TTIE (WATTA ILLUSTRATED bee.
7
Arm 20. im
SPORTING GOSSIP OF WEEK
Last Chance to Win Pennant Before the
Eeuon Cpeui.
WESTERN A W.DE OPEN GUESS NOW
At
Least Three Teams as llrof
as Laat Season aad Three)
that Arc Likely Be
a Good.
Oct busy.
A political maxim, observed by wise per
sona at least, la to the effect that when
the poll a close It la time to atop lying. Bo
It la with baas balL When the scheduled
championship season begins the time to
quit making; claims la at hand. Aa the
Western starts on Wednesday, the hour
for malting final predictions Is at hand,
and those who pretend to know are mute.
The (act la, until at least one round haa
been played no one will be able to (Ive aa
Intelligent opinion of the relative ability
of the teams. On paper it looks aa If
Omaha, Des Moines and Denver are aa
good aa laat seaaon; Sioux City will be
hardly aa strong, while Pueblo and Lin
coln are unknown quantities. Holmes has
a bunch of reasonably ambitious young
sters, with some sessoned veterans, and Is
very likely to make matters Interesting
for the rest of the league. Frank Selee
haa the beat of lnat aeaaon'a Pueblo team,
which was far from being a poor one, and
has filled It out with a few new men, and
he, too, la quite likely to cut acme figure
In the pennant race. By thla time next
week all the teame will ge uncovered, and
Omaha folks will know what may be
looked for.
During the week Papa Bill solved one of
hia problems by disposing of Pitchers
Huesser and Port to teams of the Western
association. These men will be worth their
money In the smaller league, but had
hardly reached the standard of the West
rn. This leaves McNeeley, Banders, Quick
Dodge, Koukallk and Corns aa the Omaha
staff of pitchers. Three of these men are
tested veterana and may be relied on.
Koukallk and Corns have done very well
In their little chance for Omaha, and are
of the stuff that Is sure to make good.
Dodge cornea from the Chicago National
team, having been secured by Chance In
t mwiiMii. iiio una lime lie nH omn
worked before nn Omnha crowd Indicated
that ha has the goods. Bo the pitching
staff Is one that Is sure to please. Ca toners
Gondlng, Bender and Freese will very
likely be carried, and this accounts for
the Rourke family firing line during the
coming summer. The Infield and outfield
will remain aa heretofore outlined, nnd
this means that Omaha la to have a field
ing team that will not take a back seat
for any of them.
These men have been well worked In
practice along the famous Rourke system
of playing ball, and are well established
In the rudiments, at least, of the Inside
game. The rest must come In the actual
school of championship games, but the
head of the family Is confident that his
schemes will work out well. The team Is
still weak at the bat, a source of some
worry to the old man, but he has been
able In the past to substitute strategy for
base hits, and will rely on this to some ex
tent during the present struggle. How
ever, ha fully realises the value of good.
sharp bitting and Isn't overlooking
chance to Improve the work of his men In
thla regard. He has coached Perrlng
steadily for weeks and has worked great
Improvement In him as a batter. Rur.kle
Is picking up and Welsh Is showing much
better form than last season. Bassey Is
a sure hitter and Howard Is likely to be
the same sort of a slugger his brother Del
proved himself. Carter cannot be Improved
upon In his line, and Dolan la a steady boy
at the bat, so the weakness Is not likely
to prove fatal In this particular. Alto
gether Omaha la as near ready as ever for
the start of the season and the only re
gret here Is that the first six games will
have to be won from Lincoln. Omaha ad'
mlrera of Ducky hate to sea him get a
bad start, but It can't be helped under the
O'Netl schedule.
Denver haa been strengthened during the
week by the transfer of two pitchers and
a first baseman from Louisville. In Louis
vllle a howl Is sent up because of the trans
fer of Meyers, the first baseman, who Is
aald to have been the flower of the Col
onela, and a man who la likely to be
badly needed In the south before the sea
son Is over. He Is from Texas, la de-
scribed as a giant In alse and a cyclone
In action, and hopes to head the Grizzlies
In a winning fight all summer. Tebeau
has always had a good team at Denver and
doesn t propose to be found there with a
weak one thla season. If his last year's
team had been well handled It would have
won the pennant eaaler than Dea Molnea
did. Mike Cantlllon haa fallen heir to
some Comlskey caatoffa and haa pulled on
or two men from Brother Joe's Brewers,
end will show a strong line at the start.
Herappy Jack Doyle will head the gang,
aii'A thla leads Otto Floto to the conclu
sion that Dos Mnlnes has the pennant
clne'ied at the beginning. If Norrls O'Nell
will let his umpires alone and they give
Dps Moines a square deal the Cantlllons
will have a much harder time winning the
pennant this year than they did last. The
umpire who didn't give Dee Moines all of
the close ones and a few that weren't even
close last summer got what Bobby Caruth-
ers got, and that wasn't pleasant to take.
