The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1904-05-21
The New Orleans Banquet TO the Sec
retary OF the Navy.

NV b"hHhNN bHNh Ny SlblNcue
of New Orleans at the St. Charles
Hotel, in honor of the Secretary
of the Navy, the Hon. VIM. II,
Moody, who has been in the city
for several days past for the pur-
pose Of seeing for himself the ma
val station here, and determining
ITS needs, was in all respects Just
what such an affair should hage
been. 1t was an occasion that can
not have failed 10 please the dis
tinguisAed guest himself, us well
as do credit TO the Progressive
Union, upder whose auspices the
affair was given.
AS was h. be expected at a ban
.qpet in his henor, Mr.. Moody
spoke entertainingly Of New Or
leans and its future prospects,
and as everybody is aware that the
great advantages of this port are
not as widely known and appre-
cIatcd as they should be, the Sec
retary's complimentary remarks
cannot be considered as merely
perTunctory, but they should he
taken to mean exactly what he
said, that this port will yet prove
to be one of the greatest in The
world,
1t Is not surprising that Mr..
Moody and his friends should
greatly marycl at the iino hurbor
this port possesses, and the large
shipping trade it enjoys. such
things are matters of record, bat
1t is quite q different thing Ger
tainly to actually see the facts
with ones own eyes, from merely
hearing about them, The dlstin-
guished visitors have long been
aware that as commercial port
this city stands second only to the
city of New York. Such Il fact
should Of itself ontitlc New Or
leans TO have a well equipped na-
val station. Two distinguished
Boards Of Naval Officers selected
the site of the present Station us
Che NEST available on the entire
coast Of the Gulf Of Mexico.
Certainly these Boards, which
selected tlle site at present occu-
pied by the Naval station, knew
what they were recommending,
and the Secretary Of the Navy is
not the sort OF u man TO be unfa-
gorably influenced by tho service
prejudice, which opposes naval
stations situated on rapidly flow
ing streams, hence it is en-
tirely safe to believe that his poll
icy will be to carry out what the
Construction Boards recommends
cd, that IS, the installation of the
tools and machinery needed to
make the local station an import
ant base for ships operating in the
Gulf of Mexico and the couti-
guons waters.
II was, of course, not expected
Of Secretary Moody, at a banquet
10 his honor, to divulge completes
ly his views with respect to a ma
val station be was here officially
to inspect, but the other members
of his party, who were also guests
at the banquet last evening, were
under no such official restraints
as to their views on the Naval Sta
ton, hence they frankly admitted
that its future looked to them
assured.
Aside from the object of Secre-
tary Moody's visit, the fact that
he Is the Official head Of the Navy
Department, one of the main
of the Government, and
has had long and. distinguish ed
career as a public man in Com
gress as well as in official life at
Washington, made it eminently
proper that he should be iittingly
entertained. Although Secretary
Moody accepts the guidance Of
the technical officers Of the navy
on purely military matters, he is
determined to keep in the hands
Of the civilian head of tHe depart
ment all the real authority and
control, as both the letter and the
spirit Of the constitution demand,
He is, therefore, certain to think
for himself on the subject Of the
New Orleans Naval Station Dai-