Evening Star Newspaper, September 29, 1929, Page 105

-venes. THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. SEPTEMBER 29, Secretary Adams’ Order to Stay Scrapping of Obsolete Spanish-American Naval Craft to Be Follozved by Agitation in Congress to Preserve the Famous Relic of Historic 98 Battle. BY DEXTER HAYNES. OW quickly Americans forget those things which only yesterday seemed destined to be remembered as long as the Nation endured! Our history is full of valorous deeds and brilliant exploits which have fired the imagination and thrilled the hearts of our countrymen. But those generous emotions have very quickly subsided, leaving only a few colorless pages in our books of historical facts. Such is the case of the Olympia, flagship of Commodore Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay, decorated for her splendid part in that struggle and later chosen as the vessel best fitted by her deeds to receive the honor of bearing home the body of the Unknown Soldier from France. How little thought has been given to the whereabouts and condition of this former pride of the United States Navy. While she has been rusting away, unhonored and unkept, in a backwash of the Delaware River, Americans have been busy acclaiming the winnmers of bunion derbys, flagpole sittings and the like. ],‘VEN the recent announcement of a board “ of survey at the Philadelphia Navy Yard recommending that the Olympia be crossed off the list of Navy ships and be disposed of has not attracted widespread attention. One of three fates awaits a naval vessel so reported on, unless some unusual action inter- First, she might be sold to private owners, who would do with her as they saw fit —either condition her as a cargo-carrying ves- sel or break her up for junk, possibly saving her engines and other valuable paris. Second, if there were no eager bidders for the his- torically glorious, but rusted hulk, she might be scrapped under the supervision of naval authorities—junked by the hammer and acety- line torch. Third, and perhaps a more filting end for an old fighting ship, she might be towed out to sea and used as a target for the guns of more modern craft of war—a bitter end for such a ship, but, withal, a more gal- lant finish than to become a battered tramp or a part of an immense scrapheap The Navy Department is not responsible for the dreary and ignoble doom that hangs over the Olympia, for it has neither the power nor the money to preserve antiquated war craft, no matter how valuable such a vessel may be from a historical point of view. Because of the Olympia's unusual historical interest, an appeal to Secretary of the Navy Adams to stay departmental proceedings to- ward scrapping this ship until Congress has had an opportunity to authorize its prescrva- tion in Washington, D. C., as a memorial to be visited by school children, was made by Representative Cochran of Missouri, who has a bill pending before the House naval affairs committee. i Veterans of the Spanish-American War have been very zealous in their appeals to Washing- ton in behalf of the Olympia. Veterans' or- ganizations of this war seem inclined to as- sume the burden of preserving the vessel them- selves if Congress should not see fit to do so. Naval Post 195 prepared a resolution which was presented at the Pennsylvania State con- vention of the American Legion, which met last mon‘h in Scranton, Pa., urging the pres- ervation of the Olympia. Edward W. Harden, a New York stock broker and former newspaper man, has offered to purchase the Olympia and make it a historical shrine, to be moored permanently in Washing- ton’s Tidal Basin beside the Arlington Ceme- tery. His offer is prompted by sentimental re- gard for the ship from whose decks he helped “cover” the battle of Manila Bay for his paper This 'generous offer will have to bz brought bofore the President and Congress before any final decision can be reached. Reassuring word has come recently from cretary of the Navy Adams to the effect that departmental orders for the vessels destruc- tion or sale will not be forthcoming until ample opportunity has been given for Congress to act in the matter. Local authorities at the Philadelphia Navy Yard explained that no actual steps toward disposing of the Olympia could be taken until such orders came from the department. Thus a stay of execution seems assured. ’1‘0 the casual reader these pleas for a glori- ous future for this noble ship might make it appear that she was hoary with age, a relic of an almost forgotten era. But, in fact, she was not launched until 1892, and her commis- s.on dated from February 5, 1895. Only 31 years ago this Spring Commodore George Dewey proceeded to Hongkong and established his base of operations againsi the Philippines. On April 26 the little revenue cutter Mc- Culloch brought this dispatch from Secretary Long: “War has commenced between the United Statas and Spain. Proceed at once to the Philippine Islands. Commence operations at once, particularly against the Spanish fleet. A gun crew of Dewey's famous flagship ready for action. - To Save Dewey’s Flagship as National Memoria During the years that the Olympia has been tied up at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. thousands of Americans have visited the ship. Inset: A4 photo= graph of Admiral Dewey