United States News: 1900 and on

[snip]

Ok, time to light this candle.

January 1st, 1900. Washington DC.

With much jubilation, the residents of Washington DC. rang in the new year and century. Having put the strife of Civil War behind them, snuffing out the more gaping remaining divisions in the war with Spain, Americans were ready to move forward. What awaited them was unknown, but all sensed that America's time as a world power was soon dawning. Some in the capital would shape events, some would be destroyed by them, still others would watch them go by as if from afar. What was felt, no matter how subtlety, by all was the slow stirring of a giant. What events would waken it?

[snip]

January 5th, 1900. Naval Station Dewey, Guam.

It seemed that the weather was always sticky in the tropics, no matter the time of year. For the United States Navy personnel stationed in Guam, this caused varying degrees of discomfort. Lieutenant Boyd Castellano of Pensacola Florida was not bothered at all. Commanding officer of the USS Moravian, Castellano was the second highest ranking officer on Guam. The first sat behind the desk in the office which Castellano stood. Peleg Christison, Lieutenant Commander United States Navy, was a squat little man. Balding with thick glasses, the weather here did not agree with him. Sweating profusely under his uniform while reading the papers in front of him, he eventualy addressed Castellano.

"Thank you for the status update on the Moravian Lieutenant." Peleg's thick New England accent devoured the "r" and refused to spit it back out. "It appears your ship is holding up well to the climate here."

"Indeed she is sir." Boyd's thick Southern accent minced the words much differently then Peleg's "I wish I could shake the hands of the men who built that engine."

"Good, good." Peleg's attention had diverted back to the papers. "A question for you Lieutenant, what do you think of the Japanese?"

"I can't say I have much of an opinion sir." Boyd responded. "I aint never met one. Seems wrong of me to get all high and mightier 'bout folk I never seen."

"A fair point." Peleg wiped sweat from his brow "Can't say I envy what they are dealing with."

"I very much agree with that sir." Boyd let a bit of relief creep into is voice.

"In any case, it seems like we might have that fishery issue on Rota not quite wrapped up. Hohepa seems to be at it again with Timoti's boats." The papers were unceremoniously dropped onto the desk. Peleg continued in a exasperated tone "If you would go talk to our good friend Hohepa, again."

"Yes sir." Boyd saluted "We should be able to make steam this afternoon."

"Its already this damn hot and its not even noon?" Peleg moaned. "I am going for a walk. Good day Lieutenant."

[snip]

Bureau of Construction and Repair, Washington DC. 2nd February, 1900.

Eugene Stoddard quietly closed the door behind him, being careful not to catch the tubes of blueprints under his arm in the process. The other men sitting in the room all wore some variation of the same face, wondering why this meeting had been called for a Friday afternoon. The large table that dominated the center of the room already had several large rolls of paper on it, Eugene added his to the pile. As Eugene took a seat, the figure at the head of the table coughed to clear his throat.

John Davis Long, Secretary of the United State Navy, began. "Good afternoon gentlemen. I trust you are all well?" A positive murmur from the rest of the table did not stop Long from continuing. "Good, good. Now tell me, what do you have?"

One of the senior designers, a twig of a man named Brady Fitzroy, spoke up. "Well as has been discussed previously, we have been working on a series of designs for Battleship 1901. The refinements we have been making are resulting in a very intriguing design. As noted, we have been aiming at commonality with the Battleship 1900 design with the goal of forming a homogeneous core for our battleline. Within the new limit given to us by Congress of 16000 tons, we have substantially improved on the Battleship 1900 design."

As Fitzroy droned on recapping previous discussions, all moot now that the Battleship 1900 Class were under construction as the USS Maine, USS Louisiana, and USS Virginia, Eugene recalled what he had heard about the plans Congress had enacted to expand the Navy. Mostly due to the Spanish-American war, naval power was at the forefront of popular public agendas. It was becoming rather clear that the US public wanted a strong Navy. He was drawn out of his mind by John Davis Long addressing him.

