The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1906-10-26
GOVERNMENT ANXIETY
About Fate of Troops and
Valuable War Vessels.
President Roosevelt Will Be or
to Panama Immediately
After Election.
Especial To Tux grrunI.MAyl


During the last few days the Gov
eminent has been exceedingly anx-
ious as to the fate of the many
American troops and valuable war
ships now on duty in and around
Cuba. For forty-eight hours after
the hurricane struck the Island this
country was as entirely cut off from
Cuba as though the Island had been
wiped off the map. Considerable
damage was done in the South and
every wire south of Jacksonville was
down. The Navy Department put on
, as good face as it could in the mat
ter and said there was no danger
apprehended. AT the same time,
with all the cables gone and many Of
the land wires wrecked, frantic eff
forts were made to get into COM
munication with Havana by wireless.
Charleston was the furtheres est point
south on the coast where there was
a wireless station that could be
reached by land lines. For two
DAYS and nights she tried unavail-
ingly to get either st. Augustine or
Pensacola but naturally in such
severe storm the wireless masts were
one of the first things to go down.
After long effort Charleston got
Pensacola and after a still longer
wait message was relayed to Key
West. whence it was flashed to Ha-
vana Just about the time that cable
communication was reestabllshed.
and the grounding of the Brooklyn
was known. Very meagre news has
been received by the Department so
far. as to the damage done to Amer
lean property in Cuba, but it IS
known that there are over 100 dead.
that more than 100 houses have been
destroyed and considerable damage
done to the American warships.
How serious the damage to the
Brooklyn will prove is not yet
known, but it will be a curious fa-
tally if, after bearing the brunt of
the seafight off Santiago, she lays
her iron bones under the Moro as the
result of an ordinary hurricane.
Arrangements have been made for
the Presidents trip to Panama and it
is announced that he will start on
November 8th. Secretary Roots
report of favorable conditions there
makes the President more than ever
anxious to take a look at the
Isthmus. He will be accompanied
by the new cruisers the Washington
and the Tennessee. while the Presi
dent himself will journey on the
great battleship Louisiana. Secre-
tary Taft will not accompany him on
this trip, but he will stay in WASH
ington ready to deal with the Cuban
situation, as the Presidents deputy,
should occasion arise.
-
The reports that have been given
out of Secretary Taft's refusal to go
on the Supreme bench may be taken
about as seriously as other newspa-
per predictions two years in advance
of an event. The event Of course is
the Presidential election, and the in
ference is that if the Secretary re-
fuses the Supreme Court it will be
because he considers himself in line
for the next Presidential nomina-
ton. 1t is entirely too far ahead to
Judge as to this combination of cir
cumstances. There are a great
many things to be taken into con-
sideration. There are other Presi-
Dental possibilities, including even
President Roosevelt himself. 1t is
known quite well that President
Roosevelt has the highest regard for
Mr.. Taft's ability as a lawyer, and
it is quite possible that he can have
the Supreme Court appointment any
time that he wants it in the next
two years, if his inclination should
point that way. =