The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-08-08
fMal Special to the Advertiser.l

/ late. 1t has helped them to forget the
great hot waves that have surged back
and forth. If anyone became too worn
because of meteorological conditions,
| he had only to make tracks for the
Navy Department or the Department
of Justice. There he could witness the
throbbing of government machinery
that recalls old times when Theodore
Roosevelt, President, was in town.
| For, although he is far away at his
summer home in Oyster Bay, the Pres
ident' S two pronunciamentos of recent
| date, have walked up two departments
i of the government. True, few of the
big 'uns are at their desks. Big
| officials do not worry much about work.
| ing when the President is away. But
| plenty of understrappers are about.
| When the President began calling ex-
| pert navy officers over 10 Newport for
| a big conference at the War College
where he was to attend, every bureau
chief and all his assistants began to
| take notice. People over at the Navy
| Department have been talking about
| little else of late than that big New,
| port powwow and the President 3
1 cpEEEA 4uI a &c anu a LdEd hitting
navy. 1t came right in the middle of
! the dull season, when the navy officers
at the department had almost nothing
| to do except plan how they could get
| a vacation. The Newport conference
| took number of the department ex-
perts on construction, ordinance and
equipment who FASTENED away gladly
although with some wonder as TO
whether the President was going to
swing his big stick at any of the
bureau chiefs. Of course there was no
particular danger of that, although the
possibility of it has kept many on the
qui vive
Then, just as the Navy Department
was waking up, the Department of JUS
tice received a jolt from the decision
of the United States Court of Appeals,
reversing the verdict of Judge Lands
District Court in the $29, 100000 Stan
dard Oil cases. There was really but
little that the Department of Justice
could do. The orders to retreat or to
go ahead must come from the Attorney
General, Mr.. Bonaparte, who like other
cabinet officers is out of town. or from
the President. The orders did come
from the President and it set lot or
the department lawyers to Studying
various phases of the eases, which
promise at this stage to have some poll
teal as well as legal Importance.
In spite of the President IS announce.
ment that the Standard Oil Company
is undoubtedly guilty and his refiec-
tions upon the United States Court of
Appeais-whieh resulted in much I'M.
friendly criticism of him in the news
! papers-there is a feeling here that the
4 STANDARD will hardly ever be convicted
on these particular rebate cases. There
Is other litigation, of course, against
the trust but many old timers here
viii be surprised if the trust does not
escape on the cases which were tried
before Judge Lands They predict
that it will be the Beef Trust over
hagain and that after a little splurge,
just to show that the government s Law
officers are on the ramparts, the eases
viii be dropped
THE NAVAL CONFERENCE.
Officers in the Navy Department say
President Roosevelt s utterances at the
Newport conference few DAYS ago
are only part of his program for a
big navy campaign this winter. They
say it is to be not alone a campaign
for freer criticism of battleship de.
feets and the adoption of more progress
sive ideas about construction, but a
campaign again with Congress for a
big navy bill and for large authorize.
ton of ships.
/ Long, after the Senate Naval Com
mittee last winter had concluded its
hearings the President had not tired
OF sarcastic comments about the com.
mittee 3 work. In his private CONVEX
satons he did not spare the Senators
of the committee. Some of his pithiest
remarks about them were made before
such officers as Commander William 2.
Sims, his naval aide. who is inspector
of target practise and the champion
of latter day battleship criticism. and
also Lieutenant Commander A. L. Key,
who wrote the paper about the designs
Of the North Dakota. which was instra-
mental in bringing about the Newport
conference.
That committee. on the evidence
presented. accepted the Judgment Of
dmiral George Converse. retired. and
Others of the board Of construction
that our ships are as we'll built. ship
for ship, as those Of any navy in the
world The President never accented
that verdict without some reservations
To the effect that there is opportunity
for improvement and that the Navy
Department bureaus are not doing
their best possible work IN turning out
fighting ships Of advanced design and
efficiency.
His Immediate purpose. however. is
to have the Utah and the Florida. the
latest Of the four Dreadnaughts al
ready authorized. built on the most
modern lines possible. aud. incidental
IL to have as many changes as pos
| sible in the North Dakota and the
Delaware, which ships are already well
under way. But changes of anv i'm
aorfaHce in the two latter would af-
feet their structures down to the very
keels and therefore are not likely -
be feasible in any striking degree.
i Work on the designs for the Utah and
the Florida has been suspended.
pending conclusions Of the Newport
conference
But the President also wants two
more battleships OF advanced type au-
thorized by Congress the coming win
ter, 50 as to make feet Of SIX