"Mister Stoddard." Long's voice cut through the room. "Can you show us the latest draft?"

Eugene nodded and proceeded to unroll one of the bundles of blueprints he had carried into the room. "This is the latest we have been working on. As you can see, we are working to maximise the number of seven inch guns that can be carried and trained to a given quadrant. Given that speed, armor and main guns are relatively fixed due to commonality with the Maine class, we felt this was the area where the most improvement could be derived. We feel the best way to do that is to have  a pair of seven inch turrets located above the twelve inch turrets. This would, theoretically mind you, allow for six such guns to fire forward or aft in chase scenarios and eight on the broadside."

"And how would these additional seven inch guns be mounted?" Long looked curious.

"We have explored two arrangements." Eugene pointed at one of the drawings. "The first, as can be seen here mounts the seven inch turret directly on top of the twelve inch turret. We refer to this as a stacked turret." He flipped to another page. "The second option mounts the seven inch turret above and behind the twelve inch turret. We have taken to calling this one a superfiring arrangement."

"On the superfiring arrangement, will the blast from the seven inch guns cause concussion inside the twelve inch turret?" Long's question was quite logical.

Eugene had an answer however. "We don't believe so. The force is not so great as to cause damage to sailors. In the worst case, the seven in turret would need to be restricted in when it could be fired directly ahead. In any case, we feel it is easier to mitigate the risk with the superfiring as oppose to the stacked arrangement due to the space between the turrets."

"I'm glad you have though about these things." Long nodded appreciatively. "Good work Stoddard. Now, somebody had something for me on our examination of the captured Pluton?"

Eugene rolled up the prints for Battleship 1901 as the engineer sitting across from him spoke up.

"Abner Engels sir." the engineer began. "We have completed designs for a destroyer based on the Pluton. It is projected to be marginally faster than the Chauncy class while carrying far better guns. If anything, it obsoletes our existing torpedo boats for the fast strike roll as they can take a hit much better than the existing torpedo boats. The only downside is that the range is projected to be about half that of the Chauncy class."

"Well, we will see what the political types want." Long looked ready to wrap up the meeting. "Gentlemen, I think we should call it a day. Time for all of you to go home and have a restful weekend, we will continue this Monday morning."

The internal grone of every man in the room was all-but audible. The only thing worse than Friday afternoon meetings was ones on Monday mornings.

[snip]

Some events of Public record from January, February, and March.

Jan 12th - Freeland Colony founded in Skagit County, Washington.
Jan 27th - Social Democrat Party of America holds 1st convention.
Feb 3rd - Kentucky gubernatorial candidate William Goebel is assassinated in Frankfort.
Feb 22nd - Hawaii becomes a official US territory. The threat of the Newlands Resolution being used to illegally annex the islands is used to pass an official Act of Annexation based of the deal negotiated by former Secretary of State John Sherman. ^[1]
Feb 23rd - Steamer Rio de Janeiro sinks in SF Bay.
Mar 3rd - US Steel Corporation officially organizes.
Mar 6th - After a meeting in Indianapolis, the Social Democratic Party nominates Eugene Debs as its candidate for President in the 1900 election.
Mar 14th - The Gold Standard Act is ratified, placing the United States currency on the gold standard.
Mar 24th - New York City Mayor Robert Anderson Van Wyck breaks ground for a new underground "Rapid Transit Railroad" that would link Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Mar 25th - The Social Democratic Party decides to change there name to the US Socialist Party in order to more effectively differentiate themselves from the Democratic Party.

[1] Because the Newlands resolution was an Act of Congress and not an official Act of Annexation, it could be argued that Hawaii is actually an occupied independent nation. Figured I would close that little loophole here.

[Walter]

"They have got me this time. I guess they have killed me."

... was Goebel's assassination like OTL (so shot on January 30 and died February 3) or did it all happen on February 3 here in Navalism?

Looking at the news, I guess the Yaqui Indians aren't calling out to the US to aid them...
... or the US is just ignoring them while they are being murdered by the Mexican Army...

