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Show Sixty-Second Birthday Marks ' His Official Retirement From the U. S. Navy. FORTY-EIGHT YEARS OF ! SERVICE FOR HIS COUNTRY Great Celebration in Honor of Gallant Admiral Held a( Lake Mohonk. i j LAKE iM.OIJONK, N. Y., Aug. IS. I Far from grim warships and the sea, j where lie spent nearly half a century in the service of his country, I?car Ad-'-miral Robley D. IS vans, of I ho United ; .Stales navy, who is at -this quiet mouni tain hotel, reached the'ng' limit of (!-years (!-years today and passed Irani the ranks : of tho country's active sea lighters. ! J I is has been tho longest service (but two years short? of half a century) of any man who has reached the ofiico of ' rear admiral iu I he United States navy. I All through the day the hotel was j thronged with admirers of "Fighting Bob,'' in order lo congratulate him j on his sixty-second birthday aud to ; wisli lii 111 many more happv and useful years." Telegrams by the score reached I him from all parts of tho country, all ; expressing felicitation and affection for ! the man who has done so much In I build up the American navy. Many of 1 tho messages brought delighted smiles to tho admiral's face, while others brought just suspicion of inoisluro to his eyes. Sixty-Two Years Young. In reply to a friend who asked the admiral how ho felt on his sixty-second birthday, he replied characteristically: " Fit as a fiddle. T am G2 years young today and I expect to reach a hundred. I. am taking on flesh at the rate of half a pound a day. and I havo not got a thing to do but loaf. Who would not get well under such circumstances J '' Asked regarding the probable effect of the cruise of the fleet around the world which he commanded from Hampton Hamp-ton "Roads to San Francisco, the first stage of the long .journey, the admiral said that he believed its inllucucc was already being felt. That tho cruise would add more than mere, prestige to tlfe- United Stales as a world power, tho admiral asserted in no uncertaiu tones, lie said it was tho greatest 'disappointment 'disappoint-ment of his life that he was unable to keep the command at le.ist until he coum isn ,iipuii, wiieic lie mis i gicni many friends among the statesmen of that country. Formal Celebration. The formal celebration in honor of tho admiral took place this evening iu tho large parlors of the Mountain hotel. Tho room was gaily decorated with American flags, but the feature which attracted the attention of everybody was a battle-scarred flag which tho admiral ad-miral carried on the Iowa during the battle with the Spanish licet at Santiago. Santi-ago. Albert Is.. Smiley was introduced as presiding officer of the ceremonies by .1. Fdward Symmons of New Vork. When Admiral Fvans was brought into the room in a wheel chair the audience applauded him vigorously, keeping it up until the admiral silently raised his hand as a request for silence. Mr. Sym-nious Sym-nious then delivered an eulogy of "the admiral. A large number of letters from men distinguished in public and private life were then read by Mr. Symmons. Loving Cup Presented. After Ihc audience had sung " America, Amer-ica, " Andrew Draper of !New York made the address of presentation of the loving cup, which was a gift from the guests of the hotel. The cup is of Silver, gold lined, with tnrec handles ami Dcautnuiiy engraved. One side bears the inscription: "Presented to Kear-Admiral Hoble3' D. Evans by tho guests of the Lake Mohonk Mountain house, on his retirp-inent retirp-inent from nctive service iu the United Statos navy, in appreciation of hit long and distinguished services, August IS. jlDOS." Another side boars the engraving of a modern battleship, wliilo on the third side, beneath crossed Hags, is a record of the different commands hold by the admiral during his term of service. ser-vice. In accepting the loving cup. Admiral Evans mado a brief address. Just at the close of the exercises a birthday cake, covered with sixtv-two lighted candles was brought into tho room. This gift seemed to please the admiral more than any other part of the ceremonies of the evening. A reception ioiiowcu ino iormai ceremonies, nnu men, women and children vied with each other in their efTorts lo show their admiration for Admiral Evans. |
