Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-01
HALTING POLICY

nRITISH home, Atlantic and chan
X mel warships combined in one
~ powerful fleet which for numbers
and guns would dwarf our battleship
fleet coming to the Pacific coast, will
engage in naval maneuvers in the North
sea under Admiral Lord Charles Beres-
ford in October, and no word of COM
plant or remonstrance comes from the
German nation against the possibilities
Of whose future possible naval attack
these ships are to plan. In view Of the
Japanese scare evoked by our ships
coming to this coast the attitude Of
Germany is remarkable.
Admiral Beresford will take his ships
over the route he would follow if war
were declared with Germany and test
every possible resource of guns, speed
and coal capacity that could possibly
be affected irs war measures, and all
with the one intent of outmaneuvering
a possible German fleet on the same
ground, and no complaint is heard from
Germany. In like manner the German
fleet will go over the same ground with
the same intent against British fleet,
and no British official would think of
objecting.
Some two years ago the British gov
ernment, under move to reduce naval
expenses, abandoned the naval station
at Esquimault, near Victoria, Vancou-
yer island, and all stores and ships
were withdrawn, leaving the entrance
to Puget sound wholly to American
naval forces. Now, for reasons best
known to themselves. and which the
United States cannot call in question,
the admiralty will send fleet of five
warships to that point this fall to re-
main there for such duty as may come
to them. 1t may wear a suspicious
look to our naval authorities, but we
shall never let them know it. How
strange then that Japan, 1000 miles
away, should create such worldwide
comment over the coming to this coast
of our fleet, confesedly for tactical pur-
poses. "
The Bellingham incident and it's fell
low, the San Francisco incident, brought
truculent messages from japan, but
when the Vancouver incident, far worse
| in detail than the others combined,
occurred no complaint but rather con-
ciliatory measures were adopted by
Japan, and a speedy settlement of the
immigration trouble may be looked for
in consequence.
Admiral Dewey was right in senti-
ment, even if he erred in discretion,
when he said, touching the attitude of
the administration in the early days of
I the San Francisco incident: 1T looks
as If we were afraid of Japan!" To our
national shame it did look that way,
and the sting is all the harder to bear
now, in the light of the independent
acts of other great powers, who come
and go with their fleets and forces when
and where they will. and care nothing
for what any power may think or do.
so long as they do not contravene in
ternational laws.
The North sea uncovers the most inn
portant of German bases for naval
work, the Kiel canal. and Victoria
menaces the entrance to all Of Puget
sound, yet no person arises to question
the acts or motives Of British author
tiles in either case.
In the long list of strenuous acts
coruscant on the "big stick" in the
past four years the halting and quib-
bling on the movements of the fleet
form the one paste stone. and the
American people know and resentfully
regret it.