The National tribune., 1907-10-24

Rear-Admiral Evans. commanding
the Atlantic fleet, is confident of the
men behind the guns on the stationary
batteries along the coast. In conversa-
ton on the subject he said:
Il desire to take no part in the con-
troverSy as to the accuracy of shooting
between the Army and Navy. The ques-
ton seems to me so simple a one to set
tie th't l am surprised that any one
should waste time in arguing. If it Is
desirable there should be a comparison
in the accuracy of fire of the two SER
vices. let the Army tow q target 80 by
so feet across the line of fire at a speed
of 10 knots and 5000 yards distance
and fire the same length of time that
the Navy does, and then count the holes
in the target screen. This would be an
exact reproduction of the Navy process.
and the number of holes in the target
screen would determine which service
was doing the better firing. When a
question can be so easily settled as this
see no reason why any one should
discuss it.
IF the reports 1 have seen of Army
batteries making 100 per cent of hits
be true, then 1 fear the Navy would
come out of such contest in worse
shape than Annapolis when West Point
beat it 40 to 0 at football"
Now. what do you think of that? 2"
Ito speak in the vernacular. The Post
Office employees, for the most part men
who might be grandfathers, have taken
to coming to office on roller skates! Not
only that they recommend that every
body who can go on roller skates, as Il
is healthy exerciSe-after you get over
the bruises, the busted bones and the
cracked skulls from learning that sort
of locomotion. Roller skating, like all
other fads, has taken Washington by
storm. ones life is never safe now,
what with the motor cycles, the buzz
wagons, benzine carts and the roller
skate fiendS.
The Treasury Department last week
bought 100000 ounces of silver. 100, 600
ounces to be delivered in San Francisco
and the other 100000 in Philadelphia.
The price paid was 61.626 an ounce, q
falling off of nearly 10 cents an ounce
from a year and half ago, when Sec
rotary Shaw thought there was a silver
trust, and that it was trying to choke
Uncle Sam. Mr.. Shaw said many ugly
things about the trust, none of which
reduced the price of silver, but in the
last year there has been a slow but
steady decline.
IHe Treasury iHteluS 10 resume silver
purchases for the purpose of coming
subsidiary silver, which is much needed
in business circles at this time.
The State Department has appointed
Algernon Sartoris to be Secretary of the
Legation at Montevideo. He is the
grandson of Gen. Grant, and has been
a resident of the District for the greater
part of his life. 1t is not known just
l.
but it is thought his orders to report at
Montevideo will be received within a
very short time.
This is one way to learn things. 1t
is stated that the Japanese Government
now has Commissioners in the United
States and European countries for the
purpose of becoming acquainted with
Western methods of operating hotels.
The Japanese Commissioners, it is said.
take service in establishments famed
for their cuisine, and remain a few
weeks or a few months making observa-
tiOns. In a number of instances they
have explained their mission to the
landlords. and in that way their mission
has been made easy. After their return
to Japan the Commissioners will con-
duct symposium. and from the best
ideas of each will devise a course of
instruction for hoteI servants. The Jap
anese, it is learned here, expect the
best results from their study of hotel
management in Switzerland, where the
landlords have attained high standard
both in excellence and economical man
agement.
Experiments have been conducted on
the Isthmus of Panama which promise
to reduce by one-thfrd the estimated
cost of cement needed to construct the
locks and dams for the Isthmian Canal.
The announcement is made that the
Department of Locks and Dams has
found that it will be entirely practicable
to procure cement in clinker form,
transport it to the Isthmus and crush
it and grind it there. The cooperage
cost would thus be avoided This cost
is about one-third that of the cement
proper.
Cement is one of the biggest items in
the cost of the canal. No estimate
claimed to be accurate has been made
of the quantity of cement that will be
needed, but the amount is so great that
several concerns have figured on erect
ing plants in Alabama and other States
having limestone deposits and making
the cement as near as possible TO the
Isthmus in order to save freight
charges.
Rear-Admiral Robley D. Evans, Com
mander-in-Chie of the Atlantic fleet,
arrived in Washington last week, and
went directly to the Navy Department.
Admiral Evans is very popular among
his brother naval officers, and as soon
as the word passed around that ne had
come to Washington many of them
dropped into the Navigation Bureau to
greet him.
The Admiral was looking in excellent
physical condition.; in fact, a single
glance at his weather-tanned face and
his keen eye was sufficient to dismiss
at once any idea that he might be OBJ
liged to apply for retirement on ac-
count of failing health, before the be-
ginning of the Pacific cruise. The Ad-
miral himself was disposed to look upon
the retirement rumor as joke.
''Pii command the fleet on it's trip to
the Pacific if 1 am on my pins" he said.
You see / am on them now, and very
steady, i can assure you, and really
never felt better in my life. / retire
next August, of course, but the fleet
may be back by that tim If not,
will, of course, be subject to the wishes
of the Department and the rules of the
service
1t has come at last. The Navy De-
partmeht has received information that
the National organization of Naval
Sponsors" has been formed There are