New Britain herald., 1917-01-17

with Assistant Secretary of the Navy Frank A. Vanderlip, now president or 4 the National City Bank, as chairman. The first subscription came rom Inc Baltimore American. and was for $250. | The subscriptions to the fund came in k rapidly, and the committee was able z to collect about $50 ,000 and to present the deed of the house in Washington on October 15, 1899
 Dewey landed at New York in Sep tember; on November 9, after widowerhood of twenty-seven years, he married Mrs. Mildred Mclean Hagen of Washington. And few g days after the marriage he deeded to her the house that had been given to 1 him by popular subscription. There were rumors that the gift house, in its { location and furnishings, was not al- together what the Admiral and Mrs Dewey wanted, and that they have preferred to live in Mrs. Dewey's former residence. Whatever the reason, it failed to satisfy public was uknown, was in 1898 and 1899 a national hero such as A the country had hardly known since { Grant became by 1900 the object or 9 1 widespread disapproval that vanishedFa 1 only when other popular interests had | replaced those created by and con 1 nccted with the Spanish Am erican { ] war.
 Admiral Dewey had been widely
 mentioned for the democratic presl-
 dential nomination for the campaign
 of 1900, and, although at first he had
 refused all consideration of the idea.
 %ol>
 attitude. But this movement waned
 away after the stir caused by the | transfer of the house. and the Admiral
 never became a political figure.
 In March, 1900, he was made head of the General Board of the Navy, and
 from that time was the ranking ofhcer
 and at least titular head of the active
 naval forces. In later years he en- 1 loved much of the honor and renown,
 if not the enthusiastic popularity or T
 the time immediately following the
 Spanish-American war. Though long
 mast the age of retirement for naval
 officers, he was continued on the active
 list. and lived in something of the a- mosphere of general deference that accorded to ex-presidents. He became
 a "sage," and was the more success
 full in the role because he confined his
 expressions of opinion to naval mat {
 terS. M
 Champion of Schley.
 Tn 1901 he presided over the Scl1eE l co,,rt of inquiry While his fellow-
 members of the court unstintedly con
 demned Admiral Schley in their re-
 port Dewey as president dissented and
 placed on record his verdict that to
 Schley was due the credit Of the San
 tiago victory. #sl
 As president of the General Board
 he had much to do with planning the
 development of the navy, and many
 times before the present war began nea
 brought the subject into the fore ground of public interest, telling thds people that the navy was not laTseT . enough and was being allowed to fall behind those of other nations He al- : ways insisted, however, that, man Tor I man and ship for ship, the Americap , navy was as good as could be found
 anywhere Soon after the European , war broke out he called attention to
 American naval needs and in lSl5 qe- g clared that the navy should De punt , un until it was second to none. In ? general. however, the admiraPs atu- . tude in regard to naval affairs was 3 conservative, and his critique or tne 3 battle of Jutland, published last sum nler, lald ompndSlS OH lIle iheAoIi e1'AssAs given of the advantages of heaviH = armed and armored, if relatively sloE battleships, such as those which mak4 LID the bulk of the American Navy. x , George Dewey was born in Mont , pelier. Vt.. December 26, 1887, an4 was the son of Dr. Julius Y. Dewe& , His fathers family in this countf3S sprang from Thomas Dewey, a DissS , senter who came from Kent to NeW3
 England in 1880. The future Admiral1
 studied in the schools, of Montpelier&
 became a cadet at Norwich Un;versity;1 and was appointed to Annapolis fr1 1854 by Senator Solomon Foote. Hel , would have preferred West Point, purI there happened to be no military] academy vacancy from Vermont at
 the time when he sought appointmenr Dewey was graduated from Annapol1s2 i in 1858 and saw his first service on theS steam frigate Wabash, then flagship o1S l the Mediterranean squadron