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2 a 16 MARINE REVIEW. [July i, HISTORY OF THE FAMOUS DISPATCH TO DEWEY. Rear Admiral A. S. Crowninshield, chief of the bureau of navigation, has added another and by far the most interesting chapter to the dis- cussion over the authorship of the famous order to Admiral Dewey to capture or destroy the Spanish ships in the Philippines. Secretary Long, who resumed his official duties at the navy department Monday morning, had something to say on the subject also. A circumstantial account : of how the dispatch came to be written was given by Admiral Crowninshield, who said that he wrote it at the. white house after a message had come from Admiral Dewey notifying the department that he had been ordered to leave Hong Kong within forty-eight hours and asking for instructions. Secretary Long was surprised at the interest that had been aroused over his informal remarks at the outing of the Massachusetts club at Nantucket last week, in which he referred to the order to Dewey as the work probably of some. unknown. subordinate. clerk in the navy department... He and Rear Admiral 'Crowninshield_ talked , over the dispatch to Dewey Monday morning last and in the course of the conversation it came.out that the secretary's recollection of what transpired in connection with the dispatch was that it had been prepared in the bureau of navigation.and was taken to the white house by Mr. Long, who, having obtained the president's ap- proval, sent it to the bureau of navigation to be put into cipher. Admiral Crowninshield, however, recalled distinctly that he wrote the order at the white house while Mr. Long was out driving. There is no controversy between Secretary Long and Admiral Crowninshield on the subject. In fact, each disclaims personal. interest in the. matter beyond that which comes from participation in the preparation of a communication that was the first step in bringing the Philippines under American control. -"T never regarded the writing of this dispatch as a matter of any particular importance," said Admiral Crowninshield, "nor have I ever taken to myself any credit for it, except that I have always regarded it as an interesting thing to have done. The secretary of the navy, who signed the dispatch, and the president of thé. United States, who directed its preparation, are the ones.who accepted the responsibility for the order that was given to Commodore Dewey, and they are, therefore, entitled, in my opinion, to whatever credit that'comes from having given such an important. and historical order." a pres "s Admiral Crowninshield, after consulting Secretary Long, dictated the following statement of his recollection of the circumstances attending the preparation of the dispatch: - a : -_ "On the afternoon of Sunday; April 24, 1898, I went over with my son and his cousin to the Arlington golf links to see them play a round of golf. About the time they' had finished I noticed the secretary of the navy and Mrs. Long driving up the road passing the golf links, and I walked over to their carriage and had a short conversation with the secretary, who informed me that he was going out in the country to spend the day. Soon after I returned to my home in Washington, where I was informed that Lieut. H. H. Whittlesey, an officer on duty in the bureau of navigation, had-called to see me during my absence with an important dispatch. .A short time after, Lieut. Whittlesey again called with the dispatch in:question, which was from Admiral Dewey to the secretary of the navy, stating the governor of Hong Kong had notified: him that he must leave that port with the force under his command within forty-eight hours. Deeming that it was of the greatest importance that a reply should 'be sent as soon as possible to Admiral Dewey, I took the dispatch to the white house and laid it before the-president. "The president suggested. that the preparing of a reply should be put off until the secretary returned to the city; but ] urged upon the pfesident the importance of sending a dispatch to Admiral Dewey, who\-waés un- doubtedly anxiously awaiting instructions. I also informed the president that a part of a day had elapsed since Admiral Dewéy had received the notice from the governor of Hong Kong, and that it was, at the moment we were talking, already Monday morning in Hong Kong. The president then directed me to go and find Mr. Long; the secretary of the navy! and Judge Day, the secretary of 'state, and britig'them to the white house) °d procured a cab and drove to the Portland, the residence of Secretary Long, where I was informed that he was still absent and' was not expected back until later in the day. I then drove to the residence of Secretary Day, who I. found at: home and to whom I delivered the president's message. Secretary Day got into the carriage with me and we drove to the white house, stopping en route at the residence of Assistant Secre- tary of State Adee, where we were informed that the latter was at the state department. _ Upon arriving at the white house Secretary Day re- quested that I should go to the navy department and remain near the telephone, as he would probably send for me in fifteen or twenty minutes. I proceeded to the navy department and.in a short time received a tele- phone message from the white house'to come there. Upon arriving at the white house I was shown to the western end of 'the upper corridor, where the president was sitting with the following persons: Secretary Day, Attorney-General Griggs, Senator Hale, and one other, possibly Secretary Bliss, though:I: am not*sure. .The late Senator Davis joined the party later. ' "A discussion of the dispatch from Admiral Dewey and the reply which was to be sent to him was taking place when I arrived and in which I took part for several minutes. The president then turned to Attorney- General Griggs and said: 'Griggs, you write a dispatch for Dewey to proceed to Manila and attack the Spanish naval force assembled there,' whereupon Attorney-General Griggs turned to me and said, 'Captain, you know how to write that better than I do; you go and write it. You will find some blanks in the cabinet room.' I at once proceeded to the cabinet room, where I met Mr. Hayes, son of ex-President Hayes, who was visiting at the white house. He got me some blanks and a pencil and I sat down and wrote the dispatch as sent to Admiral Dewey. Re- turning to the presidential party, I handed the dispatch I had prepared to Attorney-General Griggs, who, after reading it over, said it was satisfac- tory and handed it to the president, -who'read it aloud. The only change that was made:in the dispatch as I wrote it was the addition of: either the word 'capture' or the word 'destroy.' The dispatch as. originally written by me contained but one of these words, but which one I don't recall. With this change the president approved of thé dispatch and returned it to me with the remark that he preferred that it should not be sent until it was seen by the secretary of the navy. I then said to the president I would take the dispatch to the navy department and have it putin cipher ready for the secretary's signature on his return to the city.' Ithen went over to the navy department, handed the dispatch to Lieut. Whittlesey and directed him to go ahead and put it into cipher and to take it to the Portland as soon as the secretary returned, for his signature. Lieut. Whittlesey reported to me the same evening that the secretary had signed the dispatch and that it had been sent. One week alter that Sunday Admiral Dewey arrived at Manila and attacked and destroyed the Span- ish fleet there." : Secretary Long on referring to the subject said that his recollection was very distinct. 