It may be different this season. It surely
will not, though. It Mike and Scrappy Jack
i;u nave mttir way.
9
The race In the big league up to the pres
ent ahowa that the teama were not In shape
to enter on the contest. The lack of spring
practice la accountable for thla, but the bad
weather has been In a measure responsible
for the showing. One thing has been
demonstrated, and that la the western
teams are more evenly matched than the
eastern, and that the real line on possible
winners cannot be had until the west and
the east meet. Jimmy Collins and his old
timers are starting just aa they did last
. year, and so Is Clark Griffith and his bunch
of Highlanders. Jake fitahl la making the
same sort of splurge with hla Nationals aad
there are a few who hope he will b able
to keep It up longer. In the west the St.
Louis teams have furnished the surprises
and the Chicago teams the disappointments.
But the warm days of May are likely to
put a different aspect on the whole situa
tion, and it would be a very daring man
who would try to place the teams this early.
Jack Pfieater's first game In Chicago en
deared him to the bugs of that city, even
If he did lose It, for It wasn't Jack's fault
In the long run. Jack's wild pitch contribu
ted but one run to the four plied up by
1'litiburg, while aa error by Evers on an
Jy chance gave them the winning run.
The Tribune says Pflester earned a draw In
'pite of his error and his wild pitch. It all
foes to show that Big Jack Is going to
''ke good In Chicago-
All aboard for the big opening at tbe
('n.aha Field club next Saturday afternoon
end evening. Some plan has been devised
so those wtshlug may partake of about all
the klnda of sport going. Manager Malone
the base ball team will have a regular
b ball game on the diamond which haa
bn fitted up. The golf committee haa
announced lbs links all In readiness aud
a handicap match win be played In which
all who wish may participate. Oolf la the
moat popular garni of all at the Field
club, judging" from the large number who
play, and that number will be materially
Increased this year by those who have
already announced their Intention of start
ing out at the game. Oolf Is a game at
which as many can play aa desire, the
rule of the links which give the right-of-
way to two over three and three over a
foursome make It possible for a large num
ber to play at once.
The committee wishes to announce that
It will be Imperative to do away with the
guest liat for the opening day, aa orders
have already beon received for enough
table space to fill all the tables twice.
Chairman Hoel of the golf llnka commit
tee says the course Is In beMer shape than
In any spring since the club waa organised,
The winter hss been favorable to the grass,
which Is now spread In a greensward al
over the course. The golf gTeens came
through the winter In fine shape and will
be kept In the best possible condition from
now until the Transmlsslsstppl Is held In
June. No attempt will be made to Include
the new forty In the course until after the
tournament, as the committee wishes the
best course to be obtained for that. Chair
man Clarke Colt of the golf tournament
committee Is preparing an Interesting
schedule of the events' as they will be
played this summer. Some sort of a tour
nament will be on all the time and when
once started every effort will be made to
have It hustled through, strict rules being
adhered to, to prevent delays.
The tennis commute has also been ao'
tlve and considerable money has besn ex
pended in preparing the courts for the
summer's play. A new sandy surface haa
been added which will dry quickly after a
rain. The new canvas coverings for the
courts have been purcliased to be used
during the tournaments to Insure dry
courts in case of rain. The committee
wiU alao pay more attention this year
to tbe Junior members of the club, special
tournan ents being arranged for these to
take place evtry two weeks. The city
championships will be held on the Field
club courts aa usual, as well as the middle
west championships. Arbor Day saw the
courts all In shape and many players
were on hand with their racquets to have a
few sets at the old game. Hard practice
will be the order of the day with' the
tennis men and an attempt will be made to
bring out some players who will be able
to hold aome of the honors In Omaha when
the middle west Is played. The tennis
committee Is still corresponding with some
of the western cracks who will go east
to the spring tournaments with a view
of having them stop oft In Omaha for a
Round Robin tournament In which the
local men will participate with the cracks
Omaha haa some players who would be
able to hold their own with any of tl,i
cracks, had they the time to devote to
practice. Conrad Young would have to
take a back seat to none If he could spare
the time from his business and Omaha
haa others in the same boat. Many new
players have Joined the club thla year and
have told the committee they were to put
In some time at practice to try to make
showing In the tournaments. Some of
thesn are eastern college men with scores
of medals won on eastern oourts.
