THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



VOL XII. 



CHICAGO, JUNK, 1898. 



NO. 9. 



1 he "grand old man, "William 

 mst e orl. E> Gladstone, so long a famil- 

 iar figure, not only to Englishmen, but to 

 the world, has passed from the stage of 

 life where for so many years he played so 

 prominent a part. His death, which oc- 

 curred on the 19th of May, was very 

 peaceful, the quiet ending of a grand and 

 useful life of over 88 years. 



May 1st marks the grandest naval vic- 

 tory of history and makes Admiral Dewey 

 the hero of the American people. The 

 destruction of the Spanish fleet without 

 the loss of an American ship, gun, or life, 

 is without parallel. The nearest to it was- 

 the battle that ended the thirty years war 

 between Athens and Sparta, which took 

 place 2,300 years ago, or in 405 B. C- In 

 this battle Lysander, the successful gen- 

 eral and admiral, succeeded in capturing 

 170 out of the 180 vessels of the Athenian 

 fleet. Like Dewey he did not lose a ship, 

 but a few of his men were killed. So, 

 after all the recent victory surpasses all 

 previous history. It was just 310 years 

 ago, lacking two months, from the date of 

 Dewey's victory, that the Spanish met de- 

 feat at the hands of the English. King 

 Philip, of Spain-, was desirous of stamping 

 out Protestanism and as England was then 

 its chief stronghold he conceiX'ed the plan 

 of attacking that country and with that 

 end in view a fleet of vessels was construct- 

 ed, known as the Spanish Armada. On 

 May 29, 1588 the vast fleet of 150 vessels 



and close on to 30,000 men, sailed from. 

 Spain to attack England at the entrance of 

 the Thames river. On July 29 the fleet 

 stood up the Channel in the form of a 

 crescent, seven miles long, but owing to 

 Drake and Howard, the gallant English 

 commanders, the Spaniard's plans were 

 never carried out. for they were forced to 

 flee, losing 30 vessels. Fearing to again 

 encounter the English fleet, the Armada 

 sailed for Spain by way of the North Ses, 

 and owing to severe storms, lost still fur- 

 ther, so that when the fleet at length 

 reached Spain in September and October, 

 it consisted of only 54 badly shattered 

 vessels and about 10,000 men. 



June 1st will be remembered years hence 

 as the opening day of the great Trans- 

 Mississippi Exposition. On that day 

 President Mckinley pressed the button 

 which set the machinery of the great fair 

 in motion and the exposition was ready to 

 receive its visitors. 



Before the AGE goes to press 

 the bond issue for war pur- 

 poses may be an assured thing; it may be 

 passed in spite of the protests of the Con- 

 gressmen who have courageously opposed 

 it and the people who do not wish it. It 

 seems strange that under a government ''by 

 the people and for the people" it is possi- 

 ble for a measure to be passed in Congress 

 that is detrimental to the interests of the 

 people and against which they protest. Yet 

 such measures have been passed and what 



That 



Bond 

 Issue. 



