Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-09-27
SAYS FLEET WILL GO.
President Determined to Send Warships to Pacific Coast.
DUE TO JAPAN's FACTORING.
Resources of Friendly Diplomacy Were Practically Exhausted by Uncle Sam In Trying to Paeify the Japs Before Cruise Was Planned.

In Trying to Paeify the Japs Before
 Cruise Was Planned.
 Washington, Sept. 27.- President Roosevelt declared very emphatically
 to some of his callers that the battle ship fleet would certainly make the cruise to the Pacific coast next winter. All the obstacles that have been cited
 and all the opposition that has been
 aroused by the announcement seem
 only to have increased the presidents
 determination to send the ships on the
 long voyage.
 The question of obtaining coal for
 been made by those opposed to the cruise, does not give the president any special concern. He let it be known that if American coal cannot be pro- cured he will get foreign coal, and if American ships cannot be chartered to transport what the navy colliers can not carry he will charter foreign col Hers. Any reasonable bonus over the cost of foreign colliers will be paid in order to send the coal in American yes sels. Even if the difference should amount to something more than $2O0,- GOO it will be paid. The figure at which the administration would refuse to charter American ships was put at something near $1,000,000 in excess of the cost of foreign bottoms, but as there is only about 40,000 tons to be transported under conditions affected by the cOastwise shipping law the higher price demanded for American ships could not possibly reach any thing like this sum.
 Due to Japan's Attitude.
 The president expects to have the matter settled before he leaves Wash ington on Sunday for his western and southern trip. The opponents of the cruise do not seem to take into consid- eration the reasons which actuated the the battleships to the Pacific. It was the attitude of Japan which first sug- gested the cruise. The ships are going to the Pacific in direct answer to that attitude, and an eminent naval officer here clearly expressed the administra- tion's feeling about it when he said:
 There has not been cross word from Tokyo since the announcement was made that our fleet was to go to the Pacific"
 Having established line to the Philippines, Japan would either have to abandon it on the approach of our fleet or meet that fleet at point of our choosing. away from the support of her own home stations. In other words, as long as the United States maintains a greatly preponderating fleet in the Pacific ocean the Japanese navy has got to stay at home, and there will be no expedition against the Philippines or any other Ameri can territory.
 Resources of Diplomacy Exhausted.
 The constant diplomatic hectoring of this country by Japan before it was announced that the battleships were going to the Pacific was more than enough, despite all the friendly pro- testations so effusively made, to jus tify the conclusion that there might be an ulterior motive behind 1t not so en- tirely friendly.
 The resources of friendly diplomacy were practically exhausted by this gov ernment in trying to meet the captious Japanese even more than halfway.
 But the more complaisant we seem- ed to be the more pressing the Japa- nese became. It is believed here that Tokyo failed to comprehend fully the of what the president said in his last message to congress regarding the anti-Japanese situation in San Francisco. It seems to have been in terpreted as carrying significance not intended by it's author. Neither the president nor Secretary Root has been at any time overzealous in de- | lending an untenable American posi- | ton. but at the same time neither of | them has been especially pleased with l the pin pricking tactics of Japanese di- | plOmacy. The time came for some ac- ton which would take the nature of a | definite answer, and. as the naval of- | ficer before quoted says, "The battle ship cruise is it."