Prospects are now bright for Omaha to
have race meets on a good track, given
with the backing of the leading buaineaa
men of the city and with grounda and
grandstand all fitted up for Just that pur
pose. Most of the money necessary has
been ralaed for the undertaking and tbe
whole scheme will be sprung in ft short
time. With a successful meet, being given
In most of the larger towns In the state.
bringing In thousands of people to these
towns and making money tor the promot
ers, there Is no reason why Omaha should
not tall in line and give some meets which
would be a credit to the city sod bring
thousands from all over the state. The
Idea of the promoters I that Nebraska,
being famed far and wide as a great horse
atate, should receive every encouragement
to continue the raising of good horses,
The horse show brings a good many peo
pie, but there are more people who would
come to the city to see a horse race than
to see the cobs prance around the tan
bark arena. To many in the atate the Idea
of docking a horse's tall Is repulsive and
these same would go miles to see a horse
race, either running or trotting. Omaha
hould frame up more schemes for the
amusement of the people of the state.
These people have plenty of money after
years of successive good crops and would
like to come to Omaha to spend some of
that money provided something would be
devised to amuse them. The horse show
catches a few and the Ak-Bar-Ben festlvl
ties brings tn a large number, but still
thousands more could be Induced to come
If Omaha had races such as those pulled
off In Detroit and Cleveland and Terra
Haute. A few successful meets In the
Nebraska circuit and the Omaha associa
tion would have sufficient money to put on
a good raoe which would attract not otily
the people from the state, but from all
over the country.
Miller's park Is to have a golf course
which will be open to players who do not
belong to either of the older and larger
cluhs and to members of these clubs as
well. MUler park Is well 'situated for such
a' course. The natural contour of th park
Is good for golf and the nearness to the
street car line makes It handy for alt.
Miller park borders on the Floreroe Una
and the fare Is but ( cents each way, ft
transfer at Twenty-fourth and Ames ave
nue being good on the Florence lint as far
as the park. This course should soon be
popular and be tn constant use.
Automobile owners are active fnie spring
in the work of their association known as
the Omaha Automobile club. Several meet
ings have been held and the owners have
pledged themselves to report any fast driv
ing they may see end to appear as wit
nesses against anyone caught violating the
lawa. When automoblllng wits new the own
ers got Into disfavor by '.he fast manner
In which they hurried through the streets,
regardless of the safety r.f pedestrians, but
this has been changed to ft large extent.
The farmers are beginn'ng to recognize the
fact that automobiles have some rights of
the roads, and claahen In the country are
lees frequent The c.ty horses and tlielr
country cousins as well are becoming more
used to the whls can and less runaways are
caused by autos. Committees ' have been
appointed by President Connor of the
Omaha Automobile club and these are now
actively engaged In work for the good of the
automobile owners. And what is good for
auto owners Is In ft large measure good for
the owners of horses. Much good was ac
complished last season In the way of stop
ping fast drivlnif and the betterment of the
streets. It was largely through the efforts
of automobile owners that the connecting
link was mad between the pavement and
the maceadam on Dodge street. This had
been Impaseatle for some time, and It was
the sutomobl.s men who prcaented the
matter to the park board, the street railway
company and the county commissioners
In such a way that the road was fixed.
committee has now been appointed to act
with a similar committee from Council
Bluffs to mo if Broadway cannot be re
paired so as to be passable between Omaha
and Council Bluffs for wagons as well as
automobiles. The present condition of the
street Is a disgrace to a civilised com
munlty. Wagons had much better be driven
.m the side streets with no pavuut than
to undertake to try to go up Broadway
with Its old worn out cedar blocks. Many
other needed repairs have been made In the
treeta at the urgert request of the automo
bile owners. A committee was also ap
pointed to arrange a bond with the chief
of po'lce which would be good for any
owner who presented his membership card
to a policeman. If arrested for a misde
meanor. Tnls Is eimply a matter of con
venience, as the club practically guarantees
the appearance of the arretted member at
the time set for trial and thus saves the
necessity of the owner being taken to the
station. Most of the owners have good In
tentions of keeping within the law, but
some are too reckless and pay heed to no
one, and the club will co-operate with the
officials In bringing these to ft realisation
of the rights of others.
Edwin R. Thomas' comprehensive view of
the automobile situation enables him to dis
cuss at length the progress of the modern
chariot "I expect that there will be
40.000 new cars delivered this year," said
the prominent New Tork automoblllst when
asked In regard to the trade outlook for
limn. "That will mean an outlay of over
$50,000,000 fdr the motor cars." Mr. Thomas
Is confident that America Is by no means
behind times when It comes to automobile
racing. Last year he claimed unfairness
In the running of an elimination race. For
this year's Vanderbllt cup race a different
state of affairs will exist and Mr. Thomas
stated that his concern Is now at work
constructing a trio of speed machines at
cost of I75.0CO, and also remarked that
the driver who pilots a Thomas to that
blue ribbon automobile event will receive
check for $28,000. "Road racing In my
opinion does a lot of good for tbe sport
and trade' said Mr. Thomas. "These
races have done more to bring the motor
ear to its present perfect condition than
anything else. I am building the three
machines simply to show that at any old
thing this country can always take the
palm. I hope to show that the Tankeea
wlU not have to take their hata off to
any land when It cornea to putting together
a car that will beat the world for speed and
endurance."
