The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1907-05-02

ers, and still, further along were the
brooklyn andlthg Texas, the Miantono-
nah and the Canonicus, all Of which
will serve as, station ships during the
Exposition. Turning down the long line
of heavy American battleships, Presi-
dent Roosevelt was again greeted with
a deafening roar Of cannon fire, the
volume of smoke being so dense al
times as to almost obscure the May.
| flower. The. Indiana was the first OF
the battleships to salute, and far away
down the line the last of the cannonad-
ing came from the battleship Georgia
Completing the circuit Of the ships the
| Mayfiower turned again toward Nor
folk, and steaming this time between
the battleships and the foreign vessels
came to her anchorage within the group
of f1agships. 5snrRediately upon anchor
ing the President received On board his
yacht the flag officers Of the Atlantic
| fleet.
The foreign flag and commanding Of
ficers were received on board from $3.50
to 10 o'clock, and they and the flag
officers Of the Atlantic fleet then pro-
ceeded to the landing at the Exposition
| Grounds. The President, in a small
launch which danced and bobbed over
the waves followed them in few min
utes, his boat being guarded off either
bow by two launches especially assign
ed for this honor and service by Ad-
miral Evans.
! All of the vessels of the combined
| fleets were dressed in the isuttering
| flags of the Nations, and the brilliant
hued pennants and bits of bunting
which form the international signal
code. During the salutes to the Presi-
! dent the white puffs of powder smoke
| fioated away like tiny fiecks Of Summer
| clouds amid the fluttering flags Of the
decorated ships, the effect being one Of
unexpected beauty.
From the peak of the Mayfower float
ed the blue Flag with the great seal of
the United States. which denotes the
presence Of the President wherever it
flies. On the Dolphin fioated the blue
| Flag with four stars and an anchor of
| the Secretary Of the Navy, and above
the flagship fioated the flags of the Ad-
miral Of the fleet. Then from mast to
mast down to stern and bow ran the
line of futtering flags of the Nations
of the world. It was glorious!
| A big junk boat loaded to the gun
wales before it took the press members
aboard followed along in the wake of
a thousand other craft, and saw and
| heard, but that was all they got that
day. The great piers advertised for the
Exposition are probably still in the pine
trees uOWH III jaw JAN, uOH I you KNOW,
| for the pier has not yet materialfzed, so
the landing facilities. Of the poorest at
best, were entirely inadequate for the
purposes of the Exposition guests, be-
| ing the Congress of the United States,
| which had given the management the
money, the foreign diplomats, to say
nothing Of the President and his party,
and the correspondents. The Presidents
little launch, the Sylph, had a mischief
of a fip1a 1anlinO huf aftar
half an hour of manuvering the Presi-
dent and Mrs. Roosevelt and children
got off, and were met by President
Tucker with a carriage and taken over
to the grand stand.
The Climax OF Wretehed Management.
The Worst FlascO Of All.
The tragedy came when the Diplo-
matte Corps was dumped on the pier.
There wasn't even: a citizen to meet
them. Gen. Fred Grant, from the end
of the pier, which is nearly half a mile
in length. saw how things were, and
ran down and greeted the British EN-
bassador, Mr.. Bryce; the Russian EN-
bassador, Baron .Rosen; the French
ambassador, N. Jusserand, and all the
other Embassadorsr and Ministers PIE
nipotentiary and " Extraordinary. and
talked like, house ,afire, while wonder
ing what under the, sun was the matter,
what in the dickens he was to do with
the distinguished party, many of whom
could not speak English, and who We're
stricken with ;amaZement at the situa-
ton. Presently President Harry st.
George Tucker, of the Exposition man
agement. came. tearing down the board
pier at a dog-trot.s You can just wager
your best cigar that IL Gen. Fitz Hugh
Lee had lived there would not have
been such a mess made Of things, for
he had eminent executive ability. Mr..
Harry st. George Tucker, who is a lineal
descendant of Pocahontas apologized,
and bowed, talking blue streak in true
Virginia dialect, which nearly finished
up the members of the Diplomatic Corps
who could understand only little Eng-l
fish, but they managed to learn that
the carriages ordered for the Diplo-
matte Corps had been sent to another
pier, and he was very sorry, but the
distance was not far, and If the distin-
guished guests would honor him by
strolling along with him they would in
the course of time arrive at the grand
stand. So they strolled in the broiling
sun, thru the sand. over unfinished rail-
road tracks, past wilderness of I'M
loaded freight cars, were past inside the
grounds and strolled some more over a !
mile of dirt to the stand where the
President was to speak. Half the seats
for the foreigners had been taken, and
there was trouble and turmoil before
they were finally seated. The ladies of
the party were wrecks. They wore the |
usual visiting and carriage gowns, with
filmy laces. rich jewels, high-heeled |
shoes, and all that, and were reduced |
almost to Mysteries by the long walk. !
But they braved 1t out and smiled.
Then the Congressional party at
tempted to land. About half an hour
was consumed in bringing the Iris up
to that awful pier. They. too. met with
a frost. Not a soul to meet them, not a |
carriage in sight, and half mile OF red
hot hard pine boards between them and
the shore, to say nothing Of the tramp
to the grand stand. In this party was
Senator Daniel, manned from wounds
received during the war in the service
for Virginia; yet On crutches he had to
rrudge his weary way along with the
Speaker of the House Of Representa-
tives, the Hon. Joseph G. Cannon, thru
the heat, and the dust, and the debris,
every inch of the way on foot, followed
by other distinguished members Of theI
House and Senate.
They, too, met with apologies, and
then some. But they didn't 60 down.