Wall Street Journal, Monday, September 23rd 1929
The proposed Smoot-Hawley Tariff act died in committee today on the hill, leading to a strong rally in the stock market. Stocks rose nearly four percent on news that the Republican-sponsored bill had been soundly rejected by the House’s Ways and Means Committee. The fact that even many Republicans opposed the bill doomed it from the start. Many on Wall Street opposed the bill, saying its effects on United States overseas trade would be devastating. It was also feared that the bill would violate several treaties on international trade signed by the U.S. over the last decade.
In other news from Washington, the Senate ratified the German-American Treaty of Friendship signed in July. There was strong opposition from the more ardent isolationists who said that it was still too soon to trust “the Huns” but they fell far short of the votes needed to filibuster the treaty as they had threatened.
Tuesday, October, 1st, 1929
A stirring sight in the waters off of Long Beach today as the Pacific Fleet set sail for its tour of South America. The majority of the fleet is taking part in the voyage, which will culminate in a large fleet problem in the Gulf of Mexico in December. The only major vessels not participating are the light carriers Sackets Harbor and Lake Erie. They are preparing for a voyage across the Pacific sometime early in the New Year that will include several port visits to Asian nations. The Pacific Fleet’s two month voyage will include several port visits in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. The first stop will be in Acapulco, Mexico to join up with elements of the Mexican Pacific Fleet which are also going to take part in the exercise.
Friday, October 4th, 1929
The Pacific Fleet arrived in Acapulco this morning to a thunderous welcome from old Fort San Diego. Several thousand locals lined the waterfront to see the long grey line of warships drop anchor in the harbor on its first stop on its tour of the Americas. The battlecruiser Lexington lead the procession, followed by her sister, Saratoga the carriers Ranger and Constellation and the battleships of the Pacific fleet. The thousands of sailors will enjoy shore leave over the weekend before the fleet continues south Monday, joined by the Mexican cruisers Acapulco and Veracruz with the next stop being Buenaventura, Colombia around the twelfth of the month. There were several protesters in the crowd greeting the fleet, holding placards saying “Go home Gringos!” and “No Yankee Ditch!”, a reference to the planned canal across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Local police were then seen removing the demonstrators.
Monday, October 14th, 1929
The fleet stopped overnight off of Buenaventura, Colombia. Several officers and from the Colombian Navy other local dignitaries visited the fleet, but there was no shore leave permitted. There were reports of a malaria outbreak in the city, as well as rumors that the city has a rather unsavory reputation. Certainly no one wanted a repeat of the “incident” in Acapulco on the fifth. Admiral Pratt reported that there are liquor stashes still being discovered on several ships and at last count fifty sailors were still in confinement. “Honestly, I was afraid something like that would happen. Most of these kids have never been out of the US and it’s not like they’re too accustomed to tequila and senoritas back home. At least no one was seriously hurt and we were able to recover all the cattle and get them back to the farmer…”
Wednesday, October 16th, 1929
The Peruvian government unexpectedly cancelled the fleet’s visit to Callao yesterday after street protests in the city became violent. Reportedly demonstrators were angered at the news that a Chilean fleet will join up with the tour and participate in the war games in December. They were also angered by American construction of a coast defense battleship for their arch rivals. The fleet will arrive in Valparaiso, Chile on the twentieth.
Tuesday, October 22nd 1929
Lead by the battleship Almirante Gideon, a group of Chilean warships have joined the fleet after a stop at Valparaiso, Chile. While in port, the fleet played host to several Chilean flag officers and other dignitaries. The various crews were also granted shore leave over the weekend, with a stern warning from Admiral Pratt that no repeat of the troubles in Acapulco would be tolerated. So far there have been very few reports of any misbehavior and the fleet will depart tomorrow for the long voyage around the southern end of the continent, through the Straits of Magellan en route to Argentina.
Meanwhile, the multinational aspect of the upcoming war games grew even more diverse as the Japanese Navy accepted an invitation to observe and possibly even participate in the exercise. The historic battleship Mikasa will lead a seven ship squadron and the venerable Admiral Togo himself will head the delegation. Other nations expected to send observers include India, France, Russia, Germany, Poland, Australia, Brazil, and Nordmark. A Filipino warship will be part of the Mexican squadron for the exercises. When asked about possible confusion with all the different nationalities present, a Navy spokesman admitted that it was a concern. “We’re going to have at least three different languages present but the various powers are taking steps to minimize communications difficulties in the command structure.”
Friday, November 1st, 1929
A severe flu outbreak forced the cancellation of the fleet’s planned stop in Puerto Belgrano, Argentina. Reportedly several dozen Argentinean sailors have come down with influenza and several have died as a result of the illness. Several Argentinean observers did sail out to join the fleet and will observe the exercises next month. The fleet’s next stop will be Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for a four day visit. A Brazilian delegation will come aboard to act as observers as well.
Thursday, November 7th, 1929
Despite fears to the contrary, Rio has survived the visit of the fleet, and the fleet has survived visiting Rio. The Brazilian royal family hosted a dinner and party at the palace for the senior officers, while other parties were held at the magnificent Copacabana Palace Hotel. The huge harbor easily held the entire fleet. Shore leaves were staggered so as to not totally overwhelm the citizens of Rio. Thousands of sailors took in the sights and sounds of the city and its surroundings. One must admit that the beaches with their lovely ladies in skimpy swimsuits were especially popular!
From here we head for Mexico’s eastern coast and the exercise area in the Gulf of Mexico. As we enter the Caribbean we should be meeting up with the Atlantian fleet as they head to the exercise as well. We should reach the end of our journey before the end of the month, ending our fifteen thousand mile tour of the southern hemisphere.
Friday, November 29th 1929
Thanksgiving services held across the U.S. fleet yesterday included prayers for a safe and successful exercise. The fleet arrived in Veracruz Wednesday after an interesting passage through the Yucatan Channel. Several Iberian planes shadowed the fleet as it passed the western tip of Cuba. I doubt the Iberians could be too happy to see such a massive armada so close to their territory. The next week or so will see an extensive series of meetings between the various officers in charge of the different fleets. Then, the US Pacific Fleet and part of the Atlantian fleet will sail away in preparation for their role as attackers. The exercises itself are scheduled to last till around Christmas, though the actual simulated assault on the canal will only last a couple of days. The rest of the time will be made up of smaller exercises, including gunnery and bombing practice.
Thursday, December 5th, 1929
The exercises officially began this morning. So far, the “Brown” fleet, or the attacking fleet, hasn’t made any move. The rough outline of the scenario is that the enemy battle fleet is attempting to neutralize the defending forces, and then move troops in to seize the northern end of the canal and permanently disable it to prevent reinforcements from the Pacific from coming though. There’s no telling what Admiral Pratt’s plan will be and the defenders have all their forces searching the most likely route any invading force might take.
Pictures to follow, as will reports on the actual wargames.