Bisbee daily review., 1909-02-06
SPERRY'SFLEET
 ANCHORED OfF
 0LD GIBRALTAR

WASHINGTON. D. C.. Feb. 5.-Ae- cordine to the itinerary arranged by the navy department the ships of Ad- miral Sperry's fleet gre now sa-he.- ing in the vicinity of Gib-alter, the gateway to the Atlantic from the Med iterranean. the iength Of which has been travorsed. and the principal DOT s Of which have been visited ty the ships since they passed through the Suez canal. Gibralter is the last storplng place of the feet. From that point the sixteen haitlcshi95 VIII turn their prows definitely toward home within thc next few days. Dc ginning the last les of thc most re- markable cruise eyec recorded naval anals.
 More than a ye2r mas elapsed since the vessels steamed out of Hampton Roads. Despite tho iorebodings which nlned, many American and foreign newspapers at the time Of the depart yre Of the fleet. its voy0ge has proved e success. Gip,omGticaliy ss well as nauticaily. r the record established I'D to the present time is maintained. tue fleet wil arrive home without SC nous accident or Inishap of any kind Its progress from port to POrt has been watched by fuceisn governments with deep interest because og the technical knowledge to be obtained from the big man suyer, and because of the remarkable skill of American naval officers, and tho wonderi1l eff clency of the American warships.
 The officers and men have been law ishly entertained 9, every port visited by the fleet. Each government en- deayo-ed to Cutdo tLe others In it's welcome Co the visitors, and the result has been a degree oI official hospital fly seldom before ;ccorGed. Tn Aus. tralia. in the orient. and in the Med .iterranean, the peOpl, have turned out 10 do honor to the visitors.
 The homeward ,T-p across the At laDtic promises to be one of the most interesting and instructive features of the entire cruise. Leaving Gi- braltar with their hcmeward bound pennants streaming the baitieShips will make direct for Haiopton Roads. the port from which they started a year ago last December, Il is the firm be- lief of naval experts that when the
 
 on February 22. they will be found to De in fit condition tU steam out 10 face the enemy.
 The cruise has been a practice trip throughout, but it remains for the final spurt homewGrd to institute the elaborate maneuvers anu tess planned by the navy department. The inten. ton is 10 give the vessels the seyerest trials at the finish ul their long jour ney. In order that any defects in them may be demonstrated.
 Before Admiral Sperry's sixteen battleships have negotiated much Of the distance westward across the Al lantic, they will be met by the vel coming fleet sent cut from the United States. This will consist probably Of the battleships Mississippi, Idaho. New Hampshire and Maine. the armored cruisers North Carolina and Montana, and the scout crlisCrs Birmingham. Chester and Salem.
 The combined fleets will make an armada of twenty battleships. five powerful cruisers, and several small CT fighting craft. AS soon as the warships are assembled the real work Of the homeward cruise will be under taken. The maneuvers will be the most elaborate ever undertaken by United States war vessels.
 While the fleet, pr the main body of it, will proceed af a moderate pace that will bring it into Hampton Roads by February g. the individual ships will be put through speed trials and endurance tests.
 - BattleSAip races. ship against ship. and squadron agaiI.si squadron. will make mp the program.
 ShiTs Of similar class will race to determine individual cxce1ency. while battleships of differing designs will be tested one against ths other to deter mine the superiority of style. There also will be a gUnnery practice under practically battle conditions. and so excellent have been the scores of in- diyidual ships heretofore that some new records are confidently expected.
 The chief interes- of naval experts. however, lies in the problem how fit the ships will 5c after their long "Trip and exciting finish when thev steam past the Vir-Inia capes and iD- 70 Hampton Roads for inspection by the president IL riI be a rrrcTing test following the elo5e-girdHng crlise bui the reports frDm the fleet iHdicat- that the vessels may be exnec1pd to come through the Oldeai in excallc1- condition