Admiral Dewey 161 



might result in his own personal inconvenience and 

 detriment. This was taught not merely as an ab 

 stract theory, but with direct reference to concrete 

 cases; for instance, with reference to taking pos 

 session of Hawaii, if a revolution should by chance 

 break out there during the presence of an American 

 warship, or if the warship of a foreign power at 

 tempted to interfere with the affairs of the island. 

 For the work which Dewey had to do willingness 

 to accept responsibility was a prime requisite. A 

 man afraid to vary in times of emergency from the 

 regulations laid down in time of peace would never 

 even have got the coal with which to steam to Ma 

 nila from Hong Kong the instant the crisis came. 

 We were peculiarly fortunate in our Secretary of 

 the Navy, Mr. Long; but the best Secretary that 

 ever held the navy portfolio could not successfully 

 direct operations on the other side of the world. All 

 that he could do was to choose a good man, give 

 him the largest possible liberty of action, and back 

 him up in every way; and this Secretary Long did. 

 But if the man chosen had been timid about taking 

 risks, nothing that could be done for him would 

 have availed. Such a -man would not have disobeyed 

 orders. The danger would have been of precisely 

 the contrary character. He would scrupulously 

 have done just whatever he was told to do, and then 

 would have sat down and waited for further instruc- 



