Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1907-07-12
WASHINGTON LETTER
From Our Regular Correspon-
dents

81 ii
WASHINGTON, D. G., July CAT
last it has been settled that the
battleship squadron is to be sent to
the Pacific Coast. This decision
has been announced officially by
the Navy Department, and it is a
little curious to see that on the
very day of this announcement IN
Washington, Secretary Loeb, at
Oyster Bay, was giving out all "au-
thoritative statement" that no such
movement was contemplated. Now
cf course the government would
not keep so important a person as
Secretary Loeb in ignorance OF its
intentions, and there is but one in
ference to be drawn from the Incl.
dent, pamely, that it was a mis-
statement that might have been
characterized by a shorter and ug-
lier word.
If Secretary Loeb does not look
out he will get himself into the
same class with Assistant Secretary
of State Robert Bacon, one time
partner in the firm Of j. ?. Nor
gan & Co., of New York. Assist
ant Secretary of State Bacon IS a
very wealthy and fashionable
young man and is just the sort OF
an understudy that Secretary Root
wants to take visiting princes and
other notables off his hands. But
as a source Of transformation as to
the things that are going on in the
State Department, lie has not here
tofore been equalled. He it was
who gave out the famous statement
Just after the Jamaica earthquake
that there was no friction between
| Admiral Davis and Gov. Sweeten
ham. The same issue Of the pa.
pers that printed his statement had
all the correspondence of Admiral
Davis and Gov. Sweetenham in an
adioinin 2 column. Also the day
news was received of the killing of
the japanese seal poachers on the
Island OF St. Paul, Mr.. Bacon an.
nounced to all callers that the re-
port was entirely unfounded, al
though the telegram conveying the
information had just been sent to
him by the Department Of Com
merce and Labor where the news
was first received. Mr.. Bacon also
announced three days ago that the
story of sending the battleship
squadron to the Pacific was COM
plete fabrication. Ii Secretary
Loeb is starting in to emulate this
record, he is electing to travel in
swift company.
The Journey Of the battleships
from the Atlantic to the Pacific
will be the greatest naval move
ment ever attempted by this gov
eminent. and only equalled by the
Inflated fleet that Russia sent to
Japanese waters two years ago. The
English squadrons in their war.
games around the British Isles
sometimes bring into play more
ships, but for the size of the ships
and the length of the voyage. the
movement has never been surpass-
ed. There were actually more
ships in Rogesvenskys squadron
when he went from the Baltic to
the Sea Of Japan, but the squadron
went in two sections. took an inor'
dinately long time making tile
voyage, and was not the equal OF
the American fleet in fighting pow
er at any time.
The question Of route for the
squadron has been discussed by the
Naval Board at some length, aud a
decision has been made in favor OF
Cape Horn. The route through
the Suez Canal is obout 1000 miles
longer than the trip around the
Horn, and besides this, it would
bring the squadson almost into
japanese waters, and look a little
too much like studied defiance of
the Japanese public. Indeed.
spe aking guardedIy, that is what it
is aud the japanese government so
understands and acquiesces in the
wisdom of the move. 1t is an indi
cation to the people Of the Pacific
coast what this government can
and will do in the way of protect
ing it's interests should it become
necessary, and it is an object lesson
that the japanese lingo party can
watch from a distance and ponder
on.
KOdOl for INDIGESTION and dyS.