[snip]

A bit out of order, but needs to be said.

May 21st, 1900

William McKinley set the newspaper down on his desk as sunlight flooded in the windows of the Oval Office. "Well, are we about to see a major war in Europe?"

"I don't believe so." John Hay responded. "This seems to be rather limited. I would have expected the Russians to start shooting already if conquest was the aim."

"Germany to, I suppose." McKinley mussed. "How soon until you depart for The Hauge?"

"Not very long I hope Mr. President." Hay replied "I think most of the terms are agreeable, tho getting Congress to sign off on them might be difficult."

"And with the convention coming up, I think we might want to wait if there is anything controversial on there." McKinley "Besides, when Roosevelt gets the VP nod that will create lots of good press. Thets try not the ruin that."

Hay nodded. "Agreed sir. Now if you will excuse me sir, I have a meeting with the Mexican foreign minister about the Yaqui." He then stood, nodded to the President, and left the room.

McKinley picked up his paper and continued reading.

[snip]

United States Capital, House Chamber. May 24th, 1900.

Thomas Tongue of Oregon took his seat as Speaker of the House David Henderson banged the gavel. The House of Representatives did not quite grow silent quick enough for the Speaker.

"ORDER!" Henderson bellowed and the gavel fell again "WE SHALL HAVE ORDER!" The representatives complied and the chamber drifted into relative silence.

Somebody behind Thomas quipped "Being that large I'm not surprised he can make himself heard." A snorting laugh followed. Thomas merely rolled his eyes.

"Now, first on the docket today." Henderson adjusted his specticals and squinted at the paper on the lecture. "The funding bill for the Navy, as approved by the Senate for Fiscal Year 1901. I believe we have discussed these changes to death and it is now time to vote."

Thomas listened intently as the provisions were read off again. The changes from the original bill passed by the House and the Senate version were minor. The clause that caused the most debate, the authorization for three 16,000 ton battleships, had survived both chambers.

"Now we shall conduct the vote." Henderson began reading off names, each followed by an Aye or Nay. When Thomas's turn came, he voted Aye. After tallying, Henderson announced the results. The Ayes have it, the bill will be sent to President McKinley for signature. The gavel banged again. "Now for the next order of business..."

[snip]

Off the coast of North Carolina, East of Kitty Hawk. June 3rd 1900.

The day was glorious for sailing, several sailboats of more well-off North Carolinians plied the waters of the beaches of Kitty Hawk. None of those boats could hold a candle to the speed of the USS Portland. The fourth Providence class scout cruiser, the Portland was one of the fastest cruisers in the world. Currently she was transferring some naval staff from Norfolk to Charleston, and while she was not pushing her 23knt top speed, the 18knts she was making blew past the sailboats. Lieutenant Commander Caleb Enos stood on the bridge, relishing being in command. Caleb had been the executive officer of the Portland until May 25th when Mayson Dawson, Commander United States Navy, had been tapped to command the under construction USS Kearsarge. This was Caleb's first command, but it came as no surprise to the crew of the Portland.

Caleb Enos, 25 years of age, was born and raised in Salem Oregon to a single mother, Abigail Enos. On the nomination of Governor Sylvester Pennoyer, Caleb attended the United States Naval academy and served as a junior officer on the USS Yorktown during the Battle of Santiago-de-Cuba. It was there that Commander Dawson had met Caleb and later asked him to be his XO on the Portland when she commissioned. Caleb did not cut a very imposing figure, he almost did not clear six feet and weighed no more than 180 pounds, but he commanded respect and obedience from his men. "Mister Brant" Caleb addressed the bridge at large. "Is your estimate of our arrival in Charleston still accurate?"

The Portland's very green navigator Montgomery Brant stammered "Yes Lieutenant. We are still on schedule to arrive about 0900 Monday morning."

