The Savannah morning news., 1901-08-11
SOME WASHINGTON GOSSIP.
NAVAL OFFICERS AMUSED BY SEC
RETARY's INSTRUCTIONS IN
SCHLEY CASE.

aire Residents OF Long Islanu-in-
teresting Comment About the Life
Saving Service-How the United
States Coast Is Divided for This
service-Dnngers to Which occu-
pants of Life Boat Are Exposed
when Attending TO n Wreck-A Ro-
nance Which Deeply Interests
Washington Society-Other Mat
ters of General Interest.
Washington, d. c., Aug. 9.-Naval
officers who frequent the comfortable
quarters of the Army and Navy Club
are yet smiling broadly over Secretary
Longs order to all persons in the naval
service to refrain from any expression
of oponion concerning the Schley court
of inquiry. They say it is another case
of locking the stable door after the
horse has been stolen. Not that the
officers aforesaid are inclined, even in
thought, to be disrespectful toward the
Secretary, who is deservedly popular
among them; but the issuing of the
order after everybody in the navy had
talked it over freely and ranged him
self on one side or the other, appeals
to their sense of humor. However, 1t
is only among themselves that they
crack their jokes. They are the closest
corporation on record, with never the
ghost of an opinion on naval affairs to
express TO the outside world. AS for
getting a word out of them for publ
cation-you couldn't do it, with a
corkscrew, though that useful imple-
ment seems to be in high favor among
them.
Secretary Long has gone away on
vacation and will not return until be-
fore the converting of the Schley court
of inquiry, September II; Assistant
Secretary Hackett. who has just re-
turned from his annual outing, being
acting secretary. BY the way, the be-
lief is gaining ground in department
circles that when Mr.. Hackett retires
in the fall, Governor Allen of Porto
Rico, whose resignation from his pres
ent office takes effect in September,
will again become assistant secretary
of the navy-a position which he re-
signed, you remember, to go to Porto
| Rico. 1t has been taken for granted
that the President had something high
err in view for Mr.. Allen, until Secre-
| tary Long dropped hint concerning
Mr.. Hackett's successor just before
leaving the city.
Perhaps the most peculiar complaint
| ever received at the Treasury Depart
| rnent was that which came in the mail
| few days ago, addressed to the light
house board and signed by thirty of the
millionaire residents of Long Island.
The complaint is that the nightly
slumbers of the nabobs are interfered
with by the revolving flashlights which
| are operated on the coast of the island
| for the safety of mariners. The letter
states that the alternate flashes illum-
| mate the sleeping apartments of the
homes of the compliments in the most
| sleep numbering manner, and requests
that the nuisance be suppressed in
short order. What is to become of the
seamen who depend upon those lights,
and the valuable cargoes of the ship
owners which would be imperiled with
| out them does not seem to have entered
into the thoughts of the wealthy Long
| Islanders, who are accustomed to hav-
ing things pretty much their own way.
The matter was referred to the light
house board, which will shortly take
up the complaint. Some arrangement
may be made for the relief of the sum-
mer residents, even If the government
has to buy extra thick windows shades
| for them; but 1t is safe to say that I'm
Gle Samuel is not likely to abandon any
of his plans for the protection of marin
ers.
This unimportant incident led me to
look into the life-saving service of the
United States-a subject in which
| everybody should be interested but
which-from the righteous Judgment"
of a personal standpoint take it for
granted few people understand. Wash
ington is the most convenient place in
the country for one thing, viz.-that in
1t you can hunt up any subject under
the sun to its utmost limit, between
the various departments with their in
Vulnerable branches and the great con-
gressional library. In this instance 1
went straight to an official of the Unit
ed States coast survey-whose Office, by
the way, is near the Capitol, in the
magnificent gray-stone mansion of the
| late Benjamin F. Butler, and after
wards of Senator Jones, of Nevada; and
this is a summary of the information
gained in an hours talk: The life-sav-
ing stations which are set at frequent
intervals all around the coasts of our
great country will be opened on the
| first day of next month, by order of
the department at Washington, and
kept in constant operation until next
| summer.
OF course the most dangerous time of
year to shipping is between September
| and May, and all winter gallant and
| trusted crews will stand ready at any
minute of night or day to rescue tenn
pest-tossed vessels off shore. The ini-
tial step toward the establishment of
this splendid service which has saved
so many lives was taken more than a
hundred years ago lin 1850 by the
| Massachusetts Humane Society. The
first real station was established on
Cape Cod in 1907, and occupied by a
volunteer crew. Their good work in
aiding the shipwrecked soon became
apparent to Congress, and money was
literally appropriated for the extern
sion of the field of operations. New
stations sprang up along the New
England coast, and the number of life
boats, with their crews, continued to
increase. No provision, however, had
been made for employing competent
surfmen. at fixed pay, and everybody
knows that volunteer philanthropy,
however self-sacrificing and we'll mean
ing, stands no show for steady use
fulness beside organized, salaried labor
backed by a powerful government.
Sweet charity's mantle is wide and
beautiful, but prone to give out in
spots where most needed in sudden
|