Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-26
MANY GUNS IN SALUTE.
Roosevelt the Central Figure of
Beautiful Picture

NORFOLK. Va, April 26.-The deep
throated guns of five great nations today
voiced salute in unison to the American
flag and to the President of the United
States The reverberating boom of the
cannon sped. laundering and echoing over
the waters of far-famed Hampton roads,
where nearly half century ago the
Monitor and the Merrimac met in the
memorable conflict which brought into be-
ing the armored craft of war. From the
little Yankee cheese box set upon a raft
and the rectangular mass of iron which
carried the confederate flag in 1862, to the
modern fighting machines typifed by the
flower of the American navy gathered in
holiday assemblage today is far cry. Yet
many of those who stood on shore and wit
messed the naval pageant in the roadstead
vividly recalled the historic time when the
wind-rippled waters which formed the set
ting of this greatest international rendez-
vous of war vessels of recent years were
splashing with the shot and shell of the
first great battle OF steel-clad ships.
On the Mayfower.
President Roosevelt. from the bridge of
of the trim little yacht-cruiser Mayflower
whose decks were the meeting place of the
peace plenipotentiaries of Russia and Japan
less than two years ago, reviewed the great
assemblage of flag-draped fighters gath
cred from the corners of the world to
make notable the opening day of the
jamestown tercentennial exposition COM
| memorating the Booth anniversary of the
first English settlement in America.
Steaming down the long column of dark
hulled foreigners the President was greet
ed by each vessel in turn with a salute of
twenty-one guns. The Mayfiower then
turned down the lane of American battle
ships and cruisers and again the roar of
saluting cannon swept across the waters.
The new American navy was in its infancy
fourteen years ago when the brilliant
international naval rendezvous OF 1893 was
| held in Hampton roads. Today the mag
nificent Atlantic fleet, under command of
| Rear Admiral Robley d. Evans, presented
picture of impressiveness fighting
| strength notable in the naval annals of
| the world.
Foreign Vessels.
| TIL. foreign vessels We're given the posi-
| tons of honor in a line stretching nearest
| and parallel to the shores of the exposi-
| ton grounds. browning and formidable in
| their dark drab coloring, with tunnels as
| black as the smoke which poured from
| their tops, the squadrons sent by Great
| Britain, by Austria, by Germany and the
| Argentine Republic doomed in deep shaded
| relief against the dazzling background of
| American vessels whose glistening white
! sides sparkled in the light rays reflected
| from the waterand whose light buff super
| structure and stacks lent a harmonious
setting to the many-hued flags floating from
masthead and peak, from fighting-top and
! hying-truck.
he
the American ships during the days of the
| war with Spain, when the traditional and
exclusive dressing of white gave way to the
| somber gray hue of war apparel. Ameri-
can vessels at naval gatherings abroad
| have always been an attractive center of
| interest because of their graceful lines and
| clean-cut appearance. Today, assembled
in the full strength of a home protecting
fleet, they made an impression which will
| live long in the memory of those who
looked while the President, commander
in-chief, DOTTED his hat in acknowledgment
| of each thunderous salute which marked
the progress of the review.
Army Officers of Many Nations.
Not the least impressed of those who
opening of the exposition the mill.
tary and naval officers of thirty-seven OF
the nations of the world. The ambassa
doris and ministers of all these nations
were also among those who gazed upor
the beautiful naval show. The foreign
| diplomats and officers were on board the
| steamer Newport News, which brought
them down from Washington last night
| and which was given position of van
, tage over the hundreds of excursion steam
ers and pleasure craft of every imaginable