The Portland daily press., 1889-10-17
NAVIGATING THE SEA OF DIPLOMACY
For the Benefit Of the seamen Of
the civilized wor'd.
Tho ma,,tin,e conference Starts on
Its PhiIanthropic voyage.
Soma Of the Things which 1t Is Ex-
pected to Accomplish.

WAsu,NaroN. October 16. = The diplo-
matte recention room of the State De-
partment presented a scene OIL unusual
brilliancy this morniDg when secretary
Blaine received the delegates to the In
ternational Marine Conference. The hour
fixed for the ceremony was IL O'Clock and
previous to that time the delegates had
gathered in the ante-room and ex-
changed courtesies and greetings.
The members are a noble looking set of
men, and. arrayed in the naval gold lace of
every prominent maritime nation of the
world, made striking appearance. The
exceptions to the glitter of uniforms and
decorations were the delegates from China
and South America, the former in their dis
tinctive national dress, and the latter in reg
companed by the ministers of their respect
i've countries. At five minutes after IL
o'clock, they were ushered into the dlplo-
matte parlor by Assistant Secretary OF State
Adee, in the order of the precedence OF their
ministers. The American delegates, headed
by the martial figure of Admiral Franklin,
needed no Intermediary to bring them to the
notice of the Secretary of State The recep-
tion, partaking of diplomatic nature, was
conducted in accordance with the etiquette
of such occasions, the doors being scrupu-
lously guarded by messengers and the pro-
ceedings held in strictest seclusion. When
Mr.. Blaine entered the parlor, accompanied
by Solicitor Walker Blaine, the members of
the various delegations were presented to
him by their respective ministers, and he
cordially received each with warm grasp
of the hand and an appropriate word. To
the delegates, formally, Mr. Blaine said:
"Gentlemen,-It is the cause of extreme
qualification to the government ofthe United
States that its invitation to the maritime
powers of the world has been met with so
Asia, from Europe, from North and South
America, and from the Isles of the Sea, will
compose the conference. On behalf of the
United States welcome you all, gentlemen,
to the honorable, the scientific, the phian-
thropic duties which lie before you. The
already great and the rapidly increasing in
tercourse between continent and continent,
between nation and nation, demands that
every protection against the dangers of the
sea, and every guard for the safety Of human
life shall be provided. The spoken languages
of the world will continue to be many, but
necessity demands that the unspoken Ian
guage of the sea shall be one. That language
must be universal as the needs of man for
commerce and intercourse with his fellow
man. The deep interest which the maritime
at issue is shown by the eminent char
acter and the wide experience of the dele
gates to whom they have committed the i'm
portant work. Again, gentlemen, | well
come you, and after your preliminary organ
ization is completed it will be my pleasure
to present you in person to the President of
the United States"
At the conclusion of Secretary Blaines
brief address, on motion of one Of the dele
gates from Great Britain, Admiral Franklin
was chosen president of the conference. This
concluded the proceedings in the State De-
partment not more than 20 minutes having
been occupied.
With Secretary Blaine and Sir Julian
Pauncefote, British Minister, at their head,
the delegates then started for the White
House. AS they emerged from the State De-
partment building they were grouped on the
southeast entrance and photographed in
body.
When the delegates reached the White
House, they we're shown into the East Room,
and the house was closed to everybody else.
Secretary Blaine informed the President of
their arrival, and they at once repaired to
the East Room. Secretary Blaine presented
Rear Admiral Franklin, the president of the
congress, and he, in turn, introduced the
other American delegates. The foreign del
egates were next presented. Mr.. Blaine
first presented the resident minister of the
country represented, and he, in turn, pre-
sented the members OF his delegation. The
ceremonies, while rather formal, were very
brief. The President made brief address
of welcome, in which he expressed the opin-
ion that their deliberations would result in
much good to the commercial interests of the
world.
In the matter of selection of vice president
for the conference there cropped out yester
day feeling which, il persisted in, is liable
to make trouble. 1t is nothing more or less
than the old jealousy between Prussia and
France. Both nations are determined to
press a member of their delegation for vice
president, and how the matter will be even-
tuallV settled remains TO he seen.
The questions which will come before the
conference for discussion are numerous, and
will tend to bring out its merits in the very
strongest light. The rules of the road will
probably be the subject that will occupy the
attention of the conference the longest per-
iod. One Of the suggestions in this respect
will be that all vessels will be required to
carry an additional white light on the after
part of the ship and lower down than the
present foremast or masthead white light, so
as to form a range by which any alteration
of the ships course can be readily and quick-
ly seen.
Mr.. Sherman E. Bulyer of New York city
has submitted chart for fog signal COM
pass which is attracting considerable atten-
tion among the delegates. 1t is arranged on
the principle of music score, and is read in
the same manner. Its effect will be to neu-
tralize color blindness, and the inventor
claims that there are many bad ears" and
in such cases deafness and misconceptions
are equal 10 Color DnnQneSS, therefore,
seaman's hearing and understanding should
be AS perfect as his sight" Nearly all OF
the delegates who have seen the chart pro-
nounce it a good thing, providing that all
navigators are good musicians and can read.
lily understand the different tones embraced
in Mr.. BUYERS signals in the compass. This
will be attended to under the subjects in the
first division.
utah's Recruiting Ground.
WASHINGTON, October 16.-Gerhard Gade,
United States Consul to Christiania. has