Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-19
MAKE OFFICIAL CALL
ADMIRAL CALI AT THE NAVY DE-
PARTMENT.
Was Accompanied by Attache Of
italian Embassy-OfRcers and
Crew Sightseeing.

Admiral Call of the italian navy and the
captain and executive officer OF the Ital-
| ian cruiser Fieramosca, accompanied by
| Lieut.. Pfister, naval attache of the Italian
| embassy, called at the Navy Department
this morning in full uniform, and paid
their respects to Secretary Bonaparte and
| Rear Admiral Converse, chief of the bu-
| reau Of navigation. They also visited the
State and War departments. and left cards
| for Secretaries Root and Taft, both of
| whom are out Of the city. The naval visi-
! tors were under the escort of Commander
| H. H. Whaittlesey Of the United States
| navy.
| Rear Admiral Cali and the members of
| an agreeable holiday in Washington. The
| life on the flagship does not seem to be
| a strenuous one, and the uniforms of blue
and gold and heavy ornamentation have
been in evidence as little as possible, and
the sightseers have assumed the less con-
| spicuous and more comfortable garb Of
! civilian dress. The cares that infest the
| hearts of these bold defenders have been
thoughts of war, the rattle and roar Of
| battle, the whistling Of bullets, and the
] uncertainties of a soldiers existence, 1t does
not appear in their manner. They stroll
from one public building to another, and
evidently enjoy the visits they have paid
| to the Treasury building. the State War
and Navy, and the various departmental
buildings in the mall.
At Smithsonian Institution.
Especially did they find pleasure in the
Smithsonian Institution and the museum.
The life-size figures Of the various Amedi-
| can Indian tribes aroused their interest to
| a high degree, and they chartered with all
the ardor of children as they passed from
one group to another.
small party of officers attended the
performance at the Majestic Theater last
night. Lieut.. Gonzembach seemed to be the
prime mover in this company, doubtless
because of the fact that he speaks excel
| lent English. He strolled out into the lobby
between the acts and talked for while Of
things Of interest to him in Washington.
I'VE are not going to sail to Annapolis,
at least not until after we have been to
New York. Then we may do so. Our ad-
miral received his training in our national
naval school at Naples, and Is curious to
see how the American school compares with
the one he attended. He will therefore
pay a special visit to Annapolis
Were Never in Battle.
Have we ever been in battle with our
cruiser?" No, never, and for that we are
not at all sorry. None Of our naval YES
sells has seen any real fighting since neariy
fifty years ago. We just cruise.
1--WE expect to remain in American waters
all Of the winter, going from place to place
as we feel moved. In March l think we
shall sail for Italy Our vessel will go
into the docks there, and perhaps be re-
tired from service, or become floating bat
terry. That is how our fighting vessels are
used after they have become unfit for long
voyages. Our ships have life of about
twenty years. The Fieramosca has been
| sailing for sixteen years, SO she is now
almost through her activity.
Remain Thirteen Days.
1--WE shall be at anchor here for thirteen
days more. Today we have had other Wis
itors from the shore, who, like ourselves,
were sightseeing, and desired to be shown
our quarters and learn of our life on
board We like these visits. We observe
our visitors while they are seeing US.
But this Is true: 1 grow heavy after
talking the English for half an hour at
time, and by the end of an hour it is very
hard. The reason is that 1 have to think
Of all 1 am to say. which l do not have to
do In my own tongue. After a while there
comes a blank in my head, so that cannot
think. The questions are sometimes
difficult to answer But at the same time
1 welcome the opportunity it gives me to
use my English, and hope you may come
aboard the Fferamosca before we leave"