The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1922-03-09
Gable Brought Battle.
ship Instead Of
Cartridges.

w. S. Meriwether, the author of the
following article, was formerly on the
staff of the New York Herald, but is
now editor of the Mississippi Sun,
published at Charleston, Miss:
In Stephenson's American history,
the one now being used in our public
schools, occurs this paragraph:
"At Havana there were public dem
onstrations of i'll will toward Ameri-
cans. Therefore, the battleship Maine
was ordered to Havana as an intima-
tion that Americans would be protect
ed by their government
The Maine was not sent to Havana
"as an intimation that Americans
would be protected by the govern
ment.'' She was sent there because
of a misinterpreted cable message
which e newspaper correspondent in
Havana sent to his paper in New
York. All the correspondent wanted
was a box of cartridges. A battleship
was sent instead. The battleship was
blown up in Havana harbor, war with
Spain ensued and considerable part
of the geography of the world was
changed as a result.
The writer was in Havana at the
time of the Maine disaster, reported
that immortal horror to the identical
newspaper whose assistant cable edl-
tor had interpreted the message
about cartridges and makes this COM
ing February 15-twenty-fourth an
niversary of the tragedy-the occa-
sion for setting history right.
The reason this revealing chapter
has not been written before is this:
The correspondent who had sent the
cable was one of my most valued
friends. Under seal of confidence he
had told me the entire story. He had
planned to write it himself but
thought it inadvisable to do so until
some years had interviewed. l asked
and obtained his permission to make
a passing reference to it in an article
which had been asked to prepare
describing the scenes in Havana on
the night of the Names destruction,
but the reference did not attract the
attention it deserved. More with the
idea of supplying my friend with data
than employing it myself, 1 had, as
opportunity served asked the several
actors in the drama, each of whom
I intimately knew, the parts they had
played. Then the man for whom those
notes were intended, came back from
Havana, where he had been stationed
as correspondent for the Associated
Press, and suddenly died. l felt that
his death released the story to me,
but just at that time I was plunged
into war work as publicity manager
for the United States Shipping board
and the episode was forgotten until
the calendar brought it's reminder
that the twenty-fourth anniversary of
the disaster comes around on this
February Is. Here is the full story:
Relieved Havana Man.
1t was early in February, 1918,
that 1 received orders from my news
paper, the New York Herald, to pro-
ceed to Havana, and relieve John R.
Caldwell, in charge of the Herald's
Havana bureau. Caldwell was an ex-
ceedingly capable newspaper man,
but somehow had come into disfavor
with the then owner of the Herald,
the late James Gordon Bennett, who
had cabled from Paris a curt order
to make the change.
Havana at that time was a trou-
blous city. The relations between this
country and Spain were strained to
the breaking point, Riots were fire.
quent and every American felt that
his life was in danger at all times.
Caldwell realized it and sought to
arm himself. But there was strict
edict against the sale of firearms,
one chiefly directed against Cubans,
for the island was then in blaze OF
insurrection.
So unable to equip himself with
the means of self-defense, Caldwell
wrote to the Herald and asked that a
revolver be sent to him. One was pur-
chased Immediately and shipped. But
when it arrived there were no cart
ridges, and the correspondent could
no more purchase cartridges than he
could purchase revolvers. Meanwhile
the situation was growing worse. In
stead of writing for cartridges he ca
bled.
The Herald and it's Havana cores
pondent employed a private code.
This was necessary because OF the
strict censorship exercised in Havana