The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-04-15
Yesse1s Now Anchored
 at San Diego.
REMARKABLE WELCOME
 PLANNED FOR SAIL n0RS
Thousands of Girls Help Com
 mittee.
Fruit. ana. Flowers of Beautiful Cali sernia gre Served to the Men in Abundance-AiI Amuse-
 ments of City are Free.
pY eEoRaE EvANs PEERY.

BY GEORGE EVANS FIERY.
 san Diego. April i4.-This afternoon the great battleship fleet reached San Diego, its first home port since ieav- ing Hampton Roads on its ever-mem- orable cruise. Here the West gave the fleet it's greeting with the booming Of cannon, the blare of brass bands. the blazing of red bonfires and the burst ing of rockets.
 The city had been preparing for the event ever since the fleet left its start ing point, and the long-pent enthusi- asn had gathered energy with every day Of waiting and preparation. Four days of festival now ensue. The 42,OV0. people of San Diego are hosts and en- terfainers to, the 16.000 men on the ships and to nearly 100000 other vis- itors who have crowded every train and steamer coming this way for week. There win be balls. parades. baseball games. rowing races and many other forms of land and aquatic sports.
 Tomorrow afternoon there will be speechmaking in the city park. and the Mayor will present the Admiral with a golden key sst with native gems the symbol of the freedom of the city" Five thousand seamen and twice that many landsmen will march In the pro- cession to the park.
 
 The entertainment here has unique quality. Here is where the, oranges ana the lemons grow, and the thous- and other things that give Southern California fame for fruits.
 Tomorrow sixteen launches will car ry 1so San Diego girls to the sixteen hattleships at anchor. and every one If the ie. 900 men on those ships and the auxiliary vessels will receive a eIft of flowers and fruit from the hands of one of these young women The fruits are oranges, pomeios. guavas and tankarlsies. The lemons are to De ahhhdeds in the form of lernonade. z The making of this. the htsgest lenn- avxs3a ever mixed, calls for details rhere Ia a.oo0 gallons of it. A little more than ton of sugar and 1so hoyea Of lemons were used in its frlak- . .intr Tbesides thirty boxes of oranges to give sbouauet'' to it's flavor. The . lemons were squeezed and their juice strained byymachinery. The exact sort of machinery needed is that or iac- forv here which makes citric acid rom ien5oas. and this machinery was yes- terdav used on lemons of better grade 4hap are used for citric acid making. Sixteen thousand bottles have been filled with lemonade. and are now In aAcoId storage warehouse against the time for distribution
 This Is only one days serving. Eacn Aav while the fleet is here fruit and SIowers and lemonade will be served free to the sailors on shore.
 Five thousand men are to be given sh,ra leave each day while the neet ie here, and there will be something 10 entertain them all for every minute of the time. T.,
 Every one of the seven theatres in San Diego Is to give special matinee Sor the sailors, to which they will be admitted free, while no others will be admitted on any terms.
 TrhA San Diego baseball team will try cof,clusions on Thursday with the hith- erto undefeated champion ball-tossers of the battleship Ohio.
 Dinner to Onlcers.
 At this moment the men are all on shiuhoard, sixteen beacons of red fire are glowing on the waterfront, and the Admiral and the members of his stan are attending a dinner at the Hotel de Soronado.
 Friday evening there will be ball at the same place for all the officers of the fleet. Friday, too. the Wlia west Show will entertain the bluejaekets.
 Each evening the city, the harbor and tha ships will be illuminated, The committee on illumination has pro- vided a quarter of million incandesc- ent lamps, and private enterprise has furnished about the same number. All tfe prominent buildings are festooneo with long lines of these. ana the yes aels in the harbor are similarly trim mad with 250.000 Chinese lanterns wbiIa the searchlights on the battle ehlna add their blaze to the effect.
 Tomorrow evening there wiu be disnlav of fireworks from a raft an cboTeS in the center of the bay. while fifty illuminated yachts and other crari
 -an nh
 This city. where the greatest naval event in the history of the PacihC ocean is taking place. is the oldest town in California. and was the cradle of Caucasian civilization on the west ern coast of this continent-the Ply mouth Rock of the Pacific. Here ca brillo nrst planted the flag of Spair in 1542-just fifty years after the dis covery of America by Columbus. Here also. was founded the first of the Span ish missions by Padre Junipero Serrs in 1769. The ruins of this mission stil endure, preserved as relic of historic interest. Here are the ruins of th' tunnel built by the mission priests tt convev water from the hills to the val Iev-the first attempt at irrigation which is the prime factor in this re RIon's prosperity.
 Tba settlement grew slowly unde snanIsh rule, and equally as slowl! ,,nder Mexican domination after tn SSsxicans had thrown off the Spanisl soi-a Even after the American acqui sition there was but,slow growth unti irrigation made fertile the semi-ari' region which comprises most or coun trv roundabout. When men brough
 .ar from the mountains, the lant changed its dusty coat for garment of green and gold; the white sails O shins from every sea gladdened tn harbor, and the population trebled; l has doubled within the last thre years. and Is now growing at a rat which will soon cast the census hgure tha shade. Its commercial import sncs is considerable. and the opening of the Panama Canal will make tn city a metropolis; for this will be tn first American port for all vessel bound northward from the canals west ern end.