Daily Arizona silver belt., 1909-02-17
WHh Props Westward Bound Great America,
 Battleshp Fleet Wears Hampton Roads

and out. It is at record practice that
 the men attain the rank of "gun pointer' and get white star and
 crossed circle on their blouse sleeve if
 they make certain mark. To be a
 gun pointer means extra pay each
 month, according to the class attained,
 and there is prize money for all, if the ships guns as whole make de- serving record. The record practice of last spring developed an accuracy and rapidity of fire never before attained. l After Magdalena came the excursion of the fleet to the California resorts and there was apparently a never-end
 ing program of nSerrymaking. At San Diego Coronado seach); at the ports of Los Angeles, at Santa Barbara, at Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Fran cisco, the people of California seceived the fleet with wild acclaim. It was the first time that such an array of | fighting vessels had been seen on the | Pacific coast and California celebrated with hospitality for which the people of that state are noted trip to Pug ct Sound took the fleet to Seattle. Ia coma and Bellingham and these cities offered an entertainment which ranked with the very best of the entire trip. When the ships set sail out of San Francisco for the return trip there were many predictions that they would be left in the Pacific and that events might make such a course desirable. Invitations had been accepted for visits to Australia, 10 China and Japan and there was never deviation from the outlined plans. The fleet had done ex- aetly what the authorities at Washing ton said it would, but in manner which surprised and gratifed them to the full est extent
 The story of the fleet s visit to Hon. olulu, to Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, and Albany in Australia; to Yokohama, to Annoy, to Manila and to the ports of call on the way home through the Suez are too recent to need recall. The welcomes extended in Australia and Japan left nothing to be asked either in lavishness of entertainment or in sim cerity of purpose.
 The battleships, had their schedule brought them sooner to the eastern end of the Suez, might have played a not. able part in suecoring the stricken peo- pie of Messina. As it was the services of the ships were offered, but the re- lief plans had developed so as not to re- quire them. In way the battleship fleet, however, accomplished much. Store ships laden with supplies for the fight ing vessels were despatched by the home government and officers and men were glad to give up the solid food stuffs and delicacies to the earthquake sufferers. A large sum of money was contributed from the fleet and the first division of four vessels under Admiral Sperry called at Naples to express sym pathy and sorrow. The battleship Ill. inois was the only one of the American fighting vessels to really enter the earth quake zone. This shep went to Messina and 400 American sailors searched the ruins until they had recovered the bod ies of American Consul Cheney and his wife.
 After visits to various Mediterranean ports and accepting the hospitalities of half dozen nations, the sixteen ships gathered again at Gibraltar and sailed for home Saturday, February 6. They will be met at sea, about 1000 miles from shore, by the third or "home" squadron of the Atlantic fleet, consist ing of four battleships and five cruis- CTS. Even the last leg of the famous journey is to be given over to work. There will be daily drills and man. euvres and inspection by the command er-in.chief of every vessel on the way over. President Roosevelt will greet the fleet on Fbruary 22, from the bridge of the Mayflower, at the point from which he bade farewell fourteen months ago.
 There will be two strangers in the fleet when it reaches here--the Nebras- ka and the Missouri, both Pacific built, which replaced the Maine and Alabama, detached at San Francisco, and sent home in advance. The Maine will be the flagship of the welcoming squadron. At Manila bay the ships spent three weeks at the target, engaged in full battle practice. Battle practice is at much longer range than record practice and is really test of what the gun pointers developed at record practice can do when the ships are firing under battle conditions and at battle distance. The battle practice at Manila, held under the new fire control system, showed an improvement in' many in- stances of loo per cent over the gun nery records of a year ago.
 The composition of the fleet as t