The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1907-12-20
HOME BY SUEZCANAL
Pacific Fleet Will Make Cir
cult of Globe.
WIRELESS TALKS FROM EVANS SHIP
Americas sixteen Ironciad Messen-
gers of Peace Now steaming south
Toward st. Thomas TO Pass
Into Caribbean Sea.

NORFOLK, Va, Dec. ia wire
less message from Admiral Evans
flagship, the Connecticut, says that at
a wardroom dinner the announcement
was made by Admiral Evans on the
authority and order of President
Roosevelt the feet would return home
by way of the SueZ canal.
The wireless further said:
1.-THE battleship feet ut this hour
noon is steaming south toward the
island Of st. Thomas. We are now be-
yond the gulf stream and only mod
crate swell dlsturbs the surface Of the
sea, The weather is magnificent, and
between the blue Of the sky and the
blue of the waters the two white lines
of battleships, moving with stately
precision, make a magnificent picture.
THE squadrons scarcely can be said
to be shaken down as yet, but still
they keep perfect distances"
The fleet expects to reach the Ane-
gada passage by next Saturday noon.
Wireless telephones are being used
on the trip and are proving successful.
The ships in the squadron carry on
conversations and receive orders for
formation by wireless telephone.
The fleet is already In communica-
ton with the wireless station at San
Juan, Porto Rico
The presidents wireless message OF
farewell, sent from the Mayhower aft
er the feet had left Hampton Roads,
was enthusiastically, received by the
entire command.
by way of the SueZ canal is the first
announcement of the presidents inten-
tions and disposes for the time at least
of an immense amount Of conjecture.
The only definite programme 80 far
has been for the ships to 20 to Magda-
lena bay, in Lower California, arriy-
ing there, according to schedule, on
March IA. After months practice,
target and evolution. there the fleet
was to proceed to San Francisco. This
was as far AS the programme had been
announced.
What would happen after that has
been left to the theorists, and there
have been those who believed that Ii
was largely natter of chance. Part
Of the presidents message was taken
to intimate that the ships that return
ed would traverse the same route COM
ing as going. 1t has been thought by
many that the feet would not return
as a whole; that half the ships would
be left in the Pacific, supposedly at the
Philippines. This of course may be so
But the information contained in the
above wireless message does not afford
any evidence to support a theory of Il
division of the fleet. 1t is not part OF
| the feet" but the feet"
In the farewell statement given tC
the public by Admiral Evans he spoke
of 'this great practice cruise to visit
| our friends and supporters on the Pa
ciiic coast Of the country" He also
said, II hope that when we arrive
home at our destination the people
| will have for us upon our arrival
welcome as warm as is the godspesc
which they give us on our departure
| and that should our commander In
| chief then decide to send us on mis-
sion of peace and good will to the ma
tons of the other hemispheres The
same warm interest will follow there
in the future as 1t always has in thu
past"
This was taken as indicating tina
| the real destination Of the feet wa
the Philippines. 1t was taken TO
granted that some Of the ships, proba
bly, half Of them. would be left Their
and the others would continue hom
by way of the Suez canal on the "mis
sion of peace and good will to the ma
tons of the other hemisphere"
An around the world voyage by tn
,entire battleship feet or even by hal
of 1t, for that matter, would be a.
event of naval importance unsurpasse
In the naval history of the world.
would mean voyage of somethin
over 10000 miles. If the ships ar
taken after reaching Gibraltar to var
GUS ports of the great European sts
tions. as seems likely. Uncle Sam
flag would be pretty well known b
Al. ti,,,a Tho 600 CT of thn TTnitad State