Spalding's Lawn Tennis Annual for 1906
has Just been published In Spalding's Ath
letic Library. It is edited by Harry B
Purcell of New York and contains a very
complete account of the state of the game
In the United States. Among the more im
portant subjects In the book are the fol
lowing: A review of the national cham
ptonshlp tournament of 1906, ft full account
of the International tournament In England
for the Davis cup, a report of the annual
meeting of the United States National
Lawn Tennis association, officers of the
association, official ranking, ranking of
first ten players since -1886, and American
championship since 1881. The chapter of
sectional championships Includes an ac
count of the tournaments and scores In
the eastern doubles championship (Long
wood tournament), southern Atlantic states
tournament, southern championship. New
England championship, middle states cham
pionship and Pacific coast championship.
'Tennis In the Middle, West" has been
wrl'.ten by "Line Smash," a well known
Chicago authority. Included in the same
chapter are the official ranking for 1905,
r.Kieers of the Western Lawn Tennis asso
elation, list of clubs, members and accounts
of thn western tennis championship, middle
western tennis championship, northwestern
tennis championship and Missouri valley
tennln tournament.
Battle, of Manila Bay
(Continued from Page Four.)
the batteries being silenced and the ships
sunk, Durni ana aeseriea. (
At 11:40 d. m. the squadron returned and
anchored oft Manila, the Petrel being left
behind to complete the destruction of the
smaller gunboats which wero behind the
point of Cavlte. This duty wis performed
Dy commander ic. f. wood in tne most ex
peditfous and complete manner possible.
The Spanish lost the following vessels:
Sunk: Relna Christina, Caatina, Don
Antonio d'Ulloa.
Burnt: Don Juan de Austria, Isla ds
Luzon, Isla de Cuba, General Leto, Mar
quee del Duero, Bl Correo, Vtlaaco and
lata de Mindanao (transport).
Captured: Rapido and Hercules (tugs) and
several launches.
I am unable to obtain complets Hats of
tne enemy s Kiuea ana wounded, cut De.
lleve their loss to be very heavy. The
Relna Christina alone had 160 killed. In
cluding the captain, and nlnetv wounded.
I am happy to report that the d image to
the squadron under my command waa In
considerable. There were none Killed and
only aeven men In the aquadron very
slightly wounded. As wlU be seen by the
reports of the commanding officers which
are herewith enclosed several ot the ves
sels were struck and even penetrated, but
the damage was of the slightest and the
squauron is in as gooa conaiuon now as
before the battle.
I beg to stste to the department that I
doubt If any commander-in-ohtef under
similar circumstances was ever served by
more loyal, efficient and gallant captains
man those oi me squadron under my
command, triers iouow commendatory les
tlraonlals).
On May 1 the day following the enrage
J ment, the squadron again went to Cavlte
wnere it remaina. A landlr.g party was
sent to destroy the suns and maerazlnes nf
tbe batteries there. The first battery, near
the end of Sangley point, was composed of
two modern Trubla breechloadlng rifles of
fifteen centimeters caliber (6.81 Inches).
The second was one mile farther down the
beach and consisted of a modern Canel
twelve-centimeter breechJoodlna- rlflo be
hind improvised earthworks. On the 3d the
military authorities evacuated the Cavlte
tu-aenai, wnicn waa taken possession of by
a lanuuis party. jn me same day the
naieian ana uammore n'onrea the mr.
render ot the batterlea on Correirldor Island.
paroling uie garrison ana aestroylng the
guns.
On tne morning or May 4 the transnnrt
Manila, which had been aground In Hakor
Day, waa toweo on ana inane a prize.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant.
Commodore II. ft. M
Commanding United Suites Naval Force
on Asiaiio station.
The Secretary of Uie Nivy.
vvasnington, u. u.
(Bureau of Navigation.)
Details ( tho Victory.
The commodore waa promoted to rear
admiral and as such, cn July I, hs reports
the complements of the Spanish vessels as
follows:
Officers. Men
Kema tnrisiina 67 3.1
Castilla 52 U
Don Jaun de Austria. 2$ 179
Don Antonio ed l.'lloii SI 159
Isla de Cuba SI W
Isla de Luton 31 1M
Marques del Duero SI M
General Leco 20 115
AT(OS 1 17
Blasco 18 147
According- to a ntatement of one of the
crew of the Reins. Christina, the crews of
the Bpanlsh veaaela were largely In excess
of the numbers hire given.
The Olypla fired 84 rounds eight-Inch, 281
five-Inch, 1.000 siz-pounders and 160 one
pounders. The Boston, 4S eight-Inch, 162
six-Inch, 220 six-pounder, 740 three-pounder
and 420 one-pounder. The Concord, 1S2 six
Inch, 230 six-pounder, 120 three-pounder end
ao one-pounder. The Petrel, 11 six-Inch
and 111 three-sounder.
