250 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[Al'RIL I, 1909. 



Arthur VV. Stedman. 

 [President New England Rubber Club.] 



A display of force, 

 where it is ade- 

 quate, is of enor- 

 mous influence in 

 securing the peace 

 of the world. I 

 believe that there 

 have been times 

 wliere serious 

 trouble was av- 

 erted by a move- 

 ment of ships. 

 Only a few of the 

 inner circles would 

 know and there 

 would be no evi- 

 dence that coer- 

 cion was being 

 used. The trouble 

 would be speedily 

 settled, however. 



"I have no 

 doubt that the visit 

 of our fleet to 

 Japan did much in supporting the hands of the government of 

 Japan and aided it in quieting the turbulent element that had 

 been aroused by the sensational newspapers of Japan." 



Captain Southerland. 

 After a standing toast to the last speaker the president said : 

 An eld Roman writer, describing the English race, spoke of them as 

 "fierce sea wolves who bared their breasts to the gale and loved to triumph 

 over tempestuous seas." One of our guests to-night, must be of the same 

 hardy race, for he not only prut to sea in the face of a north Atlantic 

 cyclone, but lived to weather it and write upon it. His experiences are 

 preserved in the naval archives at Washington under the modest title, 

 "Nautical Monograph No. 4." 1 have the pleasure of introducing a veteran 

 of the Spanish war, a naval author, and one who participated in the World 

 Cruise, Captain W. H. H. Southerland, Commanding the U. S. S. New 

 Jersey. 



Captain Southerland is the possessor of a very delightful dry 

 humor, and in his description of the evolutions and the daily and 

 nightly drills through which the 16 ships were put he not only 

 gave to the audience much information, but did it in such a way 

 that ripples of laughter were constantly passing over the sea 

 of interested faces. He described the 16 battleships as they 

 assembled in Hampton Roads, when they were so many separate 

 entities. Then he described the work that welded these ships into 

 a fleet. He described searchlight drill, target drill, and all of 

 the simpler evolutions, until those present almost felt as if they 

 were taking part in the cruise "To use Kipling's phrase," said 

 the captain, "the ships had found themselves," and on the voyage 

 were kept in repair at a cost but a trifle in excess of what would 

 have been demanded at the navy yards had they remained at their 

 stations, and far more important, the men were infinitely better 

 prepared for real war. Then again, the ships at their return are 

 found to be in better condition than when they left and are ready 

 for service any time and anywhere. 



Captain Fletcher. 

 The next speaker, Captain Fletcher, was introduced as follows : 



The student and scientist, and when necessity bids, the practical fighting 

 man, is the United States naval oificer of to-day. One of our guests has 

 done notable work in all of these. I need only mention the deep sea 

 soundings in the Pacific ocean in the year 1875, the determination of 

 longitudes of the Central and South American coasts in the year 1883, and 

 the successful command of one of our most modern battleships, the magnifi- 

 cent Vermont — Captain Frank F. Fletcher. 



Captain Fletcher described the old navy and said that there had 

 come a great transformation. Such a cruise as had been sailed 

 by the fleet showed that great work is required in times of peace 

 to make the navy strong. 



Felix Hermann Hunicke. 



[Late Captain, United States Navy.] 



"It is the best 

 of its kind," he 

 said. "The best in 

 construction and 

 in machinery; it 

 it well skilled and 

 well arranged 

 The Japanese used 

 a phrase in their 

 reports of engage- 

 ments in the wat 

 with Russia which 

 is a new and a 

 good one. It is : 

 "The evolution was 

 executed as prear- 

 ranged.' " 



He then pictured 

 what scientific pre- 

 arrangement 

 meant in the navy, 

 and cited the ex- 

 periences in this 

 World's Cruise as 

 being a most notable and practical type of far-sighted pre-ar- 

 rangemcnt. 



Captain Doyle. 



After a standing toast to the last speaker, President Stedman 

 said: 



A very significant fact about the American naval officer to-day is, that 

 whether he be born north or south of Mason and Dixon's line, whether in 

 command of the Puritan or the Dixie, he is wholly American, and there 

 is no dividing line with him. One of our guests, a son of Tennessee, has 

 not only done notable sea service in various parts of the world, but as 

 inspector of ordinance and engineering material for the federal government, 

 has acquitted himself with high honors. I will introduce Captain Robert 

 M. Doyle, commanding the Missotiri. 



Captain Doyle caught the fancy of the listeners when he began 

 by stating that although our ships cost much money, they were 

 built in the United States, and we not only got the ships but kept 

 the money, too. He described the voyage from San Francisco 

 to Honolulu, to Japan, New Zealand, and Australia, and paid a 

 high tribute to the good conduct of the men to whom shore leave 

 was granted freely. The central point in his speech, however, 

 was a description of the entertainment of the fleet in Yokohama 

 harbor and in the city of Tokio. It was a succession of dinners, 

 receptions, garden parties, drives, torchlight processions, and, 

 most notable of all, a luncheon given by the Emperor of Japan 

 to the commanding officers. He said that the effect of the visit 

 to Yokohama and the overwhelming hospitality shown to every 

 man there was that the Japanese were most sincere in their 

 friendship for the United States. Continuing, he said : "What 

 the navy needs is the intelligent interest of the people that they 

 may realize how important it is to keep the navy up to a high 

 standard of efficiency. We need to build new ships to keep pace 

 with other nations. It is a cheap insurance and you don't have 

 to die to realize from it. Build the ships here and you still 

 have the money and the ships in this country." 



COMMMANDER LoNG. 



Lieutenant Commander Long was next introduced as follows : 



It is with hushed voice and bated breath that I speak of the important 

 service that our naval officers have rendered to our government in times 

 of international complications. Diplomacy, keen observation, and an abso- 

 lute forgetfulness of self are characteristic of the many services performed 

 by officers of cur navy. One of our guests, who is also from the fair and 

 sunny South, is of this type. He has done much that I cannot, and he 

 will not, mention. He hears the name of one much revered by us men of 

 New England, the name of Long. I introduce Lieutenant Commander 

 Andrew T. Long, executive officer of U. S. S. Illinois. 



Lieutenant Commander Long explained that he was a little 



