The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1908-05-22
PREPARE FOR
WORLD TOUR
After a Stop at Seattle Battle
ship Fleet VIII Start for
the Orient.
BACK TO HAMPTON ROADS
Biz War Vessels Due to Reach the
Atlantic Coast Next February.
VIII Visit Great Many
Foreign Nations.

Washington, May 22.-Tomorrow
the battleship fleet will make its tri-
umphaI entry into the harbor of Sc
attic, the metropolis of the north
west, and reports received at the ma
Wy department indicate that the re-
ception to be accorded the officers
and sailors will be quite as enthusi-
astic as that given by Los Angeles
and San Francisco. The stop at Sc
attic is the last official visit the fleet
will pay to Pacific coast ports, before
continuing its tour of the world.
Preparations for the voyage are
now being completed by the navy
department and the itinerary has
now reached final stage. A total OF
approximately AZ 500 miles will have
been covered by the Atlantic battle
ship fleet when it arrives at Hamp-
| ton Roads on February p next, ac-
cording to estimates made by the
naval officers.
The distance to be covered, ac-
cording to an itinerary made public
! today for the voyage of the fleet
from San Francisco to the Philip
! pines, thence to China and Japan and
back to Manila is 16,21S miles. The
! longest lap of this distance is from
Honolulu to Auckland, $3.50 miles,
said by naval officials to be the
greatest steaming distance ever made
by any battleship fleet in the Amer
r-;t Oh Airp fnt
| his will require slightly more than
sixteen days, and during about six
days of that time the department ex-
Ipects to be in touch with the fleet
through the operations of the wire
less telegraph apparatus aboard the
battleships and the auxiliaries and
the cable station at the Fiji Islands
One of the colliers and two of the
lsupply ships will stop at Samoa for
coal and the battleship Illinois
which under ordinary circumstances
cannot carry enough fuel to steam
1000 miles, will store some coal IN
bags on deck and also take fuel In
her fire room. Regular coal supplies
will be taken aboard at the various
stopping places when needed.
The fleet will leave San Francisco
on July g. as originally intended
make two stops instead of one al
Manila, hold extensive maneuvres il
the Mediterranean, and reach Gil
braltar the first week in February
The first stop in Manila will be eigh
days, after which the fleet will re
turn for thee weeks target practice
in the Philippines. Upon reaching
Australia the fleet will be divided
eight ships going to Melbourne ane
ieight going to Sydney, thereby say
ing several days time. The stops a
YokohGma and Chefoo will be fo
only six or seven days, the flee
making longer stops at Hawaii ant
Samoa owing to the difficulty il
coaling more than one or two ship
at time. The plans are for the flee
to be on the Atlantic coast not late
than February 20.
Leaving San Francisco July 6, tn,
battleships are scheduled to cove
the 2,100 knots to Hawaii in MIN
days, arriving there on July Is
where the coaling process will b.
long, keeping the fleet until July 25
The next run from Hawaii to Sa
moa, of 2,263 knots, will require a
the ten-knot cruising speed ten day
so that the fleet may be expected a
Samoa on August 4. Another lon
stay will be made on account<o of tn
coaling process at Samoa, the flee
leaving that port about August
for the 2.8S6 mile run to Australia
Two divisions of the. fleet will
steam into Sydney about August "a
whereas the two other division
make their call at Malhorpe whar
they will remain for the last wee
in August, steaming out at the be
ginning of September to join tn
battleships at Sydney and start o.
the long cruise to Manila
Reaching Manila the middle o
September, the fleet will spend eigh
days in Manila Bay before ieavin
the Yokohoma.
The fleet will arrive in Japan tn
first week in October. SO that thi
month will be entirely taken u
with calls at Yokohoma and Che
foo, China, the battleships then re
turning to the Philippines in Novem
ber. SO that the greater part of thi
month can be given over to targe
practice.
Rear-Admiral Sperry does no
hope to reach Colombo, 2,946 kot
from Manila, until the middle o
December. The runs from Coiomb
to Alden, 2,130 knots; Alden to Sue7
1910 knots, together with the tim
consumed in getting the flee
through the canal, will take, it
estimated, about one month.
The navy department, leaves tn