THE AMERICAN NAVY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3726, 11 August 1925, Page 18

THE AMERICAN NAVY.

FLEET AT SYDNEY. A WARM-HEARTED WELCOME. SYDNEY, July 31. The first week of the Sydney portion of the United States Fleet’s stay in pdfri hag been a notable one. Right into tneit rearts have officers and men taken this city by the Pacific’s western rim, and it is not too much to say that Sydney has taken its visitors to her heart. The senior officers, in all thoir public utterances, have been delightful, and the chief among them. Ad miral S. S. Robison, will long be remembered as a most distinguished sailordiplomat, who, by happy idiom und humorous simile, has clone more to cement the ties between Australia and America than a decade of purposeful endeavour by statesmen. The junior offieors are a line tvp.*. as typical of the efficient American as their well-known business mon prototypos. The men, of whom between 70 and bO per cent, ore under 25 years of age, have mado them•elves conspicuous in the street*, and their popularity, especially with our girls, i« undoubted.

The round of official festivities has been • •heavy one, needing, as Admiral Robison remarked, much “intestinal fortitude.” On their first day ashore (Friday) the functions Included the parliamentary reception at Parliament House in Ihe afternoon, a reception by the Now South Wales branch of tho English-speaking Union at night, •nd a Y.M.C.A, and Church welcome In the fleet chaplains.

The big event of the Saturday was the Venetian carnival on the harbour at night. Flinging a silver net from their searchlights into the sky to catch the pale, far moon, the battleships, outlined in electric blubs, opened at eight o’clock a display of illuminations and fireworks that vast gatherings at all corners of tho harbour were waiting to see. For half an hour, the searchlights continued their display, to be succeeded by a similar period of fireworks. This programme was re peated until at 10 o’clock tho moon was again left the sole illuminant of the night. An illuminated aeroplane sped round and round during the searchlight display, weaving its own net of light among the beams. The searchlights were seen as far away as Nowra, 90 miles south of Sydney. In the afternoon Admiral Robison and his senior officers were entertained by tho A.J.O. at a race meeting at Rancfwick, but tho races, generally sneaking, did not. attract many of the men, despite an invitation of free admission. They turned up in force at an inter-warship baseball match, and some watched the Rugby games. Rugby, according to general opinion among tho sailors, is a pretty tame affair corn pared with” their own ferocious football game, of which two team*, heavily T ‘arnioured” gave an exhibition later in the w’eek.

A most important faction on Saturday night was the Commercial Travellers’ Association dinner to Admiral Robison and 24 othor senior officers. The Com-mander-in-chief’s sneoch was in particularly happy vein, for, ne said, “I don’t want to set my speech in serious strain, beoauae I am speaking to commerical travellers, ind they never take anything seriously.”

The feature of Monday’s programme was a children’s display in which 10,000 children combined to form an impressive design on the Cricket Ground. Within a great living shield were stars and stripes, and the letters “U.S.A.” and “N.S.W.” in the form of a Maltese cross. Admiral Robison described this ns one of the most impressive spectacles he had ever seeu. Of the vast assemblage of spectators, the visitors were the most appreciative and acclaimed tho sight with enthusiasm. It was a picturesque gesture of friendship for and greeting to tne great Republio and her sailor representatives from the vivid, pulsating youth of Australia. At night came the Lord Mayor’s Ball at the Town Hall. Over 4000 guests were present. It was impossible to dance, so great was the crush, but tho magnificent doeorative scheme was well worthy of tho attendance.