There was plenty of ammunition left at
the end of the fighting, less than one-third
having- been expended.
The Olympls. was struck eight times, the
Baltimore five times, the Boston four
times, the Rtilelgh once, ttie Concord not
at all and tte Petrel only once, and that
by a fragment ot shell.
Two officer! and six men were wounded
on the Baltimore, a i T-lnch shell having;
disabled one -lnch gun and exploded sev
eral three-pound cartridges. There were
no other casualties. One shell ex
ploded In a coal bunker a convenient
rlace. All holes in the side were dosed
with leak stoppers, with which all war
ahlps are supplied.
A good criticism was given try Captain
N. M. Dyr of tha Baltimore.
The fact that the ship as so rarely hit
' ' v
m i mi... i mini i ii.hi inn nwmi mi iimini miOiini n mi i iiihiiiiimhiiii
gave few opportunities for conspicuous
heroism he seems to regret It but the en
thuslasm and cool steadiness ot the men
gave pro'mlse that they would have been
equal to any emergency.
One of the men of the Baltimore had a
lea; fractured by slipping, another a
sprained ankle.
We can supplement Captain Dyer's com
ment only by pointing: out that the victory
was prepared long In advance and entailed
many months of. hard work and careful
prevlnlon fof officers and men under the
direction of the gallant commodore snd
his devoted captains.
Admiral Maatojo's Report.
On the other aids the Spaniards had had
little opportunity for preparation no money
for target practice little money for stores,
and rations far Inferior to those of our
navy. They had anticipated able assistance
from the runs on shore. They bad expected
to fight at Sublc bay, but upon their ar
rival there on April 27 they found with
disgust that tha batterlea there were not
ready. Their disgrace waa entirely due
to lack of preparation. Their gallantry In
action was grand, and left nothing- to be
desired. After all hope of success was lost
they fought to the end, and not a war
vessel was surrendered. Part of the official
report of the Spanish cominander-ln-ohlef
follows. Let us hope that many years will
elapse before it will be necessary for an
American to make such a painful report-
all lost save honor due to failure on the
part of tbe nation and tbe responsible
officers to make reasonable preparation.
Bays Senor Montojo, admiral ot the Spanish
fleet at Manila:
On April 23 at 11 D. m. I left tha Bav of
Manila for Subio with a aquadron composed
of the crulsera Kelna Christina, Don Juan
de Austria, Isla de Cuba, Isla ds Luaon,
dispatch boat Marques del Duero and the
wooden cruiser Castilla. This laat could
merely be considered aa a floating battery.
Incapable of maneuvering, on account of
the bad condition of lta hull. The following
morning, being at Sublc, I had a conference
with Captain del Rio, who, though he did
not relieve my anxiety respecting the com
pletion of the defensive works, assured me
mat tney would aoon be finished.
In the meanwhile the cruiser Castilla,
even on thla short cruise, was making .much
water through the bearings of the pro
peller and the opening astern. They worked
day and night to stop these leaks with ce
ment, finally making the vessel nearly
water tig-tit, but absolutely Impossible 10
use Its engines.
On the morning of the 17th I sailed with
the vessels to cover the entrance to the
port ot Sublc. The Castilla was taken to
the northeast point of the Island of
Grande to defend the western entrance,
since the eastern entrance had already
been cloaed with the hulls of the San
Quentin and two old merchant vessels
which were sunk there.
With much disgust. I found that the guns
which should have been mounted on that
Island were delayed a month and a halt.
Thla surprised me, aa the shore batteries
that the navy had Installed (with very little
difficulty) at the entrance of the bay of
Manila, under the Intelligent direction of
coionei 01 naval artillery, Henor Qarcea,
and Lieutenant Benevente, were ready to
fight twenty-four hours after the com
mencement of the work.
I waa no leas disgusted that they con
fided in the erncuoy of the few torpedoes
which they had found feasible to put there.
The entrance was not defsnded by tor
pedoes nor by the batteries of the Island,
so that the aquadron would have had to
bear tbe attack ot the Americana with lta
own resources. In forty meters of water
and with little security. Our vessels could
not only be destroyed, but they could not
save their crew. I still held a hope that
the Americans would not go to Sublc, and
give us time for more preparation, but
the following day I received from the
Spanish consul at Hong Kong a teletrram
which said: "Enemy's squadron sailed at
I p. m. from the bay of Mlra, and accord
ing to reliable accounts, aalled for Sublc
to destroy our aquadron, and then will go
10 Manila. -
Thia telegram demonatrated that ths
enemy knew where they could find my
squadron, and that the port of Sublc. had
no defenses.
Tha same day, the 28th of April, I con
vened a council of the eaptaina, and all,
with the exception of Del Rio, chief of
tha new arsenal, thought that the situa
tion was Insupportable and that we should
go to the bay of Manila In order to accept
there the battle under less unfavorable
conditions.
