The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-07-23
METCALF AND
TIE BIC FLEET
SECRETARY OF THE NAvY's PROB
ABLE REASONS FOR SENDING
wARsHIPs THIS WAY.


may be going too far to say that Sec
rotary Metcalf was iudiscreet in his
announcement that the Atlantic ocean
was to be stripped of all its important
ships for the Pacific, it is quite certain
that such an utterance from him was
not expected by the President. ana
that the Administration is disconnected
Apparently it was intended to keep
the facts quiet for a while longer and
to let them leak out by degrees.
The original intention, it seems. was
to have the facts come out next fall, in
a form which would not have given
any offense to any Japanese except the
mildest lingo. 1t was to be explained
that Secretary Roots South American
trip had done a great deal in the way
of producing better understanding be-
tween the United States and her South
ern neighbors. To further this good
feeling and to tighten the bonds al
ready pulled fairly taut by Mr.. Root,
it was advisable ESQ the official eXpla-
nation was to read) to have the Ameri-
can navy visit the South Atlantic coast
on friendly handshaking mission. No
such compliment has ever been paid
to our neighbors as a visit by the en-
tire navy, and it was designed to snow
how much we esteemed them. The Ha-
que conference, the Drago doctrine, the
proof of friendship given by the Unit
ed States in standing sponsor for the
South American creed of international
debt collection, all this was to be cap
ped by this final climax of compliment.
That was the explanation. South Am
erica was to be the center of it, and
nothing was to be said about the Pa
cific Ocean; it was merely to be an
nounced that the fleet would follow
Mr.. Roots line of march. Now, Mr..
Roots line of march was down the AT
lantic coast and up the Pacific. When
the ships got as far North as California
plenty of good reasons could have been
devised for letting TIME stay there.
This explanation has been hit in the
head by Mr.. Metcalf's premature an
nouncement. He has focused the ex-
PLANTATION on San Francisco not on
South America.
1t is quite probable that Mr.. Metcalf
did not blunder but spoke in full know
ldege of the effect of what he said. 1t is
quite possible that he knew Oyster Bay
would be astonished and did not care,
A So Of n
istration, but he is also a Californian,
The Pacific coast long has felt that it
was out of it, that it's claims were
pushed on one side and disregarded or
forgotten; that it was so far away the
government sometimes forgot that it
was a port of the Union.
1t seldom gets recognition in high
office, and when it got Metcalf in the
Cabinet it was elated; now it was going
to have it's peculiar views reflected In
the Administration. Secretary Bona
took away from the coast even the
few battleships they had. Secretary
Metcalf returns to the coast the whole
navy.
Mr.. Metcalf is a politician, an ex-
Congressman and ambitious. 1t is
considered highly probable here that ne
saw the chance of a lifetime to solidity
himself in his own state, and did 1t
This theory is rather supported by the
fact that he had his statement ready
when he was in Washington, but was
determined not to issue it till he could
do it in his own state.
Admiral Converse, who until recently
was chief of the Bureau Of Navigation
is the officer responsible for leaving
the Pacific stripped df battleshipsi
There were few out there, but he
took them away and sent them to the
Atlantic. His course was sharply crl-
ticised at the time by some naval OH
GERS and by about everybody on the
Pacific Coast. At that time there was
no indication Of serious trouble with
Japan, but the navy has always prided
itself on being able to look six or seven
years ahead in the matter OF war
clouds.
II is a rather startling thing to lis
ten to the more conservative and eau
tious Californians in town. They all
say that there is no imminent danger
of war with Japan, but this is the way
they say it:
mo. we are not going to have any
war. not now. 1t will be at least
two years before the war begins; may
be to be on the safe side you had bet
ter say a year and half. Oh, yes OF
course, we are bound to have war
then but Japan is not ready; won't be
ready before then"
A cultivated California woman re-
Gently from the coast, said today
"Ten years before the Russian war
when we would ask our Japanese ser
wants in San Francisco it they intend
ed to stay in the United States, they
would invariably reply:
"'Oh, yes, we shall stay here for
eight or ten years. Then there will be
al