The Hawaiian gazette., 1907-08-23
(Mail Special to the Advertiser.)

WASHINGTON, D. c., August TO-
The interest in preparations for the
battleship fleet to sail to the Pacific
made as impressive as possible, as the
recent orders to the cruiser Tennessee,
now at the Charlestown navy yard,
and to. the cruiser Washington, now
at the New York yard, demonstrate.
They are to join Admiral Evans fleet
for the trip around the Horn and up
the California coast but will form part
OF cruiser squadron in that ocean, as
distinguished from the Sat.leship
squadron. There will be sixteen cru;s-
ers in all, most of them modern sea
fighters and in most particulars as
efficient as heavy battleships.
These cruisers are named for States
and have been built in recent years.
The crack cruiser squadron from Ma
Mia, including the Colorado, the West
Virginia, the Pennsylvania and the
Maryland, is coming across the Pa
cific to become a part of the warship
fleet off California. Those ships will
probably proceed by easy stages and
will stop at Honolulu on the way. The
California and the South Dakota will
be Joined with the Tennessee and the
Washington to make one squadron of
the cruiser fleet. The two last named
ships have recently returned from
France where they participated in the
International Marine exposition.
This increase of the naval strength
of the Pacific emphasizes the necessi-
ties for increased navy yard facilities
on the Pacific Coast and at Honolulu.
A commission of bureau admirals is
now on the Pacific Coast looking into
the requirements for the enlargement
of the yards at Bremerton and Mare
Island and for establishing a new yard
at San Diego. 1t is expected that the
question of better facilities at Homo
lulu will be taken up later. The ad-
ministration is careful not to make
public plans for Honolulu improve
ments, because it is nearer Japan,
whereas the Pacific Coast of the Uni
ted States is much farther away. But
there can be no doubt that Honolulu
will eventually be the base for a large
portion of the Pacific fleet and the
navy yard there will be improved by
the expenditure of several millions.
OYSTER BAY DEAD.
The rivalry between Oyster Bay and
Washington has now become very
keen. Washington is exultins because
Oyster Bay during July and August
has become a dead one," too. 1t is
no longer the busy, bustling town of
yore. The trains from New York city
no longer bring loads of distinguished
citizens from every walk of life. There
is no longer daily commotion on the
Sycamore Hill verandas. The few
telegraph wires out of the village no
longer throb and thrill in bearing
momentous messages to the outside
world.
In fact the only intelligence from
Oyster Bay and Sycamore Hill this
summer that could greatly interest the
world has been the fake stories of
the strange and picturesque doings of
its quaint citizens.
All this pleases the residents of
Washington city, who have become q
little jealous of the summer promi-
hence of Oyster Bay. 1t seemed that
President Roosevelt preferred to do
stunts of world interest from his sum-
mer home and thus add historical as
sociations to Oyster Bay that properly
belongs to Washington, the federal
city He has done more than any other
President to make Washington a live
town in winter and also more than
any other President to make it a dead
town in summer.
Now Oyster Bay seems to have laps
ed into its. all-the-year-round dullness.
The President has no opportunity for
declaring a peace between warning
powers this summer, as he did from
Oyster Bay two years ago. There is
no opportunity for a great review of
the battle fleets in Long Island, adj
jacent to his summer home, where the
New York populace could look on in
open eyed wonderment at the specta
Gle. The battleship fleets have been
ordered to the Pacific ocean and that
order which stirred both hemispheres
profoundly, is all the President has
done, or promises to do to compel the
attention of the grandstand.
Therefore Washington is accepting
the midsummer dullness with more
than usual philosophy. There is no
cabinet officer in town and the depart
ments are in charge of dead ones"
who are sweltering in the terrific heat.
About as many people are registering
at the hotels as might crowd into Oys-
ter Bay on rush day, only Washing
ton has accommodations for keeping
them over night and Oyster Bay
hasn't The officials and clerks in
town care about as much what be-
comes of the government business as
do the bar room loafers at the village
of Oyster Bay.
HARD TIMES THREATENED.
AS the President is keeping so quiet,
the public spirited citizens of Wash
ington care little because he is outside
the District of Columbia. This quie-
tude on the Presidents part causes
many to marvel, although he had
shown some symptoms of it before he
departed this city In June. AT the
bottom of it all is believed to be the
Presidents fear that the country is
lowering on the brink of serious COM
mercial and business depression, which
may mar the last twelve or fifteen
months of his administration. He is
in as good physical and mental condi-
ton as ever and it can hardly be for