Retsrs to Maalla.
T refused to have our ships near the city
of Manila, becauae, far from defending it,
this would provoke the enemy to bombard
the plaaa, which doubtless would have
been demolished on account of Its few de
fenses. It waa unanimously decided that
we should take position In the bay of
Canacao, In the least waver possible, In
order to combine our fire with that of the
batterlea of Point Sangley and l.'lloa.
I lmmedlat.lv ordered Del Rio to con
centrate his forces In the most strategic
point of the aracuaL taking every disjigsl-
Hon to burn the coal and stores before al
lowing them to fall Into the power of the
enemy. I sent the Don J nun de Austria to
Manila to get a large number ot lighters
filled with sand to defend the water line
of the Castilla (which could not move)
against the enemy's shells and torpedoes.
At 10 a. m. on the 29th I left Sublo with the
vessels of my Squadron, towing the Castilla
by tha tranuport Manila.
In the afternoon of the same day we
anchored in the gulf of Canacao In eight
meters of water. On the following morn
Ins; wo anchored in line of battle, the
Christina, Caatllla, Don Juan de Austria.
Don Juan de UUoa, Luzon, Cuba and
Marques del Duero, while the transport
Manna was sent 10 me roaas 01
where the Velasco and Leio were under
going repairs.
At 1 p. m. 1 received a irmi.i"
Subie announcing that tne enemy a quu-
ron had entered the port at , reconnolter
Ing, doubtless seeking our ships, and from
there they sailed with course lor Manila.
The mall steamer Jsia xninaanao rri
In the bay. I advised her captain to save
his vessel by going to Singapore, as ths
enemy could not get into tne entrance
probably before midnight. As he was
not authorized from the trans-Atlantic ha
did not do so, and then I told him that ha
could anchor In shallow water as near
as possible to Bacoor. .
At midnight gun fire was heard off
Corregtdor, and at 2 on the morning of
the lat of May I received telegraphic ad
vlcea that the American vessels wero
throwing their search lights at the bat
teries of the entrance, with which thoy
had exchanged several shots. I notified
the commanding general of the arsenal,
genor Hostoa, and th general governor
of the plaza, Captain Henor (Jarcla pan,
that they should prepare themselves. I
directed all the artillery to be loaded,
and all the sailors and soldiers to go to
their stations for battlti, soon to receive
the enemy. . ,,
This is all that occurred since I sailed
to Sublc until the entrance of the Ameri
can squadron in the bay of Manila.
$
Arrival of the Enemy.
The squadron being disposed for action,
fires spread, and everything In rroper
place, we waited for the enemy s ar-
rlJUl" ths vessels, having been painted
a dark gray color, had taken down their
masts and yards and boats to avoid the
effects of projectiles and the splinters,
had their anchors buoyed and cables ready
to ship lnstaniiy.
At 4 a. m. I made signal to prepare for
.rtinn and at 4 45 the Austria signaled
the enemy's squadron, a few minutes after
hlch they were recognized, wun soma
confusion. In a column parallel with ours,
at about 6,000 meters distant; tne (lag
ship Olympla ahead, followed by the Bal
timore. Raleigh. Huston, Concord, liolona.
Petrel, and McCullouifh and the two
transports zanro ana rsansnun.
The force of these vessela, excepting
transports that were noncombaiani,
amounted to ii,iu lona, u,;i nui
nowar, 16S guns (many of which were
rapid fire), 1,750 men In their crews, and
an average velocity of about seventeen
nvlles. The power of our only five effec
tive ships for battle waa represented by
10,111 tons, 11,200 horse-power, seventy
six guns (very short ot rapid fire), 1,876
crew, and a maximum speed of It miles.
Fire from Shore.
At 6 the batterlea on Point Sangley
opened fire. The two first shots foil short
and to the left of the leading vessnL
These shots were not answered by the
enemy, whose principal object was the
squadron.
This battery only had two Ordonez guna
of fifteen centimeters mounted, and but
one ot these could fire in the direction
of the opposing fleet.
In a few minutes one of the batterlas
of Manila opened fire, and at 6:16 I mailo
signal that our aquadron open fire. The
enemy answered Immediately. The battle
became general. Wu slipped the springs
of the cables and started ahead with the
englnea, so as not to be Involved by the
enemy.
ESeet of America Fire.
The Americans fired most rapidly. Then
came upon us numberless projectiles as
the three cruisers at the head of the line
devotod themselves almost entirely to fit; lit
the Christina, my flagship. A short time
after the action commenced one ahell ex
ploded In the forecastle and put out of
action all those who served the four rapid
Are cannon, making splinters of the forward
mast, which wounded the helmsman on the
bridge, when Lieutenant Jose Nunes took
the wheel with a coolness worthy of the
greatest commendation, ateerlng until the
end of the fight. In the meanwhile another
shell exploded In the orlop, setting lire to
the crew's bags, which they were fortu
nately able to control.