"Very good Mister Brant." Caleb grinned slightly. Of course they would be on time, but Brant needed the practice. "Would you please kindly inform our passengers that we are on schedule. I imagine that they would like to know." Supply officers, like his passengers, always seemed to like little details like that.

Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. June 4th 1900.

Esmond Merrick and his daughter Stephanie walked their way down the quay of Charleston's harbor. The rout they routinely walked was a broad boardwalk lined with shops and cafes on the landward side. Given that the small Charleston Navy Yard was attached to the harbor proper, the shops normally had several sailors present. This morning was no different. As they continued to walk, Esmond spotted the USS Portland moored alongside the naval pier. He pointed it out to his daughter.

"Darling, look over there." Esmond's finger fixed strait at the cruiser "What ship do you reckon that is?"

Stephanie squinted. "Its one of the Providence's for sure. To long to be anything else. Given the funnel markings I dont think its one of the Boston ships. I don't know which of the Norfolk ships it would be tho. For the sake of a guess, I will say the Portland."

"Your guess is as good as mine. We must see if we can find a sailor from her." Esmond said "I must know what ship she is." Esmond had served in the Union Navy during the Civil War and had moved to Charleston afterwards. He married a local woman, who had died giving birth to Stephanie. He still had friends in the Navy and maintained good relationships with the commanders at the Charleston Yard. Currently the owner of a sailmaking shop and fishery supply store, his fascination with the Navy and ocean had never waned and it seemed his daughter had picked up that habit as well.

Stephanie Merrick, 24 years old, was not quite the stereotypical Southern Belle in looks, tho she was close to it. Even with some of her father's Yankee features mixed in with her mother's Southern ones, one would be hard pressed to call her out as someone of mixed Southern and Northern heritage. She had recently graduated from Orangeburg Female College and was now working as a receptionist for her father. While not a tall woman, she was still very attractive and had several suitors. None of those men had made good impressions however, and she had not accepted any offers from them.

As the father-daughter pair strolled further down the boardwalk, Esmond spotted something else. "Ah, it looks like Rear Admiral Macey is having lunch. Do you think we should go over to him?" Anson Macey was the highest ranking officer in Charleston and a good friend of Esmond's.

Before Stephanie could respond, Anson spotted the pair, excused himself from the table, stood up and walked over to them. "Esmond, how do you do on this fine day?"

"Quite good sir," Esmond replied "how do you do?"

Anson chuckled "No matter how many times I ask you not to you are always going to sir me. I am doing quite well." He then turned to Stephanie. "And how are you doing my dear?"

Stephanie curtised slightly. "Very well sir."

Anson chuckled again. "Like father like daughter. I assume you both spotted our esteemed guest?"

"Yes we did." Stephanie replied. "We are guessing that it is the USS Portland."

Anson turned to Esmond. "She is good, still sharp as ever. Has she continued reading so much or have you just been feeding her the books?" Both men laughed at the joke. "Would you two like to join me for lunch?"

Esmond replied. "It would be our pleasure. Who is your guest?" He gestured at the other officer with his back to them.

"That would be the Portland's commander." Anson answered as he guided them back to the table. "Apparently, he has not ever had a proper Southern lunch. I aim to fix that." On reaching the table, Anson spoke again. "Commander Enos, I would like you to meet a dear friend of mine, Esmond Merrick. Esmond, this is Lieutenant Commander Caleb Enos."

Caleb stood and extended his hand. "Pleasure to meet you sir."

Esmond enthusiastically shook it. "The pleasure is mine. Allow me to introduce my daughter, Stephanie."

Caleb looked befuddled for a brief moment before extending the same hand to Stephanie. "My pleasure ma'am."

Stephanie gave the hand a apprehensive shake. It took all her self control not to berate him for ma'aming her.

"He really is not from around here is he." Esmond whispered to Anson.

Anson chuckled softly. "I would not expect the finer points of Southern culture to be prominent in Oregon."

