The Holly chieftain., 1908-10-02
WORLD CRUISE Of
OUR BATTLE.sH'Ps
A Significant Histary-Makiny M,r..
ment by the United States
Pacific Ocean Saved to Amerie. =
Robust Policy of Republican
Party.

esting, Important and far reaching par.
formances OF any administration sinc.
the Civil War. History rides upon the
Prov of the fasships of this aeet.
Eighty-fve millions of people have for
months been attempting to interpret
the movement and solve the problem
our government is attemptug TO Drop
| erly adjust by this circumnavigatlon Of
the globe. When President Eoo.evelt
first announced that the feet of battle-
ships was to make the long Journey
from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean.
the Democrats turned prophets of evil
and predicted many disastrous things
| would follow as consequence oS this
unprecedented move.
Armada and World Cruise.
The armada took its departure from
Hampton Roads, Dec IL, 1907. and
| after a wholly successful! voyage round
the Horn, of about twelve thousand
miles, it dropped anchor in San Fran
cisco Harbor May 6, 1905, The ships
! that form the four divisions of the heet
in this record-making cruise are: The
Connecticut, Louisiana, Maine, Mis-
souri,, Georgia, New jersey Rhode ISL
and, Virginia. Alabama, Illinois, Kear-
sarge, Kentucky, Ohio, Minnesota, Kan
gas and Vermont. To which were add
ed the Nebraska and the Wisconsin, al
ready in Puget Sound, thus making a
feet of eighteen first-class modern
battleships In perfect condition.
There were already in the Pacific
and Oriental waters the fine armored
cruisers West Virginia, Colorado, Ma
ryland and Pennsylvania Their two
sister ships, the California and South
Dakota, were also on the Pacific, and
the powerful Washington and Tennes-
see went from the Atlantic to Join the
armada, thus making eight armored
cruisers to be added to the eighteen
battleships. In addition there were In
the Pacific several protected cruisers,
gunboats and other lesser craft. All
told there were ten hundred and nifty
officers and nineteen Thousand i've hun
dred men.
In due time the main feet Of war
ships resumed its western course and
will touch at the leading ports Of China
and Australia, passing on east by way
OF the west, and coming finally to Nal
| tn and Gibraltar, where 1t will coal
and ultimately return to its starting
point at Hampton Roads, some time
early next February.
In this expedition the Republisan
party has a policy which projects itself
far into the future, but it is an entire
Misunderstanding of the whole scheme
to suppose that 1t Is aimed narrowly
or definitely at any single power. 1t is
one Of those robust constructive poll
cies of the party gauged on world lines
1t is more of notification than
threat, to all existing governments.
Welding North and south America
The eyes of the world have followed
our feet with absorbing interest. One
of the great advantages gained by this
cruise is the cordial welcome and close
acquaintance which it has evoked from
the governments md peoples Of the
chief republics of Latin America. To
the Brazilians. the Argcntines, the Chi
lians and the Peruyians, the mighty re.
public of the north had been merely q
name or a dim figure, powerful and
honored perhaps, but not actually
known. For years there had been lit.
tie or no visible evidence of the wealth
or authority Of the United States, In
the chief South American ports. But
they were all visited by swift and
stately liners, flying the flags Of the
maritime powers of Europe.
At every South American port the
fleet, our navy, our government, our In
stitutions, our people, our aims, our
Industries, our trade-every conceivable
thing that is ours, have been discussed
as they never were before, and that
without suspicion of our political and
diplomatic Intentions. One business
house in New York states that Its
| South American correspondence has in.
creased fourfold since the fleet visited
Rio Janeiro. In this case it seems that
trade may follow the battleships.
President Roosevelt Explains Move
menf.
In q statement in a speech he made
in st. Louis, President Roosevelt took
the public into his confidence to q de.
gree when he said: California, Ore
gon and Washington have a coast line
which is our coast line just as emphat-
ically as the coast line of New York and
Maine, Of Louisiana ana Texas. Our
feet ia going to its own hsme waters
in the Pacific and after a stay there /;
| will return to its own home waters
in the Atlantic. The best place for tn.
naval officer to learn his duties Is n,
sea, BY performing them, and only BY
actually putting through a voyage OF
this nature, voyage longer than any
one before undertaken by as large a
fleet of any nation, can we find out
just exactly what II necessary for US to
know as to our naval needs and prac-