The enemy ahortened the distance be
tween us and rectifying his aim covered
us with a rain of rapid tire projectiles. At
7 10 one shell demroved completely the
st-erlna- sear. I ordered to steer by hand
while the rudder was out of action. In the
meanwhile another ahell exploded on the
iwiD and tut out of action nine men. An
other destroyed the mlzsen masthead, bring
ing down the flsg and my ensign, whlcn
were replaced immediately. A fresh shell
exploded in the onioers' cabin, ooverlng th
hospital with blood, destroying the wounded
who were being treated there. Another ex
ploded In the ammunition room astern, fill
ing the quarters with amoke and preventing
the working of the nana steering gear. Aa
11 was Impossible to control the Hie I bad
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to flood the magazine when the cartridges
were beginning to explode.
Amidships several shells of smaller caliber
went through the smokestack and one of
the large ones penetrated the fire room,
putting out of action one master gunner
and twelve men serving thn guns. Another
rendered useless the starboard bow gun.
While the lire astern Increased Are waa
started forward by another shell which
went through the hull and exploded on the
deck.
The broadside guns, being undamaged,
continued firing until there were only one
gunner and one seaman remaining unhurt
for firing them, aa the guns' crews had been
freauently called upon to substitute those
charged with steering, all of whom were out
of action.
Destruction of the Ships.
The ship being out of control, the hull,
smoke pipe snd mast riddled with shot,
confused with the cries of the wounded,
halt of the crew out of action, among
whom were seven officers, I gave the order
to sink and abandon the ship before the
magazines should explode, making signal
at the same time to the Cuba and Luzon
to assist In saving the rest of the crew,
which thev did, aided by others from the
Duero and the arsenal.
I abandoned the Christina, directing be
forehand to secure its flag, and accom-
? anted by my staff, and with great sorrow,
hoisted my flag on the cruiser Isla de
Cuba.
After having saved many men from the
unfortunate vessel one shell destroyed Its
heroic commander, Don Luis Cadarso, who
was directing the rescue.
The L'lloa, which alao defended herself
firmly, using the only two guns whloh
were available, waa sunk by a shell which
entered the waterline, putting out of ao
tlon her commander and halt of her re
maining crew, those which were only re
maining, tor the service of tbe two guns
stated.
The Castilla, which fought heroically, re
mained with her artillery useless, except
one stern gun, with which they fought
spiritedly, was riddled with shot and aet
on fire by the enemy's shells, then sunk
and was abandoned by her crew In good
order, which waa directed by her com
mander Don Alonao Algado. The casual
ties on this ship wero twenty-three killed
and eighty wounded.
The Austria, very much damaged by fire,
went to the aid ot the Caatllla. The Luzon
nad three guns dismounted and waa
allghtly damaged in the hull. The Duero
remained with one of her englnea useless,
the bow gun of twelve centimeters and one
of the redoubts.
At 8 o clock In the morning the enemy's
squadron having auapended Its Are, I or
dered the ahlps that remained to us to take
itosllinna in the bottom nf the roada at
Bacoor, and there to resist to the laat mo
ment and that they should be sunk before
they surrendered.
At 10:30 the enemy returned, forming a
circle to destroy (he arsenal and the ships
which remained to me, opening upon them
a horrible fire, which we answered as far
as we could with tbe few cannon which, we
atlll had mounted.
There remained the last recourse to alnk
our vessels and we accomplished thla oper
atlon, taking care to aave the flag, the dls
tingulshlng pennant, the money In the safe,
the portable arms, the breech plugs of the
guns and the signal codes.
After which I went with my staff to the
convent of Santo Domingo de Cavlte to be
cured of a wound received In the left leg
and to telegraph report of the action, with
preliminaries ana results.
Judgment of ths Admiral.
It remains only to say that all the chiefs.
officers, enaineera, quartermasters, gunners.
saliora and soldiers rivaled one another In
sustaining with honor the sood name of
the navy on this sua aay.
The Inefficiency of the vessels which com.
Dosed my little squadron, the lack of all
classes of personnel, especially master gun
ners and seamen gunners; tne .inaptitude
of aome of the provisional machinists, the
scarcity of rapid-fire cannon, the strong
crews of the enemy anU the unprotected
character of the greater part of our veaaela
all contributed to make more oecided tn
sacrifice which we made for our country
and to prevent the possibility of the hor
rors ot tne DoniDarameni oi me cuy or
Manila, with the conviction that with the
scarcity of our force against the superior
enemy we were going to certain death
and could expect a loss of all our ships.
Our casualties. Including those of the
arsenal, amounted to tbl men killed and
wounded. -
Conditions la Islaads How.
