Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-09-22
Big Fleets to Be Placed on
Guard in the Orient
by Uncle Sam
a STRONG AslATIc SQUADRON
Most Powerful Ships Will Be Put on
Duty in the Orient and the South
Atlantic stations-Plans of the De-
partment Will Be Regarded as Sig
nif;cant by Other Powers.

Moody has decided on a new system of
mobilization of the war ships OF the
United States navy. 1t consists OF
nothing less than the formation Of two
formidable fleets of battle ships 10
guard the North Atlantic coast and to
jprotect the vital interests of this gov
eminent in Asiatic waters. while the
the European, Pacific and South At
lantic stations will be filled with highly
efficient cruiser squadrons.
Extensive shifting of stations will be
made at the conclusion of the winter
maneuvcrs in the Caribbean, in which
all the ships of the European ana
North and South Atlantic stations Will
be assembled as a single fleet under
command of Admiral Dewey.
The plan which Secretary Moody,
with the assistance of the general board
OF the navy, has outlined and which
has received Tie Endorsement of Presi-
dent Roosevelt, includes annual man :
euvers by the fleets of each station,
| joint maneuvers by one or more fleets
where practicable, ard operations each
wear in connection With the army b.
the North Atlantic squadron
For q long time it has been desired
by the experts of the navy that the
fleets should be more homogeneous than
lin the past when composed Of swift
cruisers and slower but heavy lighting
battle ships.
The recent search problem" and the
| Joint maneuvers in Narragansett Bay
and at the entrance to Long Island
guards the North Atlantic coast, patrols
| the strategically important West In
dies, preserves American influence il.
Central America, and which will do so
over the isthmian canal when it is
finally constructed must necessarily be
much larger than now.
| Hence the battleship fleet will consist
| of the battleships kearsarge, Alabama,
| Massachusetts, Indiana, Texas and
Maine, comprising the battle unit, aug
mented by the cruisers Baltimore, Rail
eigh, possibly the Newark, the Olympia,
Cincinnati, the gunboats Machias and
Marietta and the cruiser Montgomery.
Disturbances in the West Indies, as
in Hayti and in San Domingo, the all
most annual revolutions in Panama,
where the United States is obliged by
treaty to keep the transit on the Pana-
ma railroad open, and the nearly con-
tinuous civil strife in Venezuela, all of
which require the presence of United
States warships to guard American in
terests, have resulted in the determine
ton of the department to create a di-
vision of the North Atlantic squadron
for special duty, which will undoubted-
ly be continuous in the Caribbean.
1t is planned to place Rear Admiral J..
B. CogLlan, second in command of the
North Atlantic squadron, in command
of this division. 1t will consist of the
Olympia, which he will use as his flag
ship, and probably of the Cincinnati,
which is now at Colon; the Montgom-
cry, now at Cape Haytien watching the
progress of the revolution in Hayti, and
the Marietta, now in Venezuelan wa
tiers.
1t is thought that this fleet is admira-
bly, adapted for duty in those waters.
The smaller boats named are able to
steam in shallow harbOrs at small ports,
while the Olympia and the Cincinnati
are formidable enough to make good
impression in the event of any serious
uprising.
uhndtoCBe ossm HIM HIM Of ly ly limb
attic waters will be matter of much
concern to European powers. which are
for the most part there represented by
cruiser squadrons, with possibly bait
tleship or two. The makeup of the
Asiatic or Philippine squadron, as ii
may be called, will probably be the
- 49, n,
latter of which is about to sail for the
orient from San Francisco.
Later on the Iowa may be assigned to
the Asiatic station, while the Wiscon-
sin, now the flagship of Admiral Casey,
may be given similar orders. The cruz
ser New York is at present the flagship
of the Asiatic station, with possibility
of being transferred to be the flagship
of the Pacific squadron station.
Other ships on the Asiatic station will
be cruisers and the smaller gunboats
captured from the Spanish, which, tho
not specially formidable, are valuable
for use in Chinese rivers, in the Philip
pine archipelago and other points where
possible complications necessitate the
showing of the stars and stripes. These
other ships are the Monadnock and
Monterey, both monitors in good condi-
ton; the Yorktown. New Orleans. Gla-
cier, Helena, Don Juan de Austria, Isla
de Luzon and Isla de Cuba, the Annap-
oils, Princeton, Wheeling, Justine,
Pompey and Quiros.
oLD-AeE PENSIONS WANTED.
German Socialists Expect to Gain on
Their Platform.
Berlin, Sept. 22.-Reports from all the
electoral districts of the empire re-