The Washington herald., 1907-08-17
AT THE HOTELS.


shores. said Arnold Proctor Of Manches-
ter, England, at the Raleigh last night.
Mr.. Proctor is a civil engineer by profess
sion and is spending his vacation in the
United States.
Under the old system, Great Britain
had naval squadrons In the North At
lantic. the South Atlantic. a squadron on
the Pacific coast. and many vessels IN
.wos and threes cruising in other parts.
Squadrons were on the West coast Of
Africa another was at Capt Colony, and
a strong feet patrolled Australian waters
Most OF our best officers were away
on these ships exchanging courtesies with
powers friendly TO us and leaving great
dearth Of sailors at home Many ships
were In dry-dock because they could not
be manned. Il has been the custom TO
estimate our feet by the number Of ships
which we have. rather than by the num-
Der which We can put to sea with crews
adequately trained but all this has been
changed with the revision Of our naval
policy.
Under the new system the old ships
viii be used as transports. scouts. &c.
while the more modern ones which have
been lying in dry-docks viii be fully equip
ped. II Is now discovered that the plans
for additional dTy-dOcks can be thrown
away because we will keep a smaller
number OF ships Idle. II has been found
much more economical 10 keep cur ships
near home. and it gives us more ample
protection In our own waters, for We
have given up the thought OF war with
the United States or Japan.
On the contrary. we viewed with con-
Germ the strengthening Of the German
feet and realized that concentrated as Il
was it would make a dangerous opponent
near home. But all this was dissipated
when our navy was recognized, or rather
redistTibutad
This change Of policy has been a
source Of great economy TO our naval
bureau and has strengthened our home
fleet while assuring us Of well-manned,
easily dispatched feet if We are forced TO
foreign waters.
4 believe that Indiana VIII be solid for
Fairbanks for the Presidency when the
time comes" said J. T. Hayes. Of Sui
Ivan. Ind. Mr Hayes has been in close
touch with the political situation in his
State for many years, and his extensive
legal practice greatly aids him In form
Ing opinions as to the political feeling OF
the people. He was a former law part
ner Of the late President Harrison, and
mas great admiration for him
In some ways I see a resemblance be-
tween Harrison and Fairbanks, as both
were exceedingly conservative men, and
unlikely 10 einbroil themselves IN any
difficult entanglements without strong
reason. Harrison was, in my opinion, the
greatest lawyer the State ever produced.
and his arguments before the bar have
long been my guides for logical reasoning
and clear definition.
Fairbanks is also a shrewd lawyer
and has demonstrated bis ability in many
cases. He is not what you would call an
intensely popular man. but he has a host
Of friends, and when he makes one he
never loses him. He has few enemies
in any part Of the State. and believe all
will join IN indorsing him for the Presi-
dency. The people do not believe all that
has been recently printed about the Vice
President. as they have been on the spot
at all times. and realize that the things
he is accused Of could not have been done
under their eyes. The much-tslked-of
cocktail incident was merely joke and
is considered such by the people in my
State"
Tn specializing on the probable conse-
quences OF a war between the United
States and Japan. this must be consid-
cred. that as we have our Philippines.
Japan has her Korea. and she would find
her possession much more troublesome
than ours.
Thomas B. Fowler. of San Francisco.
discussed the japanese question along this
line last night. and was confident that in
the event OF war with Japan the United
States would easily be victorious.
do not misunderstood me when I
speak Of this question. or get the impress
sion that l believe there is any danger OF
war There is none, and may never be
any, but there is no harm in speculation.
The school question did not develop any
hostility between the .wo nations; neither
did the announcement Of plans for the
transfer Of the Pacific feet, but am con
hdent that had The Hague conference
recognized the Korean delegation, Japan
would have gone to war.
As matters stand now. I believe the
Koreans are immensely wrought up over
their treatment by the japanese. and will
take the first opportunity of showing their
feelings. There are 25.0oJ.000 of them. and
il Japan were at war on the peninsula
DO not doubt but that the Koreans
would cut OF their communications and
harass them as much as possible The
of e. 3.
ell important TO Japan, and they will go
TO any extreme to retain that country.
For this reason do not believe that they
would risk a war with US. knowing as
they do that our national spirit is equal
to theirs, our navy larger. our army po-
tentially numberless. our credit limitless
and our resources the greatest in the
world"
Crops in North Carolina this year
are a failure" said George Dillon. a to-
bacco planter, at the Raleigh, last night.
The exceedingly wet season has greatly
hampered the tobacco, as it has taken all
the substance out of il. OF course. we can
not tell how much tobacco viii bring;
that depends entirely on the American
Tobacco Company. Cotton, too. has
failed. and I doubt if the soil where cot
ton is grown has one-half of its usual
sFOy-th This may not. Of course. injure
the prosperity which we have had for the
past few years. because understand that
the same conditions exist everywhere,
and We will obtain better prices for cot
ton, which is now at y cents. We are not
thinking much of politics just now. but
more of the crops. and when they are
harvested We will turn to a consideration
of other things
Increasing Postal Functions.
From the New York Globe.
We do not approach some European