East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1909-05-29

Washlngton.-Th battleship fleet
Of the United States navy will re-
assemble in Hampton Roads again on
June Is to take up the never-ending
game Of making ready for war, at
which half the nations of the earth
are constantly playing.
The summer maneuvers, to which
the following several weeks will be
devoted, will be another chapter in
the recent chronicle of American
naval events, in which the voyage
around the world occupied so impor-
tant a part.
be the same as that from which the
battleships started on their momen-
tous voyage, and the same at which
they arrived last February. The ships,
too, will be the same with the eXcep-
ton of the New Hampshire, Idaho
and Mississippi, which have been
substituted for the Illinois, Kear-
sarge and Kentucky, now held in re-
serve. In appearance. however, the
fleet will be vastly different.
Ships Change Color.
The white squadron is no more.
The covering of the ships is now a
gray, lustreless paint as nearly as
possible the color of the sea itself
against which they are scarcely visi-
BILE at a comparatively short distance.
The huge vessels. instead of havine
the gay holiday appearance in which
they We're welcomed in all the ports
along the line of their 40,000-mile
voyage, will look more like the rea,
fighting monsters that they are.
Although the ships have undergone
little change in vital characteristics
during their stay in the navy yards
since their homecoming, their out
ward aspect has been much altered
The ornate brass figureheads have
been removed. The top hamper that
portion of the ships equipment above
decks, has been much reduced. The
after bridges and the flying bridges
forward have been removed. In place
of the old military masts the vessels
will have fire-control masts of the
wire waste-basket type, which de-
tract greatly from their symmetrical
appearance. At a distance they will
be merely gray hulls with little more
than turrets, smokestacks and the
gauzelike masts showing above the
sides.
Policy Also Changed.
This change of guise foreshadows
in no small way a change of policy in
the American navy. 1t is very much
as II the specter of war which con-
fronts European nations at every
turn had cast its shadow also over
the western hemisphere, and as if the
gray fleet were the visible symbol of
the spirit of militarism of which the
American people have become in
creasingly conscious during the last
few years. The navy department has
kept pace with these changes in color
and form by training its officers and
men to be ready for war at a mo-
ments notice. President Roosevelt
reiterated time and again the advan-
tages of this policy. President Taft
has adopted much the same view by
removing from responsible positions
officers who are on the retired list.
When the reassembled fleet sails
out to sea this summer it will be to
play the game of war more energetic
ally than ever. The maneuvers will
be far more important in this respect
than was the voyage around the
world. This journey demonstrated
the fleets quality for steamlng and
placed in the hands of the depart
ment valuable data for guidance in
the construction of the ships of the
future. Attention is now to be con-
centrated upon fighting qualities. To
this end the fleet will be divided and
the game Of war carried on with aux
iliaries, cruisers and scout cruisers
as we'll as torpedo boats.
Fire Under Battle Conditions.
One of the most important fea-
lures of the maneuvers will be the
firing of the big guns under battle
conditions. Target practice will take
place not at measured distances as
heretofore, but in a rolling sea such
as might be encountered were the
fleet moving forward to attack real
enemy.
The value of the waste basket
masts in which the fire control in
struments are mounted, is expected
to be fully established. The torpedo
boat will be tried out as an instru-
ment Of naval warfare used in con-
junction with battleships. SO many
have been made in the
torpedo that It is likely to figure
much more prominently in naval en-
gagements in tn. future than 1t has
in the past, both by reason Of in
creased accuracy of control and the
length of range.
Generally speaking, it is believed
that these maneuvers will mark
new epoch in the American navy. The
game Of war will be played more en-
and more scientifically
than ever before. And whether the
ships are at sea or in port, they will
always have the appearance Of en-
gines Of destruction as an ever-pres-
ent reminder that the prospect Of
war is as seriously considered in the
United States as it is in the countries
overseas, where the fear Of the world
powers is being expressed in con-