Norwich bulletin., 1909-01-04

/
nois, who fell overheard and was
drowned, as previously reported. was
! the only accident to mar the voyage
/ from Colombo.
An Enthusiastic Welcome.
The array Of battleships was an i'm
| pressive sight. The weather was splen
! did and the bay was crowded with
| launches and sailing craft, the occu-
| pants of which enthusiastically well
coined the ships, which despite their
lon "Trip looked as smart and trim as
though they had turned out fer a naval
| review. All the vessels were in first
rate fighting condition.
Authorities Board the Flagship.
When the fleet had come to anchor
| the Egyptian and canal authorities
went aboard the flagship a I'd welcomed
Rear Admiral SperTy. who expressed
himself as we'll satisfied with the re-
suits Of the cruise from Colombo He
regretted tnat he was compelled to cur
tail his stay in Egypt, but hoped that
at some future time an opportunity
would be given him to visit Cairo. The
admiral spoke Of the Australasian visit
of the fleet as the special feature of the
trip.
Universal regret is expressed by the
people that the visit of the battleship5
will be so brief It had been expected
that a representative officer would
visit Cairo and be presented to the
khedive on the announcement of his
| accession to the throne, Jan. 8.
Excursion to Cairo.
4 contingent Of five hundred officers
and men left by special train for
Cairo at o'clock this afternoon.
The converted cruiser Yankton en-
tered the canal at o'clock this after.
noon and the supply ship Culgoa proc
ably will pass in tonight. The former
has a number Of doctors aboard and
the latter a large supply of provisions
and stores Both are going to Messina
at fuil speed.
Fleet Will Have Right of Way.
All ARRANGEMENTS &ere made by
wireless for the ships to pass through
the canal as quickly as possible and To
coal at Port Said, where $4,000 tons
have been ordered for them.
The canal authorities have made spe'
cial arrangements for all the battle
ships to have a clear run through the
canal, and they Therefore Will not stop
at any Of the numerous stations where
ships usually lie Up 10 permit the pas
sage Of vessels which ordinarily have
the right of way
How the Ships Entered the Canal.
J.
lines. The Connecticut, the Vermont,
the Kansas and the Minnesota will
enter the canal at 6 o'clock tomorrow
morning and are due at Port SAID at
10 o'clock Monday night. The second
group, consisting Of the Louisiana, the
Kentucky the Ohio. the Missouri and
the Virginia. will enter Tuesday, and
the third line. composed of the Wis
consin. the Kearsarge, the New Jersey,
the Rhode Island the Georgia and the
Nebra ska. will start Wednesday. At
Port Said coal will be taken on board
the battleships by their crews.
Supplies Available for Earthquake
Sufferers.
Rear Admiral Sperry said that he
had supplies available for distribu-
ton to the Italian earthquake suffer
ers as follows: Beverages $4,000:
bread $4,000 pounds; cereals $4,000
pounds; fruits 10000 pounds; fresh
meat. 90, 900 pounds; other meats 10O,-
600 pounds; vegetables. canned, $4,000
pounds: milk $4,000 pounds, and also
numerous other items.
The Culgoa will distribute these pro-
visions and is due at Messina