The Globe-republican., 1908-04-16
OFFICERS AND MEN or BATTLE
SHIP FLEET 70 BE WARMLY
GREETED AT SAN DIEGO.
BIG RECORD BREAKING PARADE PLANNED
Five Thousand Enlisted Men and More
Than 200 officers to Be In Line
Gov. Gillette to Personally Welcome
the Fleet to calIfornia--othcr De.
tails.

San Diego, Cal, Apr. 14.-The At,
lantic fleet arrives here Tuesday and
Its stay will be marked by the most
notable parade Of bluejackets and
marines Ger landed from American
vessels Of war. Five thousand enlist
ed men and more than 200 officers will
be in line. This force will outnumber
that participating in the famous well
come to Admiral Dewey in New
York City, when he returned
from the battle Of Manila bay
to accept his commission as head Of
the American navy. The assembling
Of the 16 first-class battleships for the
voyage to the Pacific brought together
the greatest power Of fighting craft
ever known in the navy and made
possible the splendid land display
which is to be held here and which
will be repeated when the feet reaches
San Francisco.
The San Diego parade will be held
next Wednesday afternoon, beginning
at 2 o'clock. It will be the initial step
In the formal ceremonies of welcome
which have been arranged here in
behalf of the state and the city, Gov.
Gillette and Mayor Forward being
the principal speakers at the exercises
to be held In the city park. In order
to assemble this great marching force,
1t will be necessary for the sailors
and marines to embark in small boats
from their respective ships at IL
o'clock noon. The maneuvers OF land
ing the 5000 men after journey OF
some 10 or IL miles from the ocean
into San Diego bay, will be spectacle
in itself and will be watched with keen
interest as an evidence of small boat
drill efficiency in the feet. All of
the men will be landed with arms and
in light marching order The small
boats of each ship will be loaded to
their utmost carrying capacity, the
sailing launches, the largest of the
boats now carried on the battleships,
each containing from 60 to 70 men.
The handling of these frail craft in
divisional and flotilla formation and
towing them into the harbor by means
OF the stalwart little steam launches
hooked UP in tandem procession, will
be fraught with many difficulties. But
American naval men are skillful at
such things and it is believed that
the orders issued by Admiral Thomas
will be carried out without the slight
est hitch at any point. The force to be
landed at San Diego has been official
ly designated as the fleet naval bri-
gade." Its formation was task of
no mean proportions, the detail &C.
cupying the attention of the staff Off
GERS during the large portion of the
journey from Magellan Straits to the
northward. The fleet brigade has been
divided into FIVE divisional brigades,
the first being the marine brigade
and the others being known as first.
second, third and fourth division bri
gades, the latter being composed of
bluejackets from the ships of the di
vision from which the numerical or
der is taken.
Sixty-four separate companies OF
bluejackets and 16 companies of ma
rines compose the total force. These
figures quickly convey an idea of the
extent of the parade and give to il
history-making proportions. Each bat
tleship will Contribute four companies
of blucjackets and one company O
marines. All Is bands of the fleet
are to be combined and divided among
the five divisions giving about 70 per
sons to each organization. These feat
ures to the display also have its not