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Show r IH IRVING M. SCOTT. jH In the Nation's Hall of Fame should be a H statue of Irving M. Scott. Because of his woik H the last two and the finest of Cervera's ships were H driven upon the beach in flame and wreck; because jH of that, in the eyes of the world, the United States H shone out the foremost of the world's powers, lrv- 'H ing M. Scott built the battleship Oiegon. She IH sailed from Seattle under urgent oiders, down jH the long western coast of our continent, through H the stormy straits; up the eastern coast and an- H choiing in Jubiter Inlet, Florida, reported by wire H to the Secretary of the Navy and at his order. H without lopairs took her place in Adn'iral Samp- son.-Zflocl. When the fleets ot Adminls1 Sami- il son and Schley were united tho Oregon was al- H lotted almost the central station in front of San- H tiago harbor. There the watch was held for al- H most forty days when suddenly the flagship lead H Ing the Spanish fleet appeared coming out of th(T r H harbor and turning westward the fleet fled lighting H as they ran. .H One general order was posted on each Amer- H lean ship to the elfect that should the Spanish H fleet appear to engage it at once in battle, the H Brooklyn on the west end of the curved line was a H 22-knot ship, Captain Wainwright in the little H Gloucester was next, the Texas next in the line H was a 14 or 15-knot ship, the Iowa next, was a lGi-knot ship, the Oregon next in line was of H the same registered speed as the Iowa. The, run- H ning fight at once began. The Brooklyn was first jH engaged, being nearest in the back of the enemy, H then the Texas, then the Iowa, but the Oregon H swept by the Iowa and Texas as though they had H been still at anchor and side by side with the ' H Brooklyn, pursued the fighting. The utmost speed H that could be got on the Brooklyn was 1G knots, , H on the Iowa 10 knots, the Oregon ran faster than H on her trial trip, roaring with all her great guns B as she ran. One after another of the Spanish ships were destroyed until Anally the Colon with H the Viscaya following close the linest ships of B the Spanish squadron under all speed stretched B away to the southwest. They had escaped the B American ships, all save the Brooklyn, a cruiser, B and the battleship Oregon. The Viscaya was soon B put out of the fight and a little later a shell from B one of the turret guns of the Oregon struck the B water close beside the Colon, when hor comman- B der turned her shoreward and beached her. B Except for the Oregon the Brooklyn could not B have maintained the battle against those last two B superb ships of the enemy, and the victory would B have been shorn of half its laurels. It was the B Oregon's victory; the superb achievement was B due to the man on the deck and the engineer B in the hold, but behind these the picture of Irving B M. Scott shines grandly out. It was he who built B one battleship and one cruiser the San Francis- B co which sailed down one coast of our continent B and up the other, reported on coming to anchor M that they were in perfect condition needing no repairs. No other such record was ever made. M Another of Mr. Scott's ships the Olympla was H K Admiral Dewey's flagship and led the way into H Manila Bay. The world had never heard of Mr. H Scott as a shipbuilder; when he received the first K contracts the great eastern ship builders looked M upon it as almost a joke they all took off their m hats to him at last, yes, ship builders and seamen m the world around took off their hats. His success H was due first to his brain, second to his con- V scienciousness, which was incorporated into the M steel ot the ships and made them perfect. In his M' death the west coast, the Nation, has suffered a M great loss. He was an industrial chieftain, one of m the most sterling of men. Among the statues of B the very foremost of the nation's great dead, his H statue should bear a conspicuous place as men who could emboss their ideas on steel in such B a way as to give to their names immortality. |