As lunch wore on, Esmond became very attentive of Caleb's stories. Stephanie listened closely, but did not interrupt. For his part, Caleb embellished just enough to entrap Esmond and did just enough to keep Stephanie feeling like an active participant. By the time the last plates were carried away by the server, the two were locked in conversation. Finally, Anson spoke up. "Esmond, I hate to interrupt, but I need to get Commander Enos here back to my office to work out some details before he sails back to Norfolk."

"Yes, yes indeed." Esmond glanced at his pocket watch. "I do wonder where the time went. I must be on my way as well. My pleasure Commander." Esmond shook Caleb's hand vigorously.

"It was a pleasure to meet you Commander." Stephanie spoke next. " I wish you a safe voyage to Norfolk."

Caleb responded. "The pleasure was all mine ma'am."

With a genuine smile, Stephanie replied. "Please Commander, just call me Stephanie."

Esmond spoke up. "We must be on our way. I would enjoy speaking to you again Commander, by letter or in person. Good day sirs."

"Goodbye Esmond" Anson shook his friend's hand and then turned and walked off with Caleb following behind.

Stephanie followed her father away in the opposite direction. "You two seem to have become fast friends."

"His stories are quite enthralling, and he is from Oregon no less." Esmond replied. "Now tell me, why did you give him permission to call you by your first name? Not that it bothers me, you are a wonderful young woman who can make her own choices, but I have never seen you do that before."

"Because," Stephanie replied in a relaxed tones "he treated me like I was a human."

"So if he were to ask me for permission to write you..." Esmond let the question trail off.

"I would want you to give it to him." Stephanie's reply was firm. "In fact, I might just write him first."

[snip]

Some Events of Public Record: April, May, June. These are for the most part historical events as described here.

April:
--Labor unrest dominates the news as ironworkers in Cincinnati, tinners and sheet-metal workers in Kansas City, boilermakers in Akron, Ohio, and Italian blacksmiths in Croton Landing, New York go out on strike, sometimes turning violent.
--The Automobile Club of America hosts the US's first automobile race in New York. A.L. Riker, driving an electric motorcar, was the winner.
--Late frosts inflict considerable damage to the fruit and vegetable crops in Central and Southern Mississippi.
--As the number of pedestrians hit by automobiles increases, the city of Chicago considers a bill requiring cars to have fenders.

May:
--Louisville, Kentucky, is the site of a reunion of 40,000 veterans of the Confederate Army.
--Lakeview, Oregon, is the site of a fire that destroys 64 buildings.
--A deadly explosion at the Winter Quarters mine in Scofield, Utah, kills over 200 miners.
--Railroad engineer Jonathan "Casey" Jones of Jackson, Tennessee is killed in Vaughn, Mississippi during a collision on the Illinois Central Railroad.

June:
--The Prohibition Party chooses John G. Wooley of Illinois as their presidential candidate and Henry B. Metcalf of Rhode Island as their vice-presidential contender.
--Carrie Nation, a known Prohibitionist, is seen hurling a rock through the window of a Kiowa, Kansas, saloon.
--Medical experts in San Francisco hold discussions about using x-rays to treat tuberculosis.
--A federal quarantine, forbidding anyone to leave the city without permission from a US health officer, is ordered in San Francisco over fears caused by bubonic plague.
--The Washington monument, featuring a seven-minute elevator ride, opens to tourists.
--Three-hundred and twenty-six steamship passengers and crew members are killed as fire destroys 3 steamships and piers in Hoboken, New Jersey.
--New York is the site of the Socialist Labor Party convention where Joseph P. Maloney of Massachusetts and Valentine Remmel of Pennsylvania are nominated for president and vice-president, respectively.
--The International Ladies' Garment Workers Union is founded by cloakmakers on New York's Lower East Side. The union represents 2,300 workers in New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.

[snip]

The New York Times, 22nd June 1900.

WILLIAM MCKINLEY NOMINATED FOR 2nd TERM. ROOSEVELT NOMINATED AS RUNNING MATE.