So from day to day the official and unofficial programme progresses. Sailors are taken on excursions to all our famous beauty spots. They roam tho city and suburbs at will, coming more and moro into contact with the people. Hundreds have received the hospitality of Australian homes. A few have accepted too much hospitality at hotel bars f but these are an almost negligible minority, and although there havo been a few brawls, the goneral conduct of the men has been most seemly. An amazing feature of the fleet’s visit here has boon tho desire of the Sydney public to inspect the warships. Each day during visiting hours the ships have been crammed to unoomfortableness, and on several occasions word has had to be sent

ashore to the ferry company to stop bringing out more boatloads. IN MELBOURNE. CITY'S ENTHUSIASM. SYDNEY, July 31. In Melbourne the enthusiasm over the fleet’s visit has equalled Sydney’s. Dense crowds filled the streets of the city on Friday to see a large detachment of men from the fleet march to the saluting base at tho Federal Parliamentary House and on to the huge Exhibition building, where they were entertained at lunch. Unfortunately the success of the pageant was marred to n great extent by tho collapse of a verandah, which led to a heavy list of injured. Tho help tho Americans gave in that sudden crisis helped to endear them to the people. Shortly after 10 o’clock in the morning Admiral Coontz and his officers with their staffs made a ceremonial landing at the St. Hilda pier, where they wero received by the Mayor and councillors. Official entertainment in the evening was confined to officers, senior officers being the guests of tho Governor at a dinner party. The Melbourne Commercial Travellers paid their respect to the admirals at n dinner, and Admiral Coontz displayed in his speech wonderful knowledge of trado and its requirements. He gave Australian traders some kindly advice, basod on his own country’s experiences. Saturday, as in Sydney, was mostly given over to sport, and a particularly fine exhibition of baseball between a Victorian team and a fleet “nine” was witnessed. The game ended in a draw, four runs each. Thejtem of most importance on Monday’s programme woa the dinner at night in the

Queen’d Hall, Federal parliament House, at which the officers of the fleet were the guests of the Federal Government. The Prime Minister (Mr Bruce) made a particularly fine speech, in which he dwelt largely upon British-Amcrican relatione. Admiral Coontz, in reply, showed that he was moro than a trade envoy when it came to speech-making, and his address, in part, is worth quoting. Admiral Coontz said: ;‘The Pacific is the sea of the future. It is being studied anti looked into. People are thinking about it more than they used to. \\ e of the navy travel all over the world. We study matters closely and then we tell them back home. There are 25,000 men hero and in Sydney, and most of them are young, I suppose their average age is about 22 years. Every one of these young men who goes back after this great trip is going to be a booster. You would be surprised to know how you grow when you get started. I wonder whethoi you people realise what a great country and a wonderful future you have. Possibly it take? an outsider to seo what you are going to be 20, 30, and 40 years hence. We are glad to be ous hero in this young nation of Australia. We have been overwhelmed by your libei ality and hospitality. We watch your future and we feel confident that it is going to be a glorious one. For your part, you should watch the other countries of the earth. Some of them go up and then go down the scale. You have a wonderful heritage, and I firmly believe that you will keep it for all time.” There are some interesting civilian visitors with the fleet in Melbourne. One is Mr Charles H. Grant, an eminent marine artist, who, though he Ims received no definite commission from the United States Government to paint pictures of the cruise, hopes to send the Government a painting that will be worth treasuring. He is thinking of making a picture of the fleet entering Port Philip, or threshing round Wilson’s Promontory in the height of a gale. Mr Grant has spent portion of his life at sea, and has industriously studied all the elements of a marine picture. “A warship berthed,” he declares, “is rather prosaic, just a huge steel fort, but when it is threshing round in a gale, it becomes wonderfully dynamic and picturesque. But they never give the artist opportunities of the old sailing ships, so he has to depend on his sky and sea.” Another civilian is Mr James V. M’Clintic, member of the Seventh District of Oklahoma, in the United States Congress. Without official or unofficial guidance, he is making his way round the city. He is particularly interested in Canberra, and the Federal Territory, and is wondering whether Australia will deal with them as America dealt with Washington and the District of Columbia. Mr M‘Clintic is a member of the United States Naval Affairs Committee. An official Congressional party accompanied the fleet to Honolulu, and he was invited by the Secretary of the Navy, by wireless, to continue the cruise.