taken during the Spanish-American war. You must capture vessels or destroy them. Use utmost endeavors.” Aboard the Olympia enthusiasm reigned, for the long-looked-for action was at hand. Dewey sailed with all speed to the Philippines, and on the evening of April 30, 1898, the Olympia led the little fleet into the entrance of Manila Bay. The commodore timed his approach with such exactness that it was nearly midnight when the flagship sighted Corregidor Light. To enter the bay a vessel had to pass on either one side or the other of Corregidor Island, between Spanish forts which guarded the en- trance. When the fiagship was close to the nairows, directly in the line of fire of the forts, red flame belched forth from the McCulloch’s stack. Evidently soot which had collected within the stack caught fire at this inopportune moment, revealing the fleet's presence to the enemy. A shot from the fort sped across the Mc- Culloch’s bow, and general firing broke out between the fleet and the forts. Dewey did not hesitate, however, but kept the Olympia and her followers steadily on their course to- ward Manila, and they were soon out of range of the fort guns. From the point of discovery the fleet had to sail only about 17 miles before it reached the bay proper, where the Spanish fleet lay. Commodore Dewey signaled the vessels that followed the Olympia to proceed slowly, for he did not wish to engage with the enemy until daybreak. ONE of the strangest facts of the whole sit- uation was that the Spanish had no reg- ular means of communication between the forts that guarded the entrance to Manila Bay, the forts at and near Cavite, and the city of Manila itself. Shortly before 5 in the morning, on May 1, the Olympia led the American fleet into Manila Bay proper. When the flagship was within four or =ve thousand yards of Cavite the fort opened fire. Commodore Dewey paid no attention to the shots from the fort, however, as it was his purpose to destroy first the Spanish fleet, then the forts at and near Cavite and finally the forts at Manila itself, farther up the bay. It was not until the Olympia had proceeded half a mile farther unscathed, but with shot falling all around her, that Commodore Dewey turned to Comdr. Gridley and said: “You may fire when you are ready, Gridley."” The Olympia then swung around so that her port guns were trained on the enemy fleet and fired. 'This maneuver was executed by each ship in the fleet with deliberation, pre- cision and in perfect order. After the squadron had passed in line before the enemy, using all the port guns, it turned and slowly repassed the enemy, using the star- board guns. During the third maneuver of this sort the Spanish flagship, Reina Cristina, left the Span- ish fleet and steamed out to meet the Olympia. Soon these two were engaged in a duel, so to speak, with the commanders of each fleet standing boldly, unprotected, each on his own bridge. Finally, after the Reina Cristina had maneuvered within 2,000 yards of the Olympia, she turned, seeking cover under the guns of the Cavite fort. At that instant she presented her stern to the Olympia’s gunners, who sent an 8-inch shell squarely into this virtually un- protected portion of the Sapnish flagship. The shell plowed through the vessel, almost to her bow, firing the forward main magazine in its course. The Reina Cristina was disabled, with 90 of her crew dead and about 130 wounded— nearly 75 per cent of her total manpower hors de combat. DURING this duel of the leaders of the two fleets the other American vessels had been giving good account of themselves and had put- many of the enemy ships out of the fight. Three hours after the combat had started Commodore Dewey ordered his ships to cease firing. The commanders of the American vessels came aboard the Olympia to report their casualties. To their assembled amase- ment, not a man had been lost, nor had any been seriously wounded. This phenomenon can only be attributed to the unusually poor marksmanship of the enemy, for they had plenty of ammunition and had used it freely. Following breakfast, the Olympia again led the way into battle, but the end was already in sight and the outcome certain. Cotemporary accounts of the engagement stated that by 5 o’clock that night there was not enough of the Spanish fleet remaining “to oppose an Erie canal boat.” On the morning following the victory Secre- tary Long’s cable dispatch promoting Commo- dore Dewey to the rank of rear admiral was received. Promptly at 8 o'clock the flag of a rear admiral, blue ground with two stars, was hoisted at the mainmast of the Olympia and saluted by the men-of-war in the harbor. She remained anchored off Manila until the arrival of Gen. Merritt and his troops, when she assisted in the capture of the city. AF‘I‘ER the Spanish War she again played a part in history, though it was a minor one compared to her former exploit, when in 1900 she represented the United States with other ships during the Boxer rebellion. Her last impressive appearance before the public was in the Fall of 1921, when she trans- ported the body of the Unknown Soldier back to the United States. Then the Olympia was forgotten. Today she rides quietly in one of the out-of-the-way places of the Philadelphia Navy Yard, a caste off mistress of the seas. (Copyright, 1929.) 4