The Republican National Convention concluded in Philadelphia yesterday, with President McKinley being unanimously voted to be the candidate for the November election. Officially nominated by Senator Joseph B. Foraker and Governor Theodore Roosevelt, both of New York, the unanimous decision was reached on the first ballot. The speeches by both the Senator and Governor praised the President for is commitment to the nation during the Spanish-American war and his devotion to the American people. Governor Roosevelt was nominated for the Vice Presidency with all but one of the possible votes. Reportedly the Governor abstained from voting.

[snip]

The Oval Office, Washington DC. August 5th 1900.

William McKinley sat in the Oval Office as he finished reading the latest report from John Hay. "It seems once again the diplomacy prevails in preventing the Nations of Europe from being plunged into war." McKinley mused to himself. "How long until the next crisis, I wonder."

[snip]

Events of Public Record: July, August, September

July:
--First issue of the Chicago American is published.
--A streetcar in Tacoma, Washington jumps its tracks and plunges into a ravine killing 43 people and injuring 65 more.
--Lightning sets fire to a Standard Oil storage tank in Bayonne, New Jersey. The resulting inferno destroys the refinery and takes three days to extinguish.
--Democrats nominate William Jennings Bryan as there candidate for the 1900 Presidential election.
--Robert Charles sparks a two day manhunt and riot during which he killed 24 people in New Orleans
--The United States Postal Service takes steps to increase the delivery of catalogs and magazines to rural locations via Order No. 875

August:
--The first national addition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum is published.
--North Carolina ratifies Amendment VI to the state constitution, effectively disenfranchising non-white voters due to its education requirements.
--The Firestone Tire and Rubber company is established in Akron, Ohio by Henry Firestone.
--Milton S. Hershey sells the Lancaster Caramel Company to investor Daniel F. Lafean. Hershey plans to start making chocolate in Derry Church, Pennsylvania with the infusion of capital from the sale.
--A dispute between workers and foremen on the island of Laysan results in two workers being killed by Joseph Spencer. The other workers, including three wounded were fired several days later. Mr. Spencer was acquitted of any wrongdoing.
--Railroad tycoon Collis Huntington, who played a major roll in building the Transcontinental Railroad, died at the age of 78.
--A riot takes place in New York City after a white police officer, Robert Thorpe, is stabbed by a unknown individual. A black man caused an altercation where Thorpe's body was discovered, which lead to the riot.
--Kalamazoo, Michigan is inundated with a swarm of grasshoppers, closing most of the town for about a day.
--Normal relations between Spain and the United States are restored.
--Professional stuntman Harry Davis is killed when his parachute malfunctions during a demonstration in Delphos, Ohio.
--The National Negro Business League is founded in Boston
--The state-of-the-art Chicago Coliseum opens.
--The Wild Bunch conducts a train robbery in Tipton, Wyoming stealing approximately $45,000.

September:
--The German-American Telegraph Company opens the first direct line between Germany and the United States.
--A railroad accident in which a freight train colided with cars of a passenger train kills 13 and injures 30 more.
--While giving a demonstration, the all-black Capital City Guards of the South Carolina state guard are attacked. No casualties are reported, but the resulting investigation results in the disbandment of the unit.
--Galveston, Texas is hit by a massive hurricane that kills 6,000 of the city's 38,000 people. Winds up to 84mph were reported before equipment was destroyed. The island the city is built on was covered by 8 feet of water. Locals take maters into there own hands in dealing with looters, approximately 250 are killed while looting.
--Dr. Jesse Lazear is able to prove the Yellow Fever is spread by mosquito after allowing himself to be bit by one. He contracted the illness from the bite and died.
--The largest strike to date occurs in Pennsylvania as 112,000 anthracite coal miners walk out. The strike lasts for approximately one month.
--Chicago public schools begin instructing blind students for the first time.
--The Associated Press is incorporated in New York and begins filing reports on September 30^th.

