Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-26

thousands of yards away in the blue waters
Of the roadstead.
A Great Column.
Back of the first line of foreign vessels
was ranged the mightiest column of Ameri
can battleships the history of the natior
has ever known. Stretching away in g
'curving line up the broad channelway from
the government pier off Old Point Comfort
sixteen mighty fortresses of the sea, wide
hulled. squat and heavy-the backbone Of
the American navy-fittingly formed the
center of the fleet arranged for the days
review In third line--and all but bidder
from the shore by the bulk of the heavy
battleships-were the cruisers and specter'
like torpedo craft attached to the American
sauadrons Clustered far inshore toward
the exposition water front were the sew
eral naval vessels which have been as
signed as station ships and will remain
here until the close of the fair, the last OF
November.
All told there were thirty-eight American
ships in today's review. The foreign ships
numbered twelve typical modern fighting
craft, and furnished a picturesque an6
built cruiser and the product of American
ship and navy yards.
All Ships Dressed.
All of the vessels of the combined fleets
were dressed in the f1uttering flags Of
the nations, and the brilliant-hued pen
nants and bits of bunting which form the
international signal code. During the
salutes to the President the white puffs Of
powder smoke f1oated away like tiny fecks
of summer clouds amid the futtering flags
of the decorated ships, the effect being one
of unexpected beauty.
AS representative of the greatest nava
power of the world the British cruiser
squadron, commanded by Admiral Sill
George Neville, and consisting of the ar
mored cruisers Good Hope, Argyll, Hamp'
shire and Rexburgh attracted large share
of attention The Good Hope, a vessel with
the strength and striking power of a bat
tleshlp combined with a SIT of speed almost
equal to the w:nd-2} knots-and horse
power a score of thousa nds, serves as Ad
miral Nevilles flagship. Her tonnage. 14,1W
TONS is equal to that Of more than one-hal1
the American ships, but is not so great as
that of the new type Of American armorec
cruiser represented by the Washington anc
the Tennessee in todays fleet, each regis
tering il. $40 TONS The Good Hope together
with the German imperial flagship Room. ar
armored cruiser. lighter than the British
boats but built along much the same lines
four tunnels and two military masts being
the striking features of similarity. were as
signed berths to the right and left OF the
Connecticut the big 16.OJ1-ton battleship tt
which Rear Admiral Evans recently trans
ferrcd his flag of command
Formed a Triangle.
These three fiagships formed triangle
where tie Mayf1ower at the end of the re
view dropped anchor. The Room has OF
board Commodore Carlo Won Heff com
handing the German South Atlantic squad
ron. Capt Won Rebeur Paswitch, adjutan
of Emperor William is also aboard as spe
cial representative of the emperor The fla,
officer of the Austrian squadron is Comma
dore Hermann Prescott. The Austrian flag
ship. Sankt Georg, is two thousand ton
lighter than the Room. Dark of hull ant
tunnels, she and most of the other foreign
ers might have been considered today a.
one fleet but for the variance of the flag
at truck and stern. The great assembling
of ships seemed to be divided only in tw'
classes, the immaculate white of the Amer
lean vessels being in opposition to th
murky, gloomy darkness of the visitor
from across the seas.
The American Fleet.
most every type of vessel known to tn
navy of the country. The stalwart six
teen-thousan d-tonners the Connecticut
Louisiana and Virginia, had to share hon
ors with the almost forgotten monitor Ca
nonicus-a cheese box herself and slight
improved over her famous prototype. !
relic of civil war days. the old Canonicu
has just ben fitted out at the Norfol
navy yard az cost of $4,000, to enabl
her to take place alongside the proudes
vessels of the navy, in which she at on
time was such formidable unit. Heav
coats of black paint do not altogether hid
the scars of the antiquated ship which wi
remain permanent feature of the expo
SitiOn.
The trim, f1owerlike Mayfiower, bearin
the President and Mrs. Roosevelt, Secre
tary Loeb and few invited guests, az
preaching from the eastward, arrived q
the head of the column of war vessels th1
morning almost an hour before the usus
call for quarters is sounded aboard a man
of-war. AS the Mayfiower approached
with rainbow flags aflutter, the America
flagship doomed out the first guns of tn
presidential salute. In flash the othe
American ships and the foreign vessels ha
| manned their cannon, and roar of twenty
one guns fired from each vessel of the flee
sounded almost simultaneously.
New Series of Salutes.
The Mayfiower pointed her way up tn
roads toward Norfolk, passing along tn
outer line of foreign ships CLOSE aboard.
AS she cleared the first of these the visi,
ing vessel opened fire with a new series G
salutes, repeated in turn by every battle
ship and cruiser of the big fleet The May
flowers way had been kept clear for he
since early morning by the little stear
guard launches sent out from the ships
do picket duty. Darling here and Their.
like little flashes Of light, with shrill wills
ties screeching warning to trespassin
craft, the little policemen of the road
were a unique and interesting feature {
the pageant. Each foreign and America
ship manned the rails as the Presder
passed in review. The crews were draw
up in close order along the forward an
quarter decks and elevations Of the super
structure and stood at attention as tn
Mayf1ower skirted each line.
The first Of the British ships encountere
was the Roxburgh, then the Hampshire an
next the Argyll. All three are sister ship:
| fou:-piped flyers forming with their flae
ship, the Good Hope, the one of the man
| brilliant cruiser squadrons of the Englis
| navy President Roosevelt was especial
| Interested in the Good Hope and as h
| passed the big cruiser close aboard he es
| changed personal salutes with Admire
Neville, who stood upon the bridge
A Genuine Surprise.
| Leaving the British ships astern the Ma,