The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-21
EMPHASIZES A! APPROACHING Cruis Around World
 <lost Completed. WELCOME sALUTEs FIRED Cruiser North Carolina and Her
 Consort Join Fleet. The comsined Naval Force. Are To En- ter virxinia Capes sIonday and
 VIII Be Rsviewed By
 Roosevelt.

Fortress Monroe. Va. Feb. 20--When the saluting guns on the forward bridge of the armored cruiser North Carolina boomed thirteen times today in honor of the blue lag of Rear Ad- miral Sperry on the battleship Connec- ticut, the combined naval forces that are to enter the Virginia capes on Mon day morning to be reviewed by Presi- dent Roosevelt in celebration of the world cruise of sixteen American bat tleships were completed.
 | Wireless signals received from the North Carolina and her junior consort,
 approach of the last two ships sent to
 welcome the homecoming vessels to the main body of the fleet.
 The wireless station aA the Norfolk navy yard could not pick up the fleet
 direct. either last night or today. ow- | ing to static interference in the at- mosphere. but the messages from the
 North Carolina were sufficient to indi-
 cate that the fleet is near enough to the l Virginia Capes tonight to insure It's arrival ofr the entrance to Hampton
 Roads some time tomorrow. The fleet will laY to. or manouever off the Capes l tomorrow afternoon and evening and will get under way Monday morning in l time to pass into home waters and be- | Il
 the hour indicated.
 | Scores of officers wives are already
 at the hotels here. Among them are about nineteen who made the journey all the way around the world on mer-
 chant ships and who overlook or await
 ed the naval vessels at the various ports visited. Some of these went all l the way to Australia. but most of them remained in Japan while their Husbands l were in the Anfipodes. There are other wives here who went with the fleet as | far as California. Still others are here who contented themselves with wit- neesing the departure from here four l teen months ago. and who tneneTe- turned to their homes n various sp1rsSs
 oA ,rhs sls socisI feature of the ieet'a re- I tur narid the stay in the roads iF 70 he aa notable as It's departure. From I I'Washinwton, Baltimore. Philadelphia. l New York. Richmond and NorK0lx, l larka DAxtles havy arrived Tor meet"
 week and every room n the hotels is
 taken at1 many persons were turned
 away today ct the Champeriin. The problem of providing for the countless 1 hundreds who will be here on Mon [ day. is worrying the hotel managers. and authorities. Norfolk will be the
 mecca of most of the excursionists and elaborate preparations are being
 made there to accommodate the throngs
 with rooms and meals.
 l As the time for the fleets arrival
 draws near, the excitement In all the
 cities bordering on Hampton Roads Is
 becoming intense.
 | Washington's birthday is to be cell
 ebrated as a holiday more generally
 than eve- before in this section and all
 the residents of Norfolk. Newport
 News, Hampton and other cities who
 can possibly do so, will either be
 afIoat or, gathered along the shores of
 the roadstead to witness the impress
 sive arrival of the ships and the cere-
 monies attending the visit of the Pres
 ident.
 Rear Admiral William Emery. who
 commanded one of the divisions of the
 fleet up to the time of his retirement
 at Manila last November. arrived to-
 day to witness the home coming of the
 fleet and to provide for the transfer
 of those effects brought home on his
 old flag ship Louisiana.
 | According to advices received here
 the Georgia Is not the only one of the sixteen battleshipS that Is coming
 home in command of the executive of- I icer. Captain Hamilton Hutchlns.
 who sailed with the Kearsarge from
 Hampton. Roads all the way to Gibral-
 tar. became III there and asked for re-
 lief. The Kearsarge is probably
 therefore. in command of Lieutenant Commander Nathan c. TwininE. Cap
 tain Hutchins returned from Gibraitar
 on the Koenigen Louise.