[snip]

Norfolk Naval Yard, July 29th 1900

Caleb Enos sat down at his desk in his cabin onboard the Portland. The usual pile of mail was topped with an unexpected small envelope that as opposed to the blocky letters that had been hammered onto the paper by a typewriter, was adorned with a slim fancy cursive script. Caleb picked the envelope up and read over the front. He noted the return address was for Esmond Merrick. Thats funny, he thought to himself, the handwriting does not look like what I would expect. Common sense told him that Stephanie would not have written him, that was just not the way Southern ladies behaved. He opened the envelope and noted two distinct types of paper inside. He unfolded the topmost page and began to read, noting the scrip was the same as the evelope.

   Commander Enos,

It was quite a pleasure to meet you during your visit to Charleston. You were most gracious to enthral my father with your stories. As you no doubt discovered, he is still fascinated with the Navy all these years after leaving the service. I also enjoyed hearing your stories, you have a great talent for captivating the listener. My father also wished to write you as well, but I wanted to make sure you saw mine first. As my father also says, we will be making a trip up to Norfolk around Christmas time to visit some friends of his prior to attending a Reunion for his ship, the USS Cayuga if you recall. I would be most excited if we were able to arrange a time to meet during our visit. We will be arriving on 18th December and departing at some point before the 27th.

   Sincerely,
   Stephanie Merrick

Caleb re-read the letter. "Well" he thought aloud "This is a most unexpected surprise." He then read over Esmond's letter where the travel plans were confirmed. After reading through both letters again, Caleb pulled out some stationary and began to pen his responses. Unlike Stephanie, he sent two envelopes. One addressed to her father, the other addressed to Ms. Stephanie Merrick.

Charleston, South Carolina, August 3rd

"Thank you very much William, have a wonderful week-end." Esmond said to the boy of no more than 16 that brought the post by. He began thumbing through the various envelopes until he came across two from Norfolk. After triple-checking the addressee on the second, the first was to him, Esmond called out. "Stephanie, darling, you have some post you should really read."

Stephanie's voice carried out of her room upstairs "Where is is from father?"

Esmond answered trying to hide his cheerfulness. "Norfolk Naval Yard, and I think we both know who would pen out 'Ms. Stephanie Merrick' in his own hand."

Stephanie had all but flown down the stairs and statched the evelope from her father.

Esmond laughed "Someone is exited. One might almost think you liked getting a letter from a man."

Stephanie stuck her tongue out at her father as she took a seat and gingerly opened the envelope with a small knife. She read the letter over carefully, a smile slowly spreading across her face.

Esmond walked over to his desk and placed the mail on it. As he sat down to begin opening it, a thought crossed his mind. She is so much like her mother.

[Kaiser Kirk]

--Galveston, Texas is hit by a massive hurricane that kills 6,000 of the city's 38,000 people. Winds up to 84mph were reported before equipment was destroyed. The island the city is built on was covered by 8 feet of water. Locals take maters into there own hands in dealing with looters, approximately 250 are killed while looting.

OOC : On the one hand I feel like the Italians should offer to send a hospital ship (they have a small one), but considering how few Italian immigrants were there, and that the USN would probably take it as an insult, I shan't.  Likewise taking up pennies for Galvaston...well the Italian people are broke, that's why so many went to the US and sent money home....

Gee, no articles on the birth of adorable fluffy kittens ?

[snip]

--Galveston, Texas is hit by a massive hurricane that kills 6,000 of the city's 38,000 people. Winds up to 84mph were reported before equipment was destroyed. The island the city is built on was covered by 8 feet of water. Locals take maters into there own hands in dealing with looters, approximately 250 are killed while looting.

OOC : On the one hand I feel like the Italians should offer to send a hospital ship (they have a small one), but considering how few Italian immigrants were there, and that the USN would probably take it as an insult, I shan't.  Likewise taking up pennies for Galvaston...well the Italian people are broke, that's why so many went to the US and sent money home....

Gee, no articles on the birth of adorable fluffy kittens ?

I'm willing to assume that responses to the hurricane fall approximately along the same lines as historical, unless someone really wants to change them.