The Montana plaindealer. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1906-1911, 1907-07-12
DEFEND The PACIFIC
ATLANTIC FLEET COMES WEST
TO SHOWEM.
Nineteen Battleships, Besides a Num-
Der of Armored Cruisers Are to Go
70 Pacific Waters From the Allan
tic-WiI Help Quiet This Jap War
TaIk-President to Have Peace.

Details Of the vasI movement of the
Atlantic fleet to Pacific waters have
been theoretically worked out by the
naval general board. But these de-
tails are necessarily subject to con-
slant change resulting from the with
drawal of battleships from active com
mission on account of having been
declared %antiQuated or in need of re
pairs and the substitution of other
ships just going into commission n
fresh from the builders hands.
The opinion of the officers on duty
today is hat the route most feasible
for the big ships is by way of the
Straits of Magellan.
It is belived now that the route will
be about as follows:
Leaving New York or Hampton
Roads in the early fall, the fleet would
probably steam straight to Culebra,
where coal would be taken on. The
next stop will be Rio de Janeiro, and
from that point the vessels would not
halt until they reached Sand Point
in the Straits of Magellan. Here
again the coal supply would be re-
newed for the run to Callao, Peru. The
next stage would be from Callao to
Panama and from that point the ships
would proceed without a stop to San
Francisco. 1t is belived hat after
reaching Peruvian waters the move
ments of the vessels would be much
more deliberate than up to that point.
Although the reason for this state
ment is o officially o~btainable, it is
apparent that the explanation is to
be found in the fact that the battle
ships will be within easy reach Of
San Francisco; in other words, they
could, in an emergency, arrive at that
port before any other fleet could.
Admiral Evans, it is expected, will
start with 16 battleships, besides as
many Golfers. The armored cruisers
Washington and Tennessee, which are
now in French waters, are under or
ders to Immediately reit and proceed
to the Pacific coast to form part of
the armored cruiser squadron to be
assembled there. 1t is possible that
they will be detained and accompany
the battleships on the cruise.
When Admiral Evans arrives off
the coast his fleet will be increased by
the addition of the battleship Ne
braska, newly completed and simply
waiting the rounding out of her skele-
ton crew. The battleships Wisconsin
and Oregon, now at Bremerton navy
yard, Seattle, will probably have com
pleted their extensive repairs by next
March, so that they too may be added
to the fleet, which will comprise 10
battleships, besides the armored and
protected cruisers of the Pacific fleet.
The Pacific Fleet.
The armored cruiser squadron of
the Pacific fleet. which will have
head quarters in California waters.
will be composed of the Washington
and the Tennessee, sister ships, ID. 500
tons, "a guns, speed % knots, and
the California and South Dakota,
1850 tons each, 22.5 knots, Is guns,
almost complete, with officers yet to
be assigned.
Rear Admiral Charles H. Stockton
will command the armored cruiser
squadron, the Tennessee being his
flagship.
1t is expected within a few days
President Roosevelt will announce
just what his preferences are in the
carrying out of the plan Of the navy
department for sending a monster bat
tleship fleet to the Pacific.
1t is said that the president told
Root and his other cabinet advisers
that he would not permit a Japanese
to force this government to a position
irritable to them both.
Professor Grosvenor Talks.
Professor Edwin A. Grosvenor of
Amherst college, an authority on in
ternational law. gave out a statement
in reference to the sending of the
United States battleships to the Pa
cific.
THE United States desires peace
with all the nations of the world. vet
nothing so endangers peace as unpre-
.paredness fer war. Our whole Pacific
coast and our Pacific possessions are
today practically ~defenseless. The
dispatch of battleships to the Pacific
threatens none. There is in it no mem
ace or p~rovocation to Japan or any
other power. 1t is merely a prudent
putting of a lock on our front
door.
I'VE have no preference or desire
to attack Japan. If war ever
comes between us the affront will
from her, not from ourselves.
Up to the present an unfortunate ira
ditional hobby has conferred our navy
in time of peace in the Atlantic or its
tributary waters.
Facing as we do upon two oceans.
the navy, the right arm of national
defense, should be equally at home on
10Th. The StrODp man or-z - Il