Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-10-09

business to exhibit in other countries.
But this is far from the truth. If all the
duties Of the navy were told they would
fill q book from cover to cover with
unique. unusual and extraordinary events
In which the warships have taken an
active part.
In addition to being peace guardians,
our steel-clad vessels are messengers OF
mercy" as well. Work for the navy has
followed nearly every iii wind that has
blown within the past fifty years. from
relieving the sufferers of earthquakes to
bringing home the remains Of our am
bassadors who die in foreign countries:
from the handling of lepers in Guam to
the digging Of a canal in Porto Rico;
from the organization of a dynamite
brigade at the time of the San Francisco
fire to the rescue of American mission
aries many miles in the interior of China,
Korea and Japan. Many little "spats"
with foreign powers have occurred in
these piping times Of peace, but they at
tracted only the slightest Of attention
except to the men who took part in them.
-
One of the most recent earthquakes was
that of Kingston. Jamaica. 1t will be re-
membered that almost the whole of King
sion was destroyed and hundreds killed
and made homeless. Admiral Davis, In
charge of the North Atlantic fleet, at once
went to the scene of disaster, and, at the
request of the governor, armed guards
were sent ashore to protect life and prop
erty, while the rest of the men Of the fleet
were placed at work digging people from
under the ruins. AT this time there were
several hundred women and children hud-
died on the wharf in a starving condition,
and four boatloads of provisions We're
promptly sent ashore to relieve the dis
tress.
At the time of the great San Francisco
fire and earthquake there were many
thousands of starving and homeless peo-
pie in the city. The warship fleet In the
harbor promptly rendered all the relief
in it's power. A dynamite brigade was
organized by the war vessels and this
brigade of bluecoats accomplished won
derful results In stopping the flames.
In arctic exploration and in the search
for men who had become lost trying to
find the north pole vessels of the navy
have time and again been called upon to
aid in the search. There was the incident
Of the naval open boat which Travelled
more than 1,50O miles looking Or aid
for the other survivors of the shipwreck.
The occupants of this boat had no sex
tant, but they made one from a steam
gauge. This sextant is now on exhibition
as a marvel OF ingenuity at the Naval
Academy.
4 =
The handling and care Of the lepers on
the Island Of Guam Is exclusively III the
care Of the navy. The handling and mis-
handling Of the pirates In the China sea
is another problem which requires con-
siderable time and trouble. The estab-
lishment of good order at Tutuila. Samoa,
and many other minor affairs of the kind
are of everyday occurrence, but as a rule
very little is heard of them.
Not very long ago the men Of the North
Atlantic fleet dug canal about 800 yards
long and about eight feet deep at Guile
bra, Porto Rico. This canal was built
to provide an exit from the harbor for
small boats. torpedo craft, etc. and also
to give a better circulation for the water
in the then closed harbor OF Culebra The
work required about three months.
One of the duties Of the navy is to de-
stroy derelicts wherever found. This Is
usually done after some vessel reports
dereIict in some part OF the world, or
one Of our war vessels In Its tfreless
wandering of the seas comes across one.
There are also the deep sea soundings.
The soundings of the Pacific ocean for
the laying Of the great Pacific cable were
accomplished by our far vessels In record
time. In q scientific way, 1t is claimed.
United States Navy has done more along
this line than any other navy in the
world.
Visits of our war vessels to foreign
ports are made partly with view to