Omaha daily bee., 1903-06-07

- son II II mas TO struggle Tor ma
tional existence tomorrow in a
~ war with some continental power
and he will unhesitatingly reply:
why, 'Jacky' Fisher, Of course"
Everybody in the British navy knows
Flsher-Vice Admiral Sir John Arbuthnot
Fisher, K. G. b., r. N.-and believes that
he is the strongest and ablest man in that
service. The officers Of foreign navies re-
spect him for his strategical skill and
technical ability in handling a fleet. But
the world at large does not even know his
name.
Very few OF his fellow subjects could
say offhand who is Britain's chief living
admiral, and yet he holds the greatest DO.
sition In the British empire to which a
subject can aspire. His work is more re-
sponsible than that Of the prime minister.
because he is the first man in the fighting
fleets, "whereon' las the articles of war
say under the good providence of God
the wealth, peace and safety of the country
doth chiefly depend"
The strangest thing about this man who
bears upon his shoulders the weight Of thu
British empire is that he is not an English
man at all, in the strict sense of the word.
Ills rather was a captain In the SEVENTH
eighth Highlanders, who settled in Ceylon.
ana MS mother was n Singhalese woman OF
nigh rank. Thus, he has a strain OF Orion.
tai blood in his veins.
1t shows very slightly I'm his face. o,,v
persons who have lived in the east ara
able to detect IL. In countenance Admiral
Fisher shows the irresistibilitv of n brII-
dog and he has that simple, BLUM. heartu
manner which is associated with tho tvnt-
cal John Bull.
Sometimes his subordInntes and ,orotuz
~diplomatists with whom he has 10 do are
deceived by this manner into thinking him.
an innocent, guileless sailorman with plenty
OF pluck but no brains. They discover too
iate mat a touch of Oriental sublety In
gralted on to the strong stem of Anglo
saxon directness and iron will. and thar
flsher has been playing them with Asiatio
craft.
Jacky'' as he is always called In the
navy, was one of Great Britain's renro.
sentatives at The Hague peace conference
one who was present says that nohodv
made a greater impression than Admiral
FISHER did upon the diplomatistq
OF the great powers. He holds the on,n.
ION mat humane" warfare is both fool
ish and cruel, and he advanced that onin-
ION at the conference with consummate
skill.
"Hen you nave 10 wiring q chickens
neck" ne said. "all you think about 10
wringing 1t quickly. You don't give the
chicken intervals for refreshment and re-
cuperation. 1t should be the same with
warfare"
Fisher does not hesitate to say that anv
war he may have to make will be hell"
He has a bitter hatred of submarine YES
sells and their crews. and frequently de-
clares that II he catches the latter in time
OF war he Will string them up to the yard
arm, even IL he has to face a court
martial afterward.
He showed the sternness of his nature
after the bombardment of Alexandria in
1882. As captain Of the "Inhexible," he was
given the task of organizing a police force
and REFRESHING disorder and looting after
the capture of the city. He shot the guilty
on sight and restored order In a few hours.
Some OF his intimate friends, even officers
of his own ship, were caught with looted
goods. They begged in vain for mercy.
severely punished.
Admiral Fishers subordinates respect
him, but do not love him. He works them
too hard for that, and is too quick to
detect their faults. He tolls from s a. m.
20 8 p. m, and expects everybody else to
do the same. Men who have served under
him are apt to curse whenever his name
is mentioned.
Fisher knows this and takes a sardonic
pleasure in II, He is fond of telling the