Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1907-10-31
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular Correspondent.

FROM Uur regular Correspondent.
There has been renewed effort
in the last few days to dig up a
Japanese war scare. This is bas-
ed on nothing more specific than
the temper of the people on the
Pacific coast where it is said that
there is an increasingly irrecon-
cilable anti-Japanese race feeling
that is bound to break out afresh
as soon as the battleship squad
ron arrives in the Pacific. In con
junction with this, it is said that
there is being a night shift work
ed in most of the navy yards and
that war material is being accu-
mulated as rapidly as possible.
There is just enough truth in
these statements to warrant a
denial. The most of the navy
yards are working a night shift
to try to get up work that has
long been in arrears. War mate
rial is being rushed to the battle
ships preparatory to their cruise
for it is not likely to start on
such a cruise empty handed and
there is not much time to get
them ready. Also there is a deep
[anti-Japanese feeling on the Pa
cific coast that is liable to show
Itself in another outbreak in the
course of the next ten years.
But in the Navy Department
there is about as little sign OF
activity as could be displayed.
The President, at this writing,
has not returned from his hunt
ling trip, the Secretary OF the Ma
Wv is out of the city on contract
business, the AssistantSecretarI
of the Navy is away on an unu
sually late vacation and t h I
chiefs OF the Bureau OF Naviga
' ton and the Bureau of Equip
ment are both away. 1t woult
take quite a gathering OF t h
clans to put the Department IL
position to do business on a YER,
active scale.
Just supposing there should b.
/, anything in the way OF a W a
/, however to call forth the ablllt!
of the navy, it is a satisfaction
ton to know that we have jus
made a record for straight shoe
ing that considerably surpasse
anything done by any OF N
other navies OF the world. In tai
get practice off Cape Cod, tn
q battleships have just made a
average OF 30.7 per cent hits un
: der battle conditions. The tai
i get was the regulation navy tai
get, a floating canvass frame 3
}, by 80 by 60 feet. The range wer
unknown to the gunners and VI
rietl from 5000 to 5000 yards
the latter a little over four mile
All the shooting was done viii
steaming at ten knots an houl
These we're as near service cond
= tions as could be arranged
time OF peace and lacked only tt
!, single disconcerting element
= having some other gun ere
+ shooting back. Thegreatest nu
her of hits with the 10 inch al
12.inch rifles was made by II
Maine which ran up the surpl
sing string OF 67 per cent. Thel
D we're sos and Ats made by son
of the other. ships. 1t was estlm
ted that had the target been q
', size of an opposing war SHIP q
~ Maine would have registered
~ YER 100 hits in the space OF eigI
% minutes. Comparing this vii
the performances of foreign n
- yies, it is wonderful shootln
r The average Of foreign sqadro
in similar practice has never n
over 25 per cent. and all I'll
D damage done by Toga's fleet
the battle OF the Sea OF Jap
was with a per centage OF or
cb c The average with the second