George B. Dewey

George Dewey, the third admiral of the United States navy, was born in Vermont, December 26, 1837. He was descended from a Puritan who emigrated to Massachusetts about 1633. As a boy, George Dewey was mischievous and daring and not fond of study. His father, however, realizing the importance of education, kept him at school and insisted on his applying himself.

He entered the Naval Academy when he was seventeen and was graduated in 1858, fifth in his large class. His first active service was in Farragut’s attack on New Orleans, and here he showed courage and coolness under fire.

In attempting to pass Port Hudson, his ship, the Mississippi, was riddled with shot and shell. Then it was run ashore and set on fire by Captain Smith and Dewey to prevent its falling into the hands of the Confederates. In his official report of this affair, Captain Smith said, “I consider that I should be neglecting a most important duty should I omit to mention the coolness of my executive officer, Mr. Dewey, and the steady, fearless, and gallant manner in which the officers and men of the Mississippi defended her, and the orderly and quiet manner in which she was abandoned after being thirty-five minutes aground, under the fire of the enemy’s batteries.”

After the war Farragut said to Dewey’s father, “Your son George is a worthy and brave officer and some day will make his mark.”

It was long, however, before the opportunity came for him to do so. Meanwhile he went quietly on, performing the duties of his profession. For two years after the War between the States, he was instructor in the Naval Academy. In 1884 he was promoted captain and in 1897 commodore. He was now sixty years old, and while he was recognized as a brave and able officer, the prospect seemed that he would be retired at sixty-two, according to the rules of the navy, without gaining special fame.

But this was not to be the case. His opportunity was to come, and because he was ready for it, he was to attain a fame equal to that won by any other naval commander of his country. In January, 1898, he was ordered to take command of the Asiatic squadron; that spring while he was on Pacific waters, war was declared between the United States and Spain.

Cuba, one of its first discoveries, had remained subject to Spain while one after another of her New World possessions slipped from her grasp. Instead of ruling the colony wisely, Spain governed it with severity and injustice. The oppressed people made more than one effort to gain freedom. One attempt after another was unsuccessful, but in 1895 there broke out a rebellion so desperate that the Spaniards were not able to suppress it. The cruel General Weyler was put in command of the army in Cuba. In order to keep the natives from taking part in the insurrection, he formed what were called “concentration camps;” towns were surrounded by barbed wire fences and the inclosures were guarded by Spanish soldiers; in these were confined men, women, and children. Foul water, lack of food, and lack of proper sanitary regulations killed thousands in these camps. Through the Red Cross Society, the Americans sent food and supplies to the sufferers.

When our Consul in Havana reported that many Americans were among the starving sufferers, the United States protested; finally, Weyler was recalled and the American prisoners and the helpless natives were released.

In the winter of 1898 the Maine, an American battleship commanded by Captain Sigsbee, was in Havana harbor on a friendly visit. On the fifteenth of February, it was blown up by a submarine mine and two hundred and sixty-six Americans were killed. No one could find out who put the mine there nor who exploded it. This incident excited such indignation in America that Congress authorized President McKinley to use the army and navy to force Spain to give up Cuba. This caused Spain to declare war against the United States.

The war with Spain began, April 21, 1898. Three days later, orders were cabled to Dewey, who was at Hong Kong, China: “Proceed at once to the Philippine Islands. Commence operations, particularly against the Spanish fleet. You must capture or destroy the vessels. Use utmost endeavor.”

As Dewey sailed from Hong Kong, he signalled to his fleet: “Keep cool and obey orders.” The night of April the thirtieth the vessels reached Manila; ignoring the mines and batteries, they steamed in single file between the forts which guard the wide entrance of the bay. A little after five o’clock on the morning of May 1, 1898, began the battle of Manila Bay. The Spanish fleet was commanded by Admiral Montojo, one of the ablest of the Spanish officers. His fleet and the batteries opened fire on the Americans. Two submarine mines were exploded; fortunately, they did no damage and they did not deter Dewey, who had been with Farragut at the battle of Mobile Bay when the brave admiral sailed over torpedoes.

Dewey coolly watched the Spanish cannonade for awhile, and then quietly said to the captain of his flag-ship, the Olympia: “You may fire when ready, Gridley.” With a shout, “Remember the Maine,” the Americans fired. Their vessels, single file, passed the Spanish squadron, firing broadsides with deadly effect. Then they turned and repeated the maneuver. This was done five times in the course of two hours. The Spanish ships one after another were sunk, disabled, or blown up. At half past seven o’clock Commodore Dewey withdrew out of range of the Spanish batteries, and breakfast was served. He then returned to the attack and in two hours the Americans completed the destruction of the Spanish fleet, which was superior to their own in ships, men, and guns. The Spaniards fought bravely, but they were poor marksmen; they had two hundred men killed and lost their squadron of twelve vessels. The Americans did not lose a ship and they had only seven men wounded and none killed.

Dewey received from Congress a vote of thanks and the rank of rear-admiral. He remained in charge at Manila till relieved by a military governor. The war was over then, Spain was defeated, and Cuba free. There was no further occasion for his services. In 1899 he left Manila; after a leisurely cruise, in the autumn he reached the United States, where he was received with enthusiasm.

Andrew Carnegie
The Steel King

The United States has been called “the land of the poor man’s opportunity.” More than one barefoot boy in it has passed from a log cabin to the White House. In no other country have there been such rises from poverty to wealth and position. There is often much to condemn in the methods by which vast wealth is acquired, but the task requires ability and talent of a kind, and the careers of these “captains of industry,” as they are well termed, are regarded with interest.

A typical man of this class is Andrew Carnegie, who has risen from extreme poverty to vast wealth. He was born in 1837 in Scotland. His father, a master weaver, lost work when machines took the place of hand-looms; he emigrated to the United States when Andrew was a boy of eleven. Andrew began work when he was twelve as a bobbin-boy in a cotton factory in Pennsylvania, at weekly wages of a dollar and twenty cents.

When he was fourteen, he became a telegraph messenger boy and earned three dollars a week. In his spare time, he learned telegraphy and became an expert operator.

He was shown a model of a sleeping car of which he was quick to see the advantages; his first business investment was in a sleeping car company, and the success of this laid the foundation of his fortune.

Later on, he became interested in iron works of various kinds. He foresaw that iron bridges would largely take the place of wooden ones. He formed a company to make the parts for iron bridges. Later, he saw the superiority of steel over iron. In 1868 he introduced into America the Bessemer process of making steel. He acquired one after another seven great iron and steel works; moreover, he acquired coal and iron fields and railways and steamboats to control transportation.

In 1889 his plant at Homestead was the scene of a strike, one of the fiercest contests in America between capital and organized labor. A number of workmen and detectives were killed, and the militia had to be called out to put down the riot.

In 1899 Carnegie’s interest in different iron and steel plants were consolidated; in 1902 there was formed the United States Steel Corporation, a vast trust with a capital of over a billion dollars, which employs forty thousand people. The year that this trust was formed Carnegie retired from business: he received for his share in the trust two hundred and fifty million dollars’ worth of bonds bearing five per cent. interest, thus securing him an income of about fourteen million dollars a year. The Steel King, his wife, and daughter, make their home at Skibo Castle, a magnificent residence in Scotland.

Mr. Carnegie says that a man who has accumulated a great fortune ought to share it with the people. Among the objects which he considers most worthy the aid of men of wealth, he names universities, free libraries, hospitals, public parks, swimming baths, public halls, and church buildings. His own favorite charity is the aid of public libraries to which he has given millions of dollars. In 1902 he gave ten million dollars to found Carnegie Institution in Washington “for promotion of study and research.”

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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:

Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.

Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.

Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.

Some illustrations have been moved to locations near the text they represent.