
of Pennsylvania, Senator Lodge, OF
Massachusetts, offered in Congress a.
resolution which was unanimously
adopted, directing that $500 be ap-
'propriated to secure for Commodore
Dewey a jeweled sword, and for the
men in his command suitable bronze
medals.
The following inscription appears
on the beautiful damascened blade of
the sword:
s'The Gift of the Nation to REAR
ADMIRAL GEORGE DEWEY, U. s..
N, In Memory Of the Victory at Ma
Mia Bay, May I, 1885,"
Even old Montpelier, Vermont, the
boyhood home of Dewey, was not to
be outdone. A great public demon
.stration was held in the magnificent
Golden Fleece" on May 9th, and af-
ter that great auditorium had been
made to ring for several hours with
the stirring eloquence of inspired
orators, a unique set of resolutions
were passed, among whach may be
found this one:
Resolved, That the city Of Mont
pelier and the neighboring villages
and town do hereby, with great sin
cerity. happiness, and pride, vote its
heartfelt thanks and congratulations
to the officers and sailors of the
Asiatic squadron. and especially to
him, the Commodore, George Dewey,
who led them with such ideal sue
cess, amid unprecedented obstacles,
to a victory, the renown of which
will never perish from the earth.
When Congress convened in De-
cember Of that year, 1t passed a res
reviving the rank of Admiral
had become obsolete in the
American Navy. and promoted Com
modore Dewey to this rank for life.
When he returned to New York on
the battle-scarred Olympia in 1892.
a nation turned out and sat at his
feet.
Shortly after the battle. a portion
Of the German fleet, commanded by
Admiral Won Diederich, came quietly
slipping into the bay, u%nheralded.
From the very moment Of their ar
rival the Germans began to act
naughty and kept trying to pick a
quarrel with Dewey's squadron-a
thing they no doubt could have
quickly done, had Dewey not been
short OF ammunition.
They refused to remain at anchor;
steamed out and back into the bay