Show a three thousand embryo j k 1 e s daily ma neutering neu vering on the lake front on the far north shore halt a hundred officers commissioned and non commissioned engaged in t r a n s forming raw recruits into full fudged sail or men half a dozen trim and practice vessels stationed in the vi cikity of the good siad city that uncle sam has been silently engaged in building in th last five years that is what another year will bring forth up at lake bluff when abe greatest naval training station in the world will be opened and ready for business if all continues to go well it will be completed july 1 1910 and the total outlay up to that time will approximate 3 of this is the cost of 39 buildings 20 the cost of ac e of groina the cost of equipment and furnishings and the maintenance cost during the course of alon the first legislation for the station was passed by con gross in 1902 authorizing the appointment of a board to secure a site on the great lakes lake bluff was selected and then in 1904 the work was begun included in cost of buildings are six miles ot road at five miles of walks sea wall and harbor and walls and fences totaling 40 the total cubic contents of the buildings will be 12 beet the approximate cost of the buildings follows administration building instruction building drill hall four dormitories mess hall power house guard house 20 receive ing building 25 six receiving dormitories and one receive ing gallery general store 70 boat house 60 stables ao 20 brig prison 2 commandants house 30 ten officers houses five hospital buildings including medical officers houses since the united states took its place in the 0 the world powers following the spanish american war the navy has been growing at a rapid rate the comple alou of each battleship meant the employment of at least additional seamen and occasionally it was necessary to resort to strong measures to get sufficient recruits the heads of the navy department took the problem in hand and recognizing that the great lake district had in the past furnished a large number of seamen to the navy it was decided to establish a vast naval station at the most favorable site that could be obtained accordingly after a dozen sites had been submitted and examined the lake bluff site was selected as the most centrally located and as possessing more natural advantages than any other the site of the new institution is about an hour and a half s ride by railroad train from the center of this city and a little more by electric line the ride is through the aristocratic suburbs of evanston lake forest high land park walmette Wll mette and winnetka the station is located about a mile and a half beyond the station of lake bluff and la marked by a trim little depot 0 the electric line you are first apprised of the fact that uncle sam Is engaged upon some project from the signs which clenti fully adorn the boundaries of the reservation warning the passerby that be is in the vicinity of government prop erty and that be should keep off the larger buildings of the station are so completely hidden by trees that the general public passing by on the trains on the way to milwaukee or waukegan would have no idea of the extent of the institution were it not for the tower of the administration building which rears itself from the lake front the I 1 ills and anten ening trees of the neighborhood almost completely screen the large buildings from view extending from the fence which separates the main enclosure from the main thoroughfare are the smaller blick buildings in which will be housed the applicants for admission to the station pending the time when their qualifications and general health are examined into there are some half a dozen neat two storied brick buildings admirably lighted and finished in which the recruit will be housed as comfortably as at any average chicago hotel they extend ii a row toward the lake front where the larger buildings aie located in which will be housed the regularly admitted members of the institution the first structure which one approaches at the main entrance of the grounds is the general office building which Is occupied by the government inspectors con tractors and engineers in charge of the work this Is a compact two story structure and is situated in proximity to the electric trolley line which was b lilt into the grounds to facilitate the transportation of the construe alon materials all ast summer and tall more than 2 men were engaged upon the great lakes naval station as it is besig bated in the reports of the secretary of the navy the result of their efforts is seen in the practical completion of the 24 buildings of which the station is now composed and this spring and summer will see the completion of meyeral more large structures proceeding toward the lake from the inspectors office one gradually descends a deep ravine bordered on each side b large trees feature Us been exceedingly generous to the neighborhood about lake bluff and it is doubtful it a more picturesque region anywhere abo t achl ago coull have been chosen at the bottom of the the first vessel of its kind to be used on the great lakes will also probably be seen more frequently in the vicinity of chicago than for beriy but just what the plans ot the gayy depart ment are for the equipment of the station with tice vessels are a secret at present and it is unlikely that their plans will be made known tor some time to come it was the work of the illinois na val militia dur ranks A CRAFT ravine runs a boisterous stream of water which is pretty well swollen in the spring of the year but which Is nearly dry during the summer at the bottom of the ravine one would have a hard time to imagine himself in the center of so large a gov eminent institution but following it toward the lake you are brought to the point where the ship basin begins A sort of landlocked harbor has been dug out in which several good sized gunboats could be sheltered in safety d ring tl e w arst storn s on the lake A large and well equipped bolthouse bod has been built at the point where tl basin connects v ith I 1 ake michigan and there are abundant facilities for tl e ho ising of cutters and other craft wl ich will be used by the embryo sailors in their practice maneuvers an artistic bridge has been constructed across the ravine about oo 00 feet above the stream of water which connects with a road running directly into the center of the reservation the high bluffs on each side of the basin give a lately effect to the general view of the reservation from the lake at the top of the highest bluff overlooking the lake and commanding the widest view of the entire surrounding country Is the tion building a handsome structure built of pressed br ck in the center is a high tower with windows at various stages at one side of the administration building are three smaller buildings which will probably be used tor officers or instructors dwellings the main instruction buildings lecture halls and dormitories tor the members of the institution are in close to the administration building the larger of these have been completed and are ready for occupancy it would be possible for the institution to be opened this fall so great has the less been made upon it but it is likely that the formal opening will not take place until july 1 1910 when rear admiral albert G ross who has been in charge of the conson action since its inception says it will be completed it is planned to care for between 2 and 3 tor the navy at the new training station and n any more than this number could be taken care of in an