We have held the Philippine Islands for
nearly eight years. Not a gun la now
mounted In defense of the Philippines ex
cept on our men-of-war. We have no navy
yard there of any Importance. Our fleet Is
very weak, consisting of two battleships,
the Ohio and the Wisconsin! two monitors
and a few small unarmored cruisers, gun
boats and auxiliary vessels. In ths svent
of an attack from any foreign power which
has a fair chanca of success the natlvea,
who are of a mercurial and unstable tem
perament, will rise against us.
We have now no vessels In Commission
on our Pacific ooast of any considerable
military value, tbe Fact ft a squadron eon
slstlng of the nnannored cruisers Chicago
(flagship), 4,600 tons; Boston. l.tOO tons, and
Marblelicad, ,100 tons; tbe gunboat Prince-
the World
shoulders of the three great
is overwhelming evidence
barley brews like
ss IBeeir
and mind. Dr. Chas. S.
says: "I bcllCVC the
ton, 1,100 tons, and two destroyers. At
Mare Island are also the monitor Wyoming
(out of commission) and two submarines.
All the vessels ot the Pacific squadron may
perhaps be classed as obsolete.
Finally, we have building on the Pacific
coast the magnificent battleship Nebraaka,
which should be oompleted thla fall at Se
attle, and the' armored cruisers California
and South Dakota and protected cruiser
Milwaukee at San Francisco. Just what
steps will be taken looking to the com
pletion of these vessels cannot now be
announced. -
In the event of war we would find great
difficulty in sending a fleet from our At
lantic coast to the Pacific The Hague
conference will probably settle this year
the question of coaling a fleet In neutral
waters during hostilities, and there is a
probability that It will be prohibited. The
storms of ths Atlantto and Pacific In the
vicinity of Cape Horn and north of it on
both sides are exceptionally severe. It Is
11,120 miles from Ban Juan, , Porto Rico, to
San Diego, Cal., by tha straits of Magellan.
How long "would it take, under favorable
circumstances, to send a fleet from the At
lantic for the relief of our people In, the
Philippines? Governor Wood, we have rea
son to believe, thinks It imperative for us
to create in Manila bay a stronghold, a ral
lying point where the Americans In the
east could maintain themselves against at
tack from sea and land for a period ot two
years. Our principal naval forces will be
required on the Atlantlo coast until the
Panama canal Is completed and ths ques
tion of Its fortification Is settled.
But congress Is not disposed to provide
sny permanent defenses for the Philip
pines. Like the Spanish, we are disposed
to occupy ourselves with the questions
Immediately before us and 1st providence
take care of the future all alone.
Improvement la ths Navy,
We have gone ahead rapidly with the
development of our navy, and this year
marks the greatest progress In) ths
strengthening of the fleet in commission.
Dewey's Olympla Is a pigmy in compari
son with our new armored cruisers, anl
ths Nebraska Is very far superior to tha
four battleships Admiral Simpson bad off
Santiago.
But vastly more Important than the ad
dition of new ships Lavs been the im
provements in ammunition and gun me
chanism and the consequent development
of accurate and rapid-fire of all calibres.
Dewey had very poor gun mechanism and
powder made of sulphur, saltpeter and
charcoal. He obtained his ranges by
chart measurements. Today the largest
guns mounted afloat can be fired more (
rapidly than could Dewey's l-lnch, and
with about 1,000 per cent greater ac
curacy. Two hits a minute with a II
lnch gun throwing an 850-pound shell Is
not considered wonderful, while a record
of about twelve hits a minute haa been
obtained with the new 6-Inch gun, throw
lng a projectile weighing 106 pounds.
The powder Is known as pyrocelluloso,
and is made by nitrating cotton dipping
It in a mixture of strong nltrlo and sul
phurio acids, then washing and drying It,
then dissolving it In a mixture of ether
and alcohol, and pressing the "colloid"
out In the form required. For the large
guns it Is a hexagonal prism pierced by
several small longitudinal holes. This
burns without smoke. To secure uni
formity, of burning In the gun a few
"Ignition grains" of black gunpowder are
used, and these make a little smoke, which
Is quickly dispersed by the blast of tha
gun.
Had Dewey had the Improved ammuni
tion and gun . mechanism, the battle of
Manila bay would not have lasted twenty
minutes.
Ths tatesmaallk View.
"Senator." said the reporter, 'let ins
ask you one more question. Are you In favor
of the movement for electing United Btates
senators by direct vote of ths people T"
"Certainly not, sir. That would bs con
trary to the constitution."
"The constitution can be amended, can't
itf
"Tea, but not by punching a hole la It.
Toung man, how would you like to amend
your own constitution by Introducing' some
thing of a liquid nature Into itf
Thereupon the Interview cams) t aa tin
timely snd, leaving a raomaratrqs -quaejUoa
aiili unsetUed.-c&jcag o yibuas , jwm:j(
i
