The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-09-02
MARINE:
Start of the Fleet.

Start of the Fleet.
Beginning cruise whicl
! Is second only in significance to TIA" his
toric voyage Of the Atlantic fleet from
Hampton Roads, the cruiser squadron
OF the Pacific meet, numbering sever
armored cruisers. towing as many tor
pedo boat destroyers, departed from san
francisco Bay yesterday morning TO
Honolulu and Pago-Pago, Samoa.
In single column formation, with tn,
rakish black torpedo boats huggin.
close by the starboard like a puppy t
It's mother, the glistening cruisers Gid
ed swiftly out through the Golden Cat,
to the open sea, where they soon be
came indistinct blurs on the ocean.
When the land was well behind the
cruisers took the torpedo boats in tow
at the end Of ten-inch hawsers and FIVE
inch steel cables. In this position they
viii remain, with the exception of when
entering and leaving Honolulu and
Pago-Pago, until the cruise of thou
sands of miles is ended.
The feet win arrive at Honolulu on
September 2, leaving there a week later
Arriving at the port in Samoa a stay
of week will be haa there, and then
the return trip viii begin. The fleet
viii arrive at Honolulu on the return
October Z, according to the itinerary
and viii leave there later for San
Diego, remaining two days at the latter
port. At Magdalena Bay the fleet. will
go in for target practice lasting the en-
tire month of November. On December
the cruisers are due again in San
Francisco Bay.
The tow across the Pacific viii be the
first experiment Of its kind. Several
months ago NUMBER of torpedo boats
were successfully towed to San Diego
but this is the first time such a long
cruise has been attempted.
Almost as many people thronged the
docks yesterday and saw the cruisers up
anchor at 10 O'Clock as were present
on the departure of the Atlantic fleet on
its homeward voyage to Hampton
Roads, via the Orient.
Tehuantepec Traffic.
MEXICO CITY, August 23.-The Ma
tional Tehuantepec railroad continues
to do an enormous traffic, notwithstand-
ing the general business and industrial
dullness that exists in the interior of
Mexico. Practically all the traffic of
this road is transeontinental. 1t is still
handling enormous shipments of sugar
from Hawaii destined to the United
States and Europe, and recently heavy
shipments of canned goods from Califor-
MIA and Oregon have arrived at Salina
Cruz for transportation across the
isthmns.
The Pan-Americar, Vera Cruz and
Pacific roads are proving valuable feed
ers for the isthmian line.
Destroyers and Comfort.
The small size of the torpedo boat
destroyers and the close fit of the
quarters aboard these vessels, gives
rise to the query as to whether there
is really any comfort aboard them, es-
pecially in nasty weather. Lieut-Com-
mander Moses of the Naval Station
has had a considerable tour of duty
aboard these arrows of the navy, and
has Travelled to Manila aboard one in
company with a hotilla. He says that
although the quarters are small, they
are exceptionally good. Everything IS
limited on such vessels, SO that arma-
nent and coaTcarrying space may be
given every advantage. Commander
Moses says that the destroyers now
being towed here by the cruisers of the
Pacific fleet could easily come down
on their own coal supply and have con-
siderable left over. They are not
helpless boats by any means, and IN
the present instance, the towing OF the
vessels is in the nature of test. Tor
pedoboat destroyers have travelled IN
wide areas of ocean quite alone and
have not needed the assistance of their
bip sisters. The destroyers en- route
are among the best examples of this
stvle of craft. Commander Moses was
at one time commander of the destroy
er Bagley. named in honor of young
southern officer who lost his life in the
Cuban campaign.
May Improve Wireless.
Tt is becoming more and more recog-
nized by naval officers that the wire
less plant at the Naval Station in Ho-
nolulu does not meet the demands rer
onired of it, as instaneed on the oc-
easion of the approach of the Atlantic
fleet to these shores when the wireless
ni3DT OF the EOIlSI WhASh
rived ahead Of the feet, and the local
mercantile wireless plant had to be
relied upon to receive and transmit Of
fetal messages. Captain Rees, com
mandant at the station, says the naval
wireless plant is not well located and
he suggests that if the same mast
were on Tantalus it would undoubtedly
be in a position to command. the sltua-
ton.
One feature which operates against
the efficiency of the naval station wire
less is the nearness of the line of the
electric railway to the telegraph office.
In the midst of receiving messages a
trolley car passes by and the aero
grams are interrupted. Then the ap-
9aratus does not annihilate enough
spaee. It's location this side of Dla-
mond Head and practically much lower
than that promontory, puts the plant
n the position of sending aerograms
!. around the corner" There is an