ADMIRAL DEWEY AND THE GERMANS

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1425, 22 June 1899, Page 50

ADMIRAL DEWEY AND THE GERMANS

EXT.RAOEDIXA RY SPEECIIES

Captain Cog'lllan and officers of' the United States cruiser Raleigh, on arrival in New York from the Philippines, were entertained ■at the Enion League Club. In the course of his speech Captain Coghlan gave a strikingaccount of a notable incident which occurred at Manila prior to the capture of that place by Admiral Dewey's force. One day, said Captain Coghlan, an officer of the German Admiral Diederiehs came to make a complaint. I heard him tell Admiral Dewey about the complaint, and heard the latter say in response: —"Tell your Admiral those ships ot his must stop when I say so. I wish to make the blockade of the harbour complete." 1 The German replied—" But we fly the flag.” Admiral Dewey responded—" Those flags can be bought at half a dollar a yard anywhere.” There was no fun in the Admiral’s expression. He told the German officer a whole Spanish fleet might come upon him with German flags up, and he added "Tell your Admiral I am blockading here. Now, note carefully what I say, and tell your Admiral that I say it. I have been making this blockade as easy for everybody as I could, but I am getting tired of puerile work. It has been of such a character that a man would not notice it, although children might fight over it; but the time has come when it must stop. Tell your Admiral that the slightest infringement of any rule means but one thing that will be war. It will be so accepted, and will be immediately resented. If your people are ready for war with the United States they can have it at any time.”

Later on in his speech Captain Coghlan praised the friendly attitude of the British during the battle of Manila. In the course of a speech at the Army and Navy Club on the following night, Captain Coghlan said: —"I feel inclined to say only a few words this evening, because what was said last night has been taken umbrage at by some one in Washington, who protested. What I said last night was true, and what I said I will say again. I sard it becaus@-T felt it. I am certain that all felt we were being nagged at Manila. We were nearly nagged to death. There is such a thing as being nagged too far, and we were quite ready for ’em. I had read a great deal in the newspapers of what occurred at various places in the Philippines, and I thought the newspapers had not placed the grand old man Dewey in a proper light. That was the reason 1 thought I was-justified in placing drini in. his proper- light. My remarks in the newspapers are garbled"; I won’t say incorrect in substance or untrue, but they are distorted, so as to put. a different meaning on them. The Admiral was a man who could stand nagging at any time, but when the moment came he stopped it. He never moves a hair afterwards. I did think at

one time that we were that close to killing them that one word, one act, would have done it. We were all able, and more Ilian ready, to uphold the honour of the country, and stand by our Admiral.”

While leaving the Army and Navy Club, on his way to the banquet given by the Montauk Club at Brooklyn, Captain Coghlan received an order -rom Mr Long to return on board the I’aleigh at once. Mr Long has written (o Captain Coghlan deprecating the latter’s references to the Germans at Manila, and asking if they were correctly quoted in the newspapers. The story told by Captain Coghlan was somewhat different from that which reached the State Department. The reports received by the latter contain no reference by Admiral Dewey to the cheapness of the German hag. The officials deemed it ill-advised on Die part of an officer of the Government to revive the story of the bad feeling which prevailed last summer between tlie German and American fleets. Doctor Von Holleben, the German Ambassador, on behalf of the German Goveminent, lodged with Mr Hay a formal protest against Captain Coghlan’s utterances at the Union League Club. Mr Huy, in bis reply, stated (Hat the language complained of appeared to hare been used at a dinner in a 'dub, and so could not be regarded as an official or public utterance in the sense ,-hat it won id warrant action on the part of Gie State Department. The Navy Department, however, was fully competent <o take such action as the case seemed to require. With this statement Dr Von Holleben appeal’d to be satisfied, for the time at ’east, and he will doubtless wait a reasonable time for action by the Navy Department.