| Show COMMODORE JOHN C WATSON U S N I 1 11 0 gg ee R I 1 I 1 or I 1 11 I 1 I 1 V 61 11 ki I 1 ab 11 I 1 71 1 XZ t aa r 19 11 6 i I 1 k I 1 I 1 r I 1 1 k I 1 11 21 A t I 1 J I 1 1 g k ad 1 14 I 1 JJ 1 1 abt I 1 I I 1 eli I 1 k h 1 A X I 1 I 1 I 1 0 6 0 S ZIA 1 I it 1 I I 1 I 1 it I 1 tz I 1 I 1 az Q 1 I 1 4 Z rd 1 I 1 fit X I 1 U k I 1 I 1 1 1 I 1 11 N I 1 I 1 1 I 1 I 1 8 N commodore watson U S nl was a distinguished american in ogden yesterday en ell route from Nen newport port R 1 I to san r francisco ran cisco where he will on saturday assume command of the taro mare island navy yard H he was met a at t he bo depot by a delegation of newspaper men and to them and to a number of interested listeners he talked for a few moments very pleasantly and freely until the train carrying his hid special car moved out for san francisco commodore watson la Is a man maji of less than average height spare in build aquaro shoulders and with a precision of 0 walk and carriage that thai marks him as a military man ire was waa dressed in a plain eld zens suit find and was the most moat unassuming of those mho v bo were on this the platform ile he has a pleasant face and when talking innelli pleasantly but hla his eye keen and bright bryght be tokens the man maji used to command and leadership the commodore left newport f rt I 1 but a few days ago coming direct i through gh with only a stop of one day ano I 1 in new w york speaking of the late war ho he said that he woe was thirty eight miles away from the scene of tho the santiago sea aoa fight then n hen it happened and that thal tho the first ho he knew of it wits waa a telegram t to him in brit br front from tho the lax lond I 1 forces force tf ills first information thus received ce alved was at fault as aj it told him tho the spanish fleet had escaped leaving hla big and transferring his broad pennant to a torpedo boat ho he hastened to thit the scene of tho the battle da there them just at dark lie he went on board the low a and there saw BOW and talked w with ith cervera vora viliore he described as 03 a very courteous couite oua ous gen gentleman Uemon ile he also visited tho the indiana willie while on the lown iowa the tha squadron reported to him and from thero there ho he seat in the report of the engagement to the secretary of the navy hen asked as to the possibility of raising tho the coon 11 commodore wat sort bon said that in his report he had bad said that he h doomed deemed it impossible but that he had a talk with kith hobson recently and the lieutenant had strong hopes of saving that vessel the th colon Is uninjured from the th baulo battlo but in beaching her tho the damage woo wag done sho she beached bow on OD but later the stern was swung around and now the bow Is in deer deep water the shore being very precipitous at that the th position po sUlon or of the ih huge cruiser la Is uch such that the decks decka are nearly vertical the vizcaya and tho the maria ataxia teresa are badty adly damaged by shot phot and by explosions of magazines and torpedoes on the inside it hied seemed at the start t that hat it would be impossible to raise the maria teresa but that he had ordered both frockins ins crews to tile tereva teresa and together they succeeded in saving her the other ships iare are wrecks brecks tho the insides eire are entirely it de geroyed by fire which warped tho the steel armor so as aa to render them absolutely useless simply huge piles of scrap crp iron beut aleut hobson will soon malte make another effort to raise the colon if his examination convinces him that tha it Is possible none of the american battleships bit show any treat signs of having been in condict A warby war by inspection will show how where the iowa was effectively hit but the brooklyn which was ht hit tho the oft ofte enest shows scarcely a mark the colon he described as the most formidable of the spanish flecht and said ahat it if tho the guns guno of the iho colon had been properly manned the fight between it and the brooklyn would have been a very pretty 11 tight lit N with ith the only advant aco to the brooklyn being in n nor her heti heavier vier guns gune the work of which the commedore commdore considered very ire said he h was at a loss logs to understand stand why the colon was beached unless it was because the sp spaniards a it here ere afraid to risk a move severe re close quarter contest content cut but he recall recalled cd the words of 0 the great admiral farragut who raid eald that the safest way to protect a ship from flit an enemy wits was to put up ia hard bard fight and keep the runs talking this commotion commodore watson said to be for or tise spanish seam seamen n to do a as they were not drilled in gunnery to make any comparison on in battle with our men after all he said it was limply the men behind the guns and ohe he american people have every reason to lo bo be proud of 0 the men who did tile the in the anvy during most of 0 the conflict commo coloro watson in charge of tho the bloc blockading koLding fleet on the north coast of cuba regarding his assignment to the command of the eisten squadron a and n d tb tho 0 contemplated voyage abroad he zd the officers and mori of the designated ships were very much alft appointed at not brine being able to sail across to spain the commodore was accompanied on his lourney journey stream across the th continent by bis big wife and four our children this Is the third time ho he has been baen on duty at the mare maj o navy yard he hai ha ins ing left there in for or the east mia at that time was the second in command GIVES SCHLEY THE CREDIT commodore m watson s had decided aided views on the of cavera Ce veraa s fleet he declarer declare tins the sole bole credit belongs ion to admiral schley admiral sampson S asor having been away at the time tl ale 1 I think admiral schley deserves all ajl the praise tor for that irl rious deed he said of course admiral sampson la is entitled to his share 0 of th the credit because be was the tha commanding command luB officer yet we wa all know that schley would have been blamed if tho the spanish fleet had escaped 1 1 I wits was on oil hand after the battle with the newark to protect the landing of some gome troops tro but beyond firtag a few ew shots into the bushes to rout out the Span Spar I 1 Jarde dards did not see any bomberd ment that commodore watson had valuable knowledge at the ilia time ha fie was blockading cuban ports ot of the various forts and vessels 6 the enemy Is shown by the way he discusses the subject he thinks the done dona were aero lucky to save eave their gunboats gun boats that if they had only dared to poke poka their roo daes eq out of the shallow harbors ills hi fleet would have swept donn on therm them this blockading business he be declared la in monotonous work for days we cruised olt off the tha enemas coast evry eye on the look lookout I 1 ut tor for the hated lias flag the only thing to relieve the duty W waa on ln occasional chase but we wasted more coal mojid powder running after the dispatch boats than anything else elite they were everywhere over the sea and riving us all kinds of trouble the commodore la Is greatly pleased i 0 over ver the ft fact that he la in going to cifare marc island IS AN IMPORTANT POST it Is one of the th most important at stations in the tb service today he said owing to the present condition ot of affairs in the philippines I 1 tel feel especially honored lio nored by the transfer even after tho the war lo in at a complete end mare island will be the second important naval station in our country we will have a much navy soon in the pacino waters and d in tny my opinion no matter how the philippine que question ution to lc settled it will be necessary for the government to maintain a a much stronger naval force on the CORAL coast besides I 1 have a son on in the navy with admiral dewey and when I 1 get to mare island I 1 hope to have all my family with mp me |