'Immediately upon the declaration of war," he said, "I had conferred with the president about an order to Dewey to attack the Spanish fleet at Manila. On Sunday morning, April 24, I went to the white house, sat with the president on a sofa in the corridor and earnestly advised the sending of such an order. But for Admiral Crown- inshield's statement, I should have said unhesitatingly that I had with me the dispatch which had been prepared in the bureau of navigation and that, the president approving, I returned to the navy department and sent it in to the bureau of navigation to be put in cipher. I then went out to drive. As I drove out between 11 and'12 o'clock, I remember passing Admiral Crowninshield. As to what transpired later at the white house, at the meeting which he described, I of course have no knowledge. It seems to me probable that the president, after' his interview with me, sent for some of the cabinet and Admiral Crowninshield and took up the erpaitn which, according to my recollection, had already been prepared and gave it final consideration. Probably, also, there had then come in Dewey's dispatch of the day before, advising us that he had been ordered to get away from Hong Kong." One of the strangest things in the whole discussion is that nobody concerned, except Admiral Crowninshield, had a distinet recollection of any dispatch from Admiral Dewey received on April 24, 1898, saying that he had been requested by the governor of Hong Kong to leave that port within forty-eight hours and asking for instructions. Secretary Long could not recall any such message, and he looked for it in vain today in the printed volume of war dispatches, entitled "Appendix to the Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation." A search of the official files was made, however, and the original of the dispatch to» which Admiral Crowninshield refers in his statement was discovered. Through an over- sight it was not included in the "Appendix" and has never been printed. It is dated Hong Kong, April 23, 1898, signed Dewey, and is as follows: "The governor of Hong Kong, by direction of the secretary of the states for the colonies, has notified me that a war between the United States and Spain exists. He reqtiests ships to leave within forty-eight hours. The instructions of the department ate requested in regard to it." URGING PROTECTION FOR.CANADIAN BUILDERS. Capt. Alexander McDougall of whaleback fame has been ittclined to urge measures of protection for the Canadian ship building industry since he became interested in the Collitigwood Ship Building Co. of Colling- wood, Ont. He is thus qiioted ii a fecent interview: "Steel ship biulding in Canada caniiot be a success until some pro- tection is' given against the evils now existing. In the United States, where there is cheap steel, many ship building yards, eticouraged by pro- tection, are now selling ships that engage, through round about methods of evading the dominion coasting laws, in the Canadian coasting trade, while congress has forbidden Canadian or any ships save those Silt ift the United States to trade coastwise in United States waters. The only condition upon which a foreign vessel cati cote under the United States flag is by special act of congress, or when it is wrecked on the coast of the United States and is repaired in the United States at a cost of more than three-quarters of the value. If a United States vessel is repaired in Canada, she must pay 50 per cent. of the cost as cttstoms duty at-the first United States port she enters. Thus American ship yards have protection for both building and repairing. ships, while Canadians have little or 'no ship protection. The Canadian coastwise trade is freely open to all British ships, and British ship registers are open to all foreign-built ships, so that when a ship is wanted in Canada it can be bought in the United States, with all its appurtenances, which belong to.many branches of trade, and by a little red tape can be enrolled under British registry and hail from some British port by putting its name on:her stern and buying a British flag. A Canadian vessel can get repairs in a United States port and pay but little customs charges for such repairs. The United States government further protect their Pacific coast ship yards by allowing a large percentage in favor of Pacific coast ship yards when tendering' for government work, and at present there are United States government ships under contract at San Francisco and Seattle at prices from $100,000 to $200,000 more than they could be built for on the Atlantic coast. In Canada, when government ships are wanted, bids are asked for in Canada and also in Great Britain; the details of their specifications and fittings are of a class such as can only be got.in Great Britain, and the Canadian ship builder would have to. pay duy on these parts. Unless the Canadian is the lowest bidder the contract is let to an outsider, who can get the ship built in Great Britain, Germany, the United States or elsewhere. Thus an industry which, with its great quantity of raw material, Canada is peculiarly fitted for, is hampered, and the heavy traffic along the frontier is carried by ships not made in the dominion. If some restriction were laid upon British ships and foreign-built ships of English register engag- ing in Canadian coastwise trade; if the Canadian government would pay a small bounty on all steel ships built in Canada and if an increased cus- tom duty was charged on repairs to Canadian ships in foreign parts, steel ship building in the dominion would be so stimulated that in the near future steel ships might be sold with their cargoes in foreign' countries, as formerly wooden ships, built in Quebec, were sold all-over the earth." The Cramp Steel Co., Ltd., Collingwood, Ont., are calling for sub- scriptions to one issue of $1,000,000 7 percent. cumulative preferred stock, the entire capital. being $2,000,000 of preferred stock and $3,000,000 of common stock. . Subscribers to/ the preferred receive as a bonus one share of common stock. The proceeds of the sale of the preferred stock are to be used to build a blast furnace.and an open hearth steel plant at Collingwood, Ont., the town having granted a cash bonus of $115,000 and eighty acres of land. The company owns iron lands in Ontario, which are said to carry Bessemer ore, and also coal mines in Wise and Dickenson counties, Virginia. It is estimated in the advertisement soliciting stock subscriptions that the bounties during their existence will aggregate $1,755,000. x" : : 3 4 ; :