Evening star., 1907-07-08
DEWEY APPROVES
TRANSFER OF FLEET
Thinks Evans Voyage a Wise Pre-
caution

ferring my flag to one Of the other vessels
OF the fleet. When finally went away. I
was all unstrung. and 1t was weeks before
l got my men back.
Il suppose I should not say anything
against the Philippines. having been instru-
mental In securing them for the United
states. but there Is no galnsayfng the fact
that the climate Is hard on soldiers and
sailors.
Rule With Sea Force.
An enemy might take the Philippines
and Hawaii. but as soon as we met them
| on the sea they would have to give them
up. The very presence Of our sea force
In the Pacific will serve every purpose"
Won't Admiral Evans and the officers
Of the fleet encounter many difficulties
ana dangers on a cruise of such length?"
I asked.
They should have no trouble at all in
going around" said the admiral, with the
decision of one who had weighed all the
technical difficulties and brushed them
away. I'VE have carefully figured out
every detail of the trip.
In times OF peace our battleshipS
should have no more difficulty than a
ferry has in crossing to Hoboken. 1t Is
merely question of coal, a question of
dollars.
'It has been done before There is the
good old Oregon, which has made the
round trip. Rear Admiral A. s. Baker,
who Is spending the summer at the Ken
odAi w OOu, just uOWH ln0 street mere,
took the Oregon out to Manila without
the slightest difficulty. He had the Iowa
Lor company part of the way. Now the
oregon is back on the Pacific coast. In
time OF war the coaling difficulty would
be greater. as the ships would have to
coal at sea, as the Russians did But even
SO. 1T simply means a little more time and
patience"
Navy the Offensive Arm.
Then reminded him of the cry Of terror
that went from the Atlantic coast cities
from Boston to Charleston when scare
heads appeared announcing that the Span
fards were coming
Perhaps they did not reach you In the
far east" added. 'but they were loud
enough here"
Il heard them" he said smiling. land
hear similar murmurs now.
seriously. there Is nothing to fear from
this transfer. We have no enemies to
threaten s the Atlantic coast. and even If we
had the army could take care Of them. 1t
Is amply able to protect the coast with or
without the direct assistance Of the navy.
1T seems to me that the navy's prov
how long 1t took the Japanese to break
Into Port Arthur. and the Russian navy
contributed little to Its actual defense
Our coast defenses along the Atlantic
prised when I looked them over on a thor
ough trip of inspection few years ago.
The army has done wonders with the ap-
propriattons allowed them by Congress.
that the citizen in ordinary life does not
realize. When 1t came to me conidentialiy
l was astonshed.
Il am glad to say that the army and
fectively and harmoniously on coast de-
fense.
Coast Defense Safe.
This Is especially true in laying mine
fields, and every one Of our harbors can be
effectively mined at short notice. On July
10 my aid. Lieut.. Commander Spencer
Wood. leaves on a trip with Gen. Murray,
chief OF artillery. to fix places for mines.
Don't let the people worry about coast de-
"Will 1t mean the building of a new At
lantic fleet. this transfer Of the bat3leships?''
l asked. half expecting that the admiral
would turn diplomat and decline to speak
out on subject that many officers hold
too ticklish for discussion.
Advocates Big Navy.
Having big oceans on either side," re-
turned the admiral. "the United States is
peculiarly situated. We need two large
fleets. One we are sending to our other
coast. but the nucleus OF the other is now
building. Two big ships are approaching
completion. and the huge 26.000-ton battle
ships are under contract for completion in
thirty-four months.
''It will not take long to build up an At
lantic feet II we expand our building pro-
gram according to the needs Of the country
How 1t would simplify matters IL the
Panama canal was reality! AS every true
American should hope 1t will be rushed
to completion. The removal Of the battle
ship feet should stimulate the work on the
canal
II know nothing of the engineering diff
culties which confront the canal builders,
but do know that 1t Is hard to hurry In
that climate. Let US hope that there Is no
needless delay