Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-29

tory that Is too sacred TO be trineo
with. America has reason to be very
proud of the achievements of her Won
derful Navy. In every war our Navy
has led all others in invention. IN Prov
ess and in victories. In the clark days
of the Revolution. We had no Navy at
first and were forced to charter priva-
teers. but when the Constitution was
launched. she was the leader Of all the
navies of the world. We first applied
steam to ocean vessels; We first used
steel-clad battleships; we first sent
the Monitor against the ironclad Mer-
rimac and showed the world in a day
that all navies in existence must be re-
built.
I'VE have met the enemy and she is
ours!" Our Navy crashed the gate OF
Japan and opened the Orient to world
commerce. Our Navy transported the
millions Of American soldiers over that
bridge of ships" and enabled us to win
the World War.
Admiral Dewey met SPANS feet OF
superior power under the very guns OF
formidable fortresses commanding Ma
Mia Bay. Furthermore, he faced the
almost open interference of the German
/ fleet-itself superior to the American
ships.
It is recalled that just before Dewey
left Hongkong for the Philippines he
was visited on shipboard by Prince
Henry. brother of the Kaiser, who In
! badinage remarked
Commodore. will send my ships to
Manila to see that you behave"
To this Commodore Dewey retorted:
II shall be delighted to have you dc
so. your highness; but permit me to
caution you to keep your ships from be-
tween my guns and the enemy"
After the victory over the Spanish
fleet. Dewey established a blockade OF
Manila, and a month later five German
cruisers under Rear Admiral Won Died.
erich arrived-also one French, one
japanese and one British cruiser. The
German ships made themselves OBJ
noxious by showing sympathy with the
, Spaniards and ignored the usual rules
of blockade by moving their ships
around at night and landing provisions
on shore.
Dewey sent his flag lieutenant to Won
Diederich with protest against this
extraordinary disregard of the usual
courtesies of naval intercourse" and he
directed the officer to warn the Ger
man rear admiral, "Brumby, tell Ad-
miral Won Diederich if he wants a
fight he can have 1t right now"
It is of record that in the years Just
prior to Admiral DeweyS death, while
he was a member of the Naval General
Planning Board-after the outbreak OF
the World War-it was part of his
work to perfect plans for naval action
in case we got into a war with Ger
many. He did not live to see the oc-
casion for the use of those plans.
II II
Although the admiral had ceased to
battle with life before we entered the
World War such was not the fate of
his famous flagship The Olympia be-
came the flagship of the U. S. Patrol
Force, under Rear Admiral Wilson, on
the Atlantic Coast, and later served
in the Eastern Mediterranean and
Black Seas, and after the arnistice she
did valuable service in carrying food
to the Russian refugees. AS Josephus
Daniels says in his book, "Our Navy at
War;" Dewey and the Olympia were
the link between the Spanish
and the World Wars"
She has been out Of commission since
1922.
What could be more glorious monu-
ment to American patriotic service than
the Olympia anchored In the National
Capital?
Copyright, 1929, by Paul v. collins)
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