An act of international courtesy, unprecedented in American naval annals at least, and probably unprecedented in the world's history, occurred yesterday in the harbor of Valparaiso, Chile, when Admiral Evans sailed in and out of the harbor, saluting the port and then the President of Chile in person. It was a demonstration which in not only its immediate but its far-reaching effects was worth probably more than a quarter of a century's exchange of diplomatic notes and expressions. Moreover, for sundry reasons which the intelligent observer of more or less recent events can appreciate, there was no better place on the South American continent for such a remarkable performance. Especially gratifying to Admiral Evans were the cordial messages of thanks and esteem he received by wireless. The last time he sailed away from Valparaiso kind words did not follow him. Thus does time and a marked advance in naval power work wonders in international affairs. The greatest honors that the fleet of any nation could pay to the head of another nation were paid to President Montt. They were precisely such as the fleet paid to President Roosevelt on the departure from Hampton Roads. They differed only in their setting. The flag of another republic was at the main. Three times as many people witnessed the spectacle in Valparaiso as observed it in Hampton Roads. The saluting was in a foreign port, girt about with lofty hills instead of the low lying and far distant shores of Chesapeake Bay. Elaborately dressed shipping, flying the flags of half a dozen nations, added color to the scheme. A great city terraced up the mountain sides made a holiday to gaze, first in silence and then with cheers, at an armada which meant not conquest but a visible message of safety from conquest by European Powers, and an assurance that not only Chile but every other Power in South or Central America could pursue the path of commercial and intellectual development secure from the envy and avarice of other parts of the world. Exhibiting that fleet to Chile was like showing her a paid-up, interminable insurance policy of peace, made out in the name of all American peoples. Judging from the responses it elicited Chile liked the way the policy read.