The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-04-24
GREAT FLEET IN
HAMPTON ROADS
Flower of the American Navy
Ready to Receive Visiting
Foreign Battleships.
TWENTY-FIVE SHIPS IN LINE
JAMESTOWN EXPOSITION OPENS
FRIDAY.

Norfolk, Va. April 2s.-The greatest
| fleet of American vessels ever assemb
led i'm the historic waters of Hampton
Roads-three hundred thousand tons of
floating steel-was made ready today
to receive the first of the visiting for
eign battleships ard cruisers which are
from time to time to take part in the
celebrations which are to mark the
progress of the jamestown ter-centen-
NAL exposition. For the opening of the
exposition, Friday the 26th, the war
vessels of Great Britain, Germany and
Austria are expected One of the visit
ing Germans. the dark-hulled cruiser
Bremen, commanded by Lieutenant
Commander Alberts, is already in the
roadstead awaiting the arrival of the
Room, a big armored cruiser, typical of
the modern fighting craft in Emperor
Williams navy. The Room, it is ex-
pected, may arrive late this evening.
She will be officially welcomed by a
boom of cannon from the Connecticut,
the flagship Of Rear Admiral Evans,
commanding the Atlantic fleet.
All the American vessels now at
anchor belong to the Atlantic fleet.
There are probably twenty-five bat
is headed by the Connecticut. just off
the government pier at Fortress Mon
roe, and which trails away almost to
vanishing point up the broad channel
way leading to Norfolk.
Arranged for Sightseeing.
The fleet has been arranged so
as to give the visitors to the exposition
the best possible opportunity for view
ing the fighting strength of the Ameri-
can navy.
Practically every type of fighting
craft in the American navy is repre-
sented in the positions. Battleships
range from the $4,000 ton monsters of
the Connecticut and Louisiana class
the forerunners of the Dreadnaughts
about to be added to the navy-dOwn to
the all but abandoned Texas, the old
est American battleship and sister of
the Maine, which was wrecked in Hav-
ana harbor. The Texas was built at
the Norfolk navy yard many years ago
and, being a local product, is to remain
at the exposition as permanent feat
ure OF the naval exhibit. With her
eight guns and paltry 6.315 tons of
weight, the Texas. when ranged along
side the mammoth Connecticut, which
mounts twenty-fOur guns and dispIaces
$4,000 tons of wafer, offers a striking
example of the progress of the Ameri-
can navy since the days when the
lied by congress.
Cruisers All Modern.
The cruisers of the fleet are all mod |
ern craft, though the variance in size !
between the largest and the smallest
is as great as that which marks the /
heavier vessels of the battleship class |
The armored cruisers Tennessee and
Washington, each of IL, 800 tons and
mounting twenty guns each. are the !
heaviest of the cruisers. They can
hurl a weight of metal almost equal |
to the first-class battleships, while they
possess the fleetness of the ocean grey
hound. The smallest cruisers are the |
Denver and the Cleveland OF 5, 100 tons |
each-the third class of the protected |
vessels of the navy. In the cruiser !
class. the most interesting vessel is |
perhaps the Brooklyn, the flagship of !
Rear Admiral Schley in the battle of |
Santiago.
The English naval squadron. under |
the command of Rear Admiral Neville. |
is expected in Hampton Roads either |
tomorrow or Thursday. There will be |
four arnored cruisers in the squadron. !
a homogeneous set of gray-coated |
fighters built along the fleet lines of |
all the modern English vessels. The
flagship will be the Good Hope and the |
companion ships will be the Argyll. |
Hampshire and Roxburgh.
Austrian Vessels Due.
The Austrian vessels. the arlnored !
cruiser Sankt George, and the protected |
cruiser Aspern will arrive either late |
Thursday evening or early Friday |
morning. 1t is hoped they will be here |
in time for the opening ceremonies. |
The vessels OF the navies of the world |
will arrive on dates yet to be fixed The |
japanese squadron Is expected May s. |
President Roosevelt will review the |
American fleet and visiting foreigners
from the bridge of the Mayflower on |
Friday morning before he lands on the |
exposition grounds. s The foreign YES
sells will be given positions of honor |