Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-10
Millions to Restore Flag Sea Put Hands of Marine Gent

iron as well as a will of iron which
brought him through those hours, that
brought him through the months in
the Dublin hospital and the months that
followed afterward in the yellow plaS-
tered hospital In Washington, which
looks so peacefully over the waters Of
the Potomac as If it sheltered never q
tale of our urSung naval heroes.
Cone was discharged as Cured" He
went off to sea again-after he had
taken some supplementary work In the
Naval War College at Newport-and to
the China station. There he was chief
of staff for the commander OF the
Asiatic Squadron.
some say that the steady pain of
standing mastered him at length. Some
say that he realized that under our
Navy rules, If he had come up for pro-
motion alongside man Of equal rank
and similar record, those two smashed
knees of his would have given the other
man the better of 1t.
Both may be true; for it is very likely
that Cone Is q man consciously or I'M
consciously so sure of his own powers
that he would be little willing or con-
tented in work which did not call upon
the best of him. At any rate, he was
retired as engineer in chief with the
81 years old and full Of fight; and he
began a new and active and entirely
different life.
LIE was sent down to Venezuela, where
there was q lot of oil to be taken
out from Lake Maracaibo. The lakes
outlet to the sea was filled with sand
bars which left channel only 8 or 10
feet deep. It was a problem in trans
portation and in engineering. Gone
studied all the elements involved and
made survey and report to his COM
pany.
Now, he happened to be well fitted
for such work; for, leaving out all those
medals which did not see and all those
decorations from foreign governments,
those public marks Of his distinguished
military record, there still remained a
history of sufficient experience to JUS
! tify these private works.
For he is one of the brilliant proofs
| that Navy training is a training not
only for character but for an executive
efficiency useful in private life. What
better training can there be for daily
instant management and instant deci-
sion? You can't navigate ships and fire
guns without the practice Of decisive
ness! And Cone had been Navy
executive.
He had entered the Navy and the
engineers branch in the old days when
! the engineers and the line were in two
separate divisions Of the service, when
there was q certain amount Of feeling
between the two divisions. Roosevelt
combined the two and wiped out the
distinction.
Cone had qualified for the line before
that time. He also had acquired con-
siderable technical training in matters
concerning marine engines and steam
engineering. He had been, for instance,
fleet engineer for the Atlantic feet and
engineer In chief In Washington, head
! ing the Bureau Of Steam Engineering.
He had been marine superintendent Of
[ the Panama Canal. He had had his
turn, too, at using his general tudg-
ment at other tasks, such as locating
those famous Pearl Harbor naval sta
lions in Hawaii and In acting as q NOM
Der Of the advisory council Of the Amer
lean Bureau Of Shipping.
All of which, lying In the back OF his
mind, well fitted him for these tasks OF
civilian life. And 1t was to be useful to
him when President Coolidge called him