emergency several thousand well drilled sailors can be turned out each year and the result will be a greatly increased efficiency among the rank and file composing the tinted states ravy bids were recently opened in washington for new work on tie naval institute which will aggregate half a million dollars james corse of racine was awarded the contract tor the construction of the officers houses which include andant u house for and six junior u bouses at 8 the principal princ work of the coming year however will be on the med cal department buildings which will in bohe an expenditure of and will be the finest 0 their kind in the west they include a hospital which will coat 34 senior n edical officers house 24 junior medical officers houses 38 and hospital laun dry 17 tl e noel construction company of haiti more as awarded this last important contract before the station is completed the gunboat nashville will have arrived in chicago which will be utilized as a vessel by tl e illinois naval militia great prep lie be ng made for the reception of the nash ulle but it is ely that the vessel may be ased in con reccio with the new station when it is completed the ni chent man of war wolverine formerly the michigan the dest lion v easel in the united states tives bassadore bass adors have poured forth their eloquence at liberty s cradle the municipal authorities of the city ot philadel phia are careful to see to it that some distinguished an Is always on hand orator of the day the pomp of military circumstances has sometimes been called upon to lend prestige to the occasion and the best musicians in the land have been proud to play paerl otic airs in the shadow of the steeple where hung the bell that rang it independence the first reading of the declaration was that by charles thomson the secretary of congress when he an bounced the completed paper men who had framed it thomson did not however read the declaration from the balcony of independence hall to the people crowded outside to 1 ear for the first time in what terms the colo fists should tell king george that his control of the thir teen colonies was at an end that privilege was reserved tor john nixon a aromi nent member of the committee ot safety in honor of the filed out in the july occasion ce legates to the congress sunshine t listen to the sacred words nixon t as been described as a master elocutionist with a voice so flear and distinct that it was heard clear to fifth street one square distant he took his place on the balcony which was the favorite rostrum of the day crowds had assembled to hear him gathered by the ringing of the liberty bell it was a memorable celebration and the first in the history of the nation later long years after edwin forrest the most noted of american actors whose love tor patriotism and the ansti of his country was deeper even than his regard tor the stage stood on the same spot and on a fourth of july morning read the words of jefferson as no man has read them before or since A great crowd waa present perhaps the largest ever assembled and the actor during and after the reading was cheered again and again C ater the evacuation congress re arg the spanish american war that first called attention to the possibilities of the middle west as a recruiting sta tion for sailors the naval militia of the several states was assigned to the vessels of the navy and the many auxiliary cruisers that the emergencies of ahe war called into service and acquitted themselves like veterans many of them showed ability that afterward enabled them to obtain commis blons in the navy that were then open to enlisted men the sudden impetus which the war gave the navy made it necessary to increase the enlistments with all possible rapidity and stations were opened at many dk ferent points in the country it was found that the young men of the middle west responded with greater alacrity to tl e call of the recruiting officer than did those of the east at the present time the chicago naval recruiting office is the second in size in point of the num her of enlistments in the country the chicago recruiting office averages about 20 en a week this being about 20 per cent of the applications the requirements for enlistment are ex rigid and a large number of those who apply never reach the examining physician being rejected as unfit at sight however those who are accepted are sure of a thorough training tia ining and a living which Is theirs as long as they ahe up to the requirements of the naval regulations while the chances for advancement are con more than they hae been in years gone by independence day is near gord fortune and solicitous care combined have pre served to americans the most sacred building in the united baates independence hall it is i possible to 1 old fourth of july celebrations in the shadow of the very structure which saw the birth and signing of the declaration of independence the most potent docton e for freedom in the history of the world tl e nation has not ignored the chance there are many patriotic americans who make it a duty on J 4 4 to journey to philadelphia a pilgrimage to the sl of 1 berty there to raise their voices in thanks binl rejoicing for the great deed that was there accomplished since that da now distant years when charles thomson rising in his chair read for the first time the final draft of that momentous document which thomas tun ed from new york july 2 1776 a grand celebration the recurrence of the promulgation of the declaration ot the entire population of phila held in which nearly was chevalier conrad alexandre gerard of joined delphia the united states france the first minister accredited to fromang fro many power was an interested spectator in the state house chief justice john marshall spoke yard at one of the celebrations in the early part of his tenure of office and later daniel webster delivered a notable addles there during the centennial in philadelphia there was nat orally a notable demonstration and no less a person than dom ledro emperor of brazil sat among those who cheered the sentiments that had sounded the downfall of monarchy in this country and were finally to take bia throne from the ruler of brazil in later years another representative of a foreign coultry courtry was the central figure at independence square wu ting fang chinese minister spoke there with fine eloquence and made one of the best speeches credited to him in his many felicitous utterances in this country fhe anomaly that he was the envoy of one of the most absolute of monarchies did not prevent the celestial from painting in moat graphic phrase what the venerable building stood for during his arst administration gloier cleveland president of the united states came to philadelphia one fourth of july and standing on a platform raised in the square appealed apie aled to the young manhood of america that the great lessons of be not ignored samuel J randall judge evelley gent grant lewis cassidy have also figured prominently in fourth of july celebrations there during the administration of mayor warwick him self an orator of genuine gitts every year was made the occasion of notable demonstrations to which were in cited men of national fame one of the most commendable features about all these affairs has been the prominence given to children in fact they might almost be called children s day events it has been the wise thought of the men in charge that no better use could be made of the nation natal day than by impressing oil the younger mind the gibat truths that had their best development with inda pen dence ball |