Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 September 1899 — DEWEY AT MANILA [ARTICLE]

DEWEY AT MANILA

Admiral’s Life a Leeeon for Every Youg Naval Officer. It has been said *that Commodore Dewey sought the command of the Asiatic station because he foresaw the opportunity that was to come to him. In one sense this is true. Dewey has always been a man of action, a natural fighter. That he went gladly to the East Indies command, when at least two other flag officers* could have had it if they had wanted it, and that he preferred taking service afloat to any kind of comfortable duty on shore, is true; but- it was the seaman’s instinct that led him, rather than any prophetic power. There were several questions of grave importance likely to come before the country, and Commodore Dewey knew that the man in command at sea is the man who is in a position to make opportunities for himself; while the men who cling to easy billets ashore must—when war clouds threaten—stand around and wait for chances to come to them. It was no mere chance that put George Dewey in command of the east; it was the logical working out of the principles of a lifetime. The men who had always had sufficient influence to keep them in time of peace in easy places in New York and Washington, while others did the hard work of the service at sea, discovered that all their influence could not give them the places of danger and of honor in time of war. It was a good lesson for the navy, and it should be remembered by everyyoungofficer.—Joeeph L. Stickney, in Harper’s Magazine.