The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-11-03
FIGHTING BOB"
GUEST OE HONOR
Dinner Given at the Lotus Club,
New York-Many Distin-
guiShed Men Present.
EVANS RESPONDS. TO TOAST
FLEET READY FOR "FEAsT,
FRoLIc OR FIGHT"

New York. Nov. 2.-Adniiral Robley D.
Evans, who is soon to depart in Command
of the battleship squadron for the Pa
cific, was the guest of honor at a notable
dinner given tonight at the Lotus club.
A large number of distinguished guests
participated in the greeting to the admiral
and the speakers included, besides the
Chauncey Depew, ex-Secretary of the
Treasury Shaw, Seth Low. Admiral
Coughlin and Nicholas Murray Butler,
president of Columbia university.
In responding to a toast in his health,
Admiral Evans said:
"Feast, FroIic or Fight"
This fleet of sixteen battleships and
other vessels will sail from Hampton
Roads on December L. l do not think
anybody wants to stop. do not think
anybody will stop IL for / know the men
and / know the ships You won't be dis
appointed in the fleet whether it proves
to be feast, frolic or fight,
1T would please me very much to take
the fleet to Yokohama. 1 know the Jap
anese and I. know that we would
get a welcome there. I know 1t would
not be the welcome we would get from a
certain gang in San Francisco. / do not
fear the flower shows and the dog shows.
but ! do fear the hospitality of those
western people. When I took charge of
the fleet two and n half years ago We
had some target practice out there which
] thought was good. ana it was good. but
curing our last target practice in Massa-
ehusetts bay we do better than was ever
done in the world before"
Some Fancy Shooting.
The admiral then described the target
shot at, at a range of five and a half
miles Just would be done in battle.
He said proudly that the target was prac-
tically destroyed in two minutes and fiji
there were four twelve-inch shells, nine
eisht-inch shells and seventeen seven
inch shells in the target In the practice
to repel a night attack by three torpedo
boats, each ship firing at all three at
once approaching from different direc-
tions. in the first minute all three
torpedo boats were destroyed. The ad-
miral in concluding spoke good wishes for
the men of his fleet.
Former Secretary Shaw said that il was
a good thing to have a navy. especially
one that hits" which was, after all, the
only real navy.
I'VE have the navy but we may never
have any need for 1t. unless the world
learns that we have no Golfers or trans
ports. regret that we have TO nave
foreign ships accompanying our fleet and
II is humiliating that we should have to
paw half million dollars to foreign
ships to carry our coal. If this were a
would haul our coal? Don't deceive your
selves into believing that we are pre-
pared for war We need colliers as much
as we need guns. A man may not say
before the press what we think in our
ut costs us sl.42 per capita to keep up
TT is worth s1.42 TO hear the admiral
ir advance tell about target practice"
Mr.. Shaw in concluding. referred briefly
to finances. expressing the hope that
there would be currency legislation soon.
Resurrection of DepeW
Senator Chauncey NJ Depew spoke in
''The commotion which this expedition
has created and. the discussion 1t has
aroused all over the world is one of the
eccentricities of the times, We have
1000 niles of coast on the Atlantic and its
-harbors- are familiar to our fleet. We
have an equivalent number OF miles on
the Pacific and most of its harbors have
seen an American battleship.
The Orient. which believes only what
- sees, must be reminded Of the fact
that the United States is second among
the naval powers of the world. Why,
why can our fleet sail only on the Atlantic
and must not.sail on the Pacific ocean
The answer is because II would offend
the suseeptibilities of the new. power in
the east-Japan In the first place I be-
lieve that the Japanese statesmen are toe
sensible Snd too we'll Informed to have
any such feeling. or to desire trouble with
the United States. In the next place,
where any fleet of any friendly nation
goes. ours can go if it likes and It is no
ones business but our own Et5 .'
Settled by Former Heroes.
Senator Depew said the right of the
American navy to sail over the Mediter-
ranean on the Atlantic and on the great
lakes was settled forever 100 years ago by
Rainbridge, Decatur. Hull. Rogers and
Perry He continued:
And now. after a century of prepare
ton of production, of progress and OF
power, it is proposed to close the Pacific
in which we have as great interests as
any other nation. Gentlemen, there Will
be no war"
Referring to the men who do things
Senator Depew alluded to the financia
crisis as follows:
THE day was saved by the pluck. cour-
age and genius for affairs OF the men who
do things"