Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1907-07-09
PLANS READY FOR
FLEET movement
ONLY DETAILS OF VOYAGE To
PACIFIC LIKELY TO BE
CHANGED.
MAGELLAN ROUTE is
oNLY-FEASABLE ONE
Sending Ships Through Mediterrane-
an and suez Canal Might Be Re-
garded as Menace by Japan, Which
Was Never Intended.

an ana Suez Canal wight Be he.
garded as Menace by Japan, Which
Was Never Intended.
Washington, July "Details of the
vast movement of the Atlantic fleet to
Pacific waters have been theoretically
worked out weeks in advance by the
naval general board. But these de-
tails are necessarily subject to con-
slant change resulting from the with
drawal of battleships from active COM
mission on account of having been de-
clared antiquated or in need of re
pairs and the substitution Of other
ships just going into commission and
fresh from the builders hands. There
was in the navy department Friday
scarcely anyone authorized to afford
any information as to the contem-
plated fleet movement. Secretary
Metcalf is in California, Assistant Sec
rotary Newberry is at Watchhill, R. l.,
Admiral Brownson, the chief of the
navigation bureau who Is next in line,
has gone to New York, and the acting
secretary of the navy Friday was Rear
Admiral Mason, chief of the bureau Of
ordnance, who assumes the Office by
virtue of seniority but can scarcely be
regarded as an authority in the mat
ter of disposition of ships which does
not directly concern his bureau work.
Only One Route Feasible.
The opinion of the officers on duty
Is that but one route is feasible for
the big ships and that is by way Of
the Straits of Magellan. The route
from New York across the Atlantic
and through the Mediterranean and
the Suez canal is open to the objection
that it would bring the big ships al
most into Japanese waters and the
movement might consequently be re-
garded as menace, which Secretary
Metcalf has stated has never been
contemplated. The Suez route, too, Is
longer by thousand miles than the
Magellan route. This, according to
the best calculations and allowing for
short visits to ports not on the near
est sailing route, is about $4,000 miles
In length.
EVANS ~FOpdple OOyNHldUQSTs ttaa
1t is conceded that Rear Admiral
Robley d. Evans will command the
fleet in this great movement. He al
ready has had an extended period of
sea service in command rank-longer
| perhaps than any other admiral In re-
cent years-but it is known by his
friends that he would like to wind up
his active career by safely conduct
Ing around the American continent
the greatest fleet of warships ever
gotten together in these waters, and
| there is no disposition on the part
of the officials of the department who
have implicit confidence in his abil-
| ity to deny the officer this request.
Makeup of Fleet.
The composition of the fleet will
| probably be as follows:
Battleships-Co Connecticut, Louisiana,
Maine, Missouri, Virginia, Georgia,
New Jersey, Rhode Island, Alabama,
Illinois, Kearsarge, Kentucky, Ohio,
Minnesota, Vermont and Kansas
Protected cruisers Charleston, Chi.
cago, Milwaukee and ST. Louis.
GunDOat-Y orktOWn.
The armored cruiser squadron of
the Pacific fleet, which will have head
quarters in Californian waters, will
be composed of the Washington, Ten
nessee, California and South Dakota
Rear Admiral Charles H. Stockton
will command this armored cruiser
squadron, the Tennessee being his
flagship.
Trip as Time Test.
Oyster Bay, N, Y, July 6.-Rear Ar
miral w. H. Brownson, chief of the
bureau of navigation of the navy de-
partment, who Friday lunched with
President Roosevelt, stated that all
he knew of the intended cruise to the
Pacific was what he had seen in the
newspapers.
THE statement of Secretary Met
calf and that of Secretary Loeb" he
continued, indicate that cruise may
be somewhere at sometime, but that
is all know of the matter Should
the cruise be taken to the Pacific, /
think it's only object would be to
demonstrate how quickly the voyage
can be made, and for no other pur-
pose"
Report Discredited in Japan.
Toxic, July 6.-The report from
Washington attribuung the proposed
sending Of 16 battleships to the Pa
cific coast to Admiral Dewey's private
| plan is generally disbelieved here by
those whose knowledge and expert
ence entities their opinion to some at
tentfon. The United States is not
known to possess naval bases in the
Pacific adequate for such purpose, and
the impression prevails that the send
ing of so large a squadron where suf-
ficient rendezvous does not exist
would simply mean that the vessels
would be an easy prey to torpedo
boats and destroyers. Should 16 bat
tleships be SO employed as to dis.
prove this impression, record-break-
ing naval feat would have to be ac-
complished.
Templars Leave for Saratoga.
poctop INV Q-Mamharc IF uaoc