第33章

SoundnavalopinionwasoverwhelminglyinfavorofDeweytocommandonesquadron。Iwasalreadywatchinghim，forIhadbeenstruckbyanincidentinhispastcareer。ItwasatatimewhentherewasthreatoftroublewithChile。DeweywasofftheArgentine，andwastoldtogetreadytomovetotheothercoastofSouthAmerica。Ifthemovebecamenecessary，hewouldhavetohavecoal，andyetifhedidnotmakethemove，thecoalwouldnotbeneeded。InsuchacaseamanafraidofresponsibilityalwaysactsrigidlybytheregulationsandcommunicateswiththeDepartmentathometogetauthorityforeverythinghedoes；

andthereforeheusuallyaccomplishesnothingwhatever，butisabletosatisfyallindividualswithred-tapemindsbytriumphantlypointingouthiscompliancewiththeregulations。Inacrisis，themanworthhissaltisthemanwhomeetstheneedsofthesituationinwhateverwayisnecessary。Deweypurchasedthecoalandwasreadytomoveatonceifneedarose。Theaffairblewover；theneedtomovedidnotoccur；andforsometimethereseemedtobeachancethatDeweywouldgetintotroubleoverhavingpurchasedthecoal，forourpeoplearelikealmostallotherpeoplesinrequiringresponsibleofficersundersuchconditionstodecideattheirownpersonalperil，nomatterwhichcoursetheyfollow。However，thepeoplehigherupultimatelystoodbyDewey。

Theincidentmademefeelthatherewasamanwhocouldbereliedupontoprepareinadvance，andtoactpromptly，fearlessly，andonhisownresponsibilitywhentheemergencyarose。AccordinglyIdidmybesttogethimputincommandoftheAsiaticfleet，thefleetwhereitwasmostessentialtohaveamanwhowouldactwithoutreferringthingsbacktothehomeauthorities。Anofficerseniortohim，oftherespectablecommonplacetype，wasbeingpushedbycertainpoliticianswhoIknewhadinfluencewiththeNavyDepartmentandwiththePresident。IwouldhavepreferredtoseeDeweygettheappointmentwithoutappealingtoanypoliticianatall。Butwhilethiswasmypreference，theessentialthingwastogethimtheappointment。Foranavalofficertobringpressuretogethimselfasoftandeasyplaceisunpardonable；butalargeleniencyshouldbeobservedtowardthemanwhousesinfluenceonlytogethimselfaplaceinthepictureneartheflashingoftheguns。TherewasaSenator，ProctorofVermont，whoIknewwasclosetoMcKinley，andwhowasveryardentforthewar，anddesiroustohaveitfoughtinthemostefficientfashion。IsuggestedtoDeweythatheshouldenlisttheservicesofSenatorProctor，whichwasaccordinglydone。InafortunatehourfortheNation，DeweywasgivencommandoftheAsiaticsquadron。

WhentheMainewasblownupinHavanaHarbor，warbecameinevitable。A

numberofthepeace-at-any-pricemenofcoursepromptlyassumedthepositionthatshehadblownherselfup；butinvestigationshowedthattheexplosionwasfromoutside。And，inanyevent，itwouldhavebeenimpossibletopreventwar。Theenlistedmenofthenavy，whooftengrewboredtothepointofdesertioninpeace，becamekeyeduptoahighpitchofefficiency，andcrowdsoffineyoungfellows，fromtheinterioraswellasfromtheseacoast，throngedtoenlist。Thenavyofficersshowedalertabilityandunweariedindustryingettingthingsready。Therewasonedeficiency，however，whichtherewasnotimetoremedy，andoftheveryexistenceofwhich，strangetosay，mostofourbestmenwereignorant。Ournavyhadnoideahowlowourstandardofmarksmanshipwas。Wehadnotrealizedthatthemodernbattle-shiphadbecomesuchacomplicatedpieceofmechanismthattheoldmethodsoftraininginmarksmanshipwereasobsoleteastheoldmuzzle-loadingbroadsidegunsthemselves。AlmosttheonlymaninthenavywhofullyrealizedthiswasournavalattacheatParis，LieutenantSims。Hewroteletterafterletterpointingouthowfrightfullybackwardwewereinmarksmanship。Iwasmuchimpressedbyhisletters；butWainwrightwasabouttheonlyothermanwhowas。AndasSimsprovedtobemistakeninhisbeliefthattheFrenchhadtaughttheSpaniardshowtoshoot，andastheSpaniardsprovedtobemuchworseeventhanwewere，intheservicegenerallySimswastreatedasanalarmist。ButalthoughIatfirstpartlyacq