The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-07
Naval Manuuvrcs with a vengeancei

Naval Manueuvrcs with a Vengeances
We hesitate to comment upon the pro-
fessional and technical designs Of the
Commander-in- Chief of the United States
Navy. but the occasion is imperative.
On Tuesday last the secretary OF the
President, emerging from Sycamore Hill,
was reported as saying with regard to
the sensational rumor that the nations
entire force of battleships was to be con-
centrated in the Pacific:
Il have no idea where or how the story origi-
mated. You may say that tho President has not even
considered the ndvisability Of sending any ships TO
the Pacino.-
Two days later, on the Fourth OF July,
the President's secretary and accustomed
vehicle for formal communications to the
press and public was reported as saying:
There 10 no intention OF sending tho nsot AZ
once 70 the Pacino. For tho last two yoArs the
administration has been perfecting its plans 70
arrange for . long ocean cruise OF the bettleship
neet when q suf1ciont number of wsrships IL gath
cred. This cruise may possibly DO 10 the Pacific.
but might possibly be only to the Mediterranean
or the South Atlantic"
On the same day, Thursday, the Fourth
Of July, President R~oosEvEIr's Secre-
tary of the Navy, Mr.. METcALF, was re-
ported as saying to an audience Of citi-
zens in Oakland, Cal:
Il have planned this cruise around Care Horn
for the practice OF the squadron. How long they
will spend In these waters ! cannot say at present.
] can promise tho people of Oakland and San Fran
cisco that they will see one OF the nnest naval spec
tacles ever witnessed in Pacino waters"
On the next day, Friday, Mr.. MErcALr
was reported as saying in corroboration
and explanation of the foregoing promise
to the Ca~lifornians:
might have stated before leaving Washington
exactly what I am saying now, but I thought, as
the news concerned the people OF tho Pacino Coast,
to dsyt the Fourth ofJulyl would be an appropriate
timo to announce the plans"
Mr.. LOEB, we all know, is scrupulously
faithful in communicating the messages
~intrusted to him by his illustrious chief.
Mr.. ROOSEVELT, we all know, Is the prin-
cipal authority on the ~veracities now
living on this continent. Mr.. METCALP
is described a. "a cautious man; that
is, n who would scarcely, except in
the inebriety of a hilarious occasion,
exceed the known truth and the ascer-
tanned intentions of the Administration
OF which he is so important a member.
And yet the conflict here is so direct, so
unmistakable, so serious, that it is i'm
possible for any candid person to study
the various statements and escape the
unpleasant conclusion hat on tho part
of one of the three gentlemen, Mr.. LOEB,
Mr.. ROOSEVELT and Mr.. METcALF, there
has been conscious, nay, deliberate, mis-
representation.
Thus, il full credit is to be given to Mr..
METCALF's statement, there has been a
premature disclosure of a plan which
should have been guarded strictly as a
department secret until the proper time
came for it's announcement. If either
the first or the second of the two Loeb
versions Of Mr.. RoosEvELr's statement.
is accurately reported, Mr.. METCALF has
been guilty of an indiscretion which
might well cost him his portfolio. II, on
the other hand, Mr.. METoALP, although
indiscreet, has been absolutely truthful,
what are we TO think and how are we
to speak of the amazing sequence of
utterances from Sycamore Hill?
Already the Pacific enterprise, what
ever it may really have been, is hope
lessly entangled in the ridiculous. 1t
q uar;oNcIvy roproaaptad nouv os nm -
significant voyage of practice, which
might equally be directed to the Medi-
t%erranean or the South Atlantic; as an
object lesson Of the future value Of the
Panama Canal; as an incentive { o liberal
appropriations for battleship construc-
ton; az a display for the benefit of those
inhabitants of the Slope who don't get
a chance to see many Of fine war
vessels; as a spectacular sequel to Secre-
tary RooT's beneficent voyage around
South America, and as a far sighted
attempt TO impress a friendly Oriental
neighbor with the extent and prepared
moss Of our naval esources.
In the last mentioned aspect it would
have been entirely legitimate il pursued
in silence or with n frank avowal of the
purpose, and in either case it would
perhaps have been welcomed by the
not unintelligent nation for whose in
struction it was designed; but, pro-
noted under a false explanation, or
under ir~reconcilable explanations from
official sources, il becomes at the same
time preposterous and exceedingly mis-
chiovous in its possibilities mis-
chievous, perhaps, as anything in a long
succession of hair trigger policies.
Two Expeditions.