The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1907-02-07
DEWEY SAYS We
CAN Whip Them
United States Need Have No Fear
of the Japanese.
ADMIRAL USES VIGOROUS LANGUAGE.
Bitterly Denounces the Timidity of Ger.
tain Persons in High Places, and De.
clares That, If a Conflict Is to Come,
Now Is the Time. Before Japan Has
Recuperated from the Russian War.

Washington. ID. c. Especially -
PENDING the arrival of Mayor
Schmitz, of San Francisco. and the
members of the local school board,
Eli of whom started for Washington
Sunday night, the Japanese situation
will rest unchanged.
Were It to come to war with
Japan, of which 1 see not the least
danger" said Admiral George Dewey
1 short time ago, there would be
no cause for alarm. We could get
our navy into Eastern waters in six
weeks, and within two weeks after
its arrival there the Japanese navy
could be swept from the face OF tho
earth.
IF war should be declared" he
said, "the Philippines would doubt
less be seized by the Japanese. and
possibly Hawaii. This could be done
before we could reach the scene of
action, but no sooner would we ar
rive there than we could retake
them. Our present navy is amply
able to deal with that of the Japan
csc and to insure no doubt OF the
immediate issue in case of a conflict.
BY this I do not mean that the
navy should not be increased con-
stantly, for money so spent is the
strongest possible insurance of peace
and, as an insurance, we'll spent
But there is no immediate danger.
There is no denying the fact that
Japan ia entirely exhausted financial
L.
that she could finance an enterprise
so monStrOus as a war with a pow
erful nation.
There is another matter that is
being much discussed, and that is
a matter of great coast defenses and
the possibility of a foreign nation
Japan, for Misunderstanding one of
our seaport cities. In the science of
warfare it is ridiculous to suppose
that any nation would attempt to
do So Should Japan capture San
Francisco It would require her entire
navy to hold the port and her forces
would be cut off from all source of
supply and surrounded on the land
side by the entire military force of
this nation. Were such a thing pos
sible IL would never be practicable
and will never be tempted by any
nation. We are too powerful a ma
tion for any other nation to fancy
that it could fasten fits forces upon
us and retain the hold. Coast de-
Tense is not a need of the nation
1t is known by those close to the
administration that when the war
cloud first arose Admiral Dewey was
summoned to the White House and
was asked his opinion as TO whether
or not the present navy would be
able to cope with the Japanese in
case Of a conflict.
The Admiral is reported to have
been very positive in his declarations
as TO the various rumors that have
been circulated of late relative to
the possibilities of war and as TO
the manner in which they have been
received in different circles. He is
known to have expressed the opin-
ion that the attitude of some men in
high authority over the Japanese is
nothing less than damn cowardice."
He has denounced forcibly on all
occasions the show of dread of Il
conflict with Japan, and holds that
if trouble is to come it would be
advisable TO precipitate 1t now rather
than wait until Japan had recuper-
ated from the Russian conflict.