Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-12
BIG FLEET
SIGHTED OFF
HEHARBOR
POINT Iona OPERATORS ARE
KEPT BUSY
STATION HOLDS LONG coMMUNI-
CATION WITH ARMADA
Statement from Naval Department
Says Stops Will Ee Made at Los
Angeles, Santa Barbara
and Other Ports

By Associated Press.
SAN DIEGO, March II. "A
wireless message received late
tonight by the Point Iona gov
ernment wireless station was to
the effect that Rear Admiral Rob
ley d. Evans and his big battle
ship fleet arrived off Magdalena
bay early tonight. According to
the message the ships will lie off
Magdalena all night and will pro-
ceed into the bay early in the
morning.
News that the big fleet already
has arrived at Magdalena comes
as big surprise. The itinerary of
the long voyage beginning with
the start from Hampton Roads
on December 10 last, did not call
for the arrival of, the ships at
Magdalena until Sunday, so with
their arrival at the Mexican bay
tonight the feet is almost four
days ahead of time.
SAN DIEGO. March 1.-THE Ameri-
can battleship fleet, under command of
Rear Admiral Robley d. Evans, is to-
night less than 200 miles sonth of
Magdalena bay, Lower California, and
should put into that isand-protected
harbor late tomorrow afternoon
Reports of the fleets arrival will not
be available, however, even for the de-
partment at Washington. until some
time during tomorrow night or Friday
morning.
The navy wireless station at Point
Iona. which is equipped with the
strongest of Instruments and is in
charge of the most capable of the
operators, has never been able to COM
municate with a vessel at Magdalena
bay until well after the setting of the
sun.
The best work is done after midnight
1t is explained that the light waves
during the day overcome the other
impulses of the wireless in long dis
tance efforts and that communication
by day seldom is maintained over a
space of more than 400 miles. Mag
dalena bay is $40 miles in an airline
from San Diego.
Communicates with Fleet
The Point Iona wireless station.
which is just across an arm of the bay
from this city, was in communication
with the fleet early this morning and
had again exchanged signals with the
flagship Connecticut late tonight.
The exact position of the vessels was
not indicated in the earlier dispatches,
which We're strictly of an official ma
ture and in cipher, but the ships are
said TO be maintaining a ten and half
knot speed and this, it is estimated
here would bring them late today to
within less than 200 miles of the Mag
dalena goal.
The men of the battleships crews
probably will be given a day or two OF
rest after the long run from Callao,
Peru, which was left February 20, be-
fore the strenuous work of target prac-
tice is taken up.
The ships will take their turns at the
targets in divisions of which there are
four, comprising four vessels each. 1t
will rest with Admiral Evans as to
whether the divisions are sent to the
range in regular order ar as circum-
stances dictate. Admiral Evans him
self has command of the first division.
which includes the Connecticut, Kan
sas, Vermont and Louisiana.
Admiral Emery is in command of the
second division, composed of the Geor-
gia, New Jersey, Rhode Island and
Virginia. Admiral C. M. Thomas, the
second squadron commander who
acted at many of the South American
shore functions as the representative
of Admiral Evans, is also commander
of the third division of the fleet. His
flagship is the Minnesota, and the re-
maining members of the division are
the sister ships Ohio, Maine and Mis-
souri,.
The fourth division is commanded
by Rear Admiral Perry, whose flag
floats from the Alabama. The Illinois,
Kentucky and Kearsarge complete the
command.
For Battle ManeuVers
The record target practice work will
be done with only four ships ON the
range at one time, but after it is COM
pleted will come the battle tactics and
fleet maneuvers, with every ship in
line
California coast cities were graft
fed today over the announcement OF
the tentative partial itinerary OF the
fleet from Magdalena to San Francisco.
Varying rumors had come TO the COAST
saying that this or that city might be
cut off the visiting list.
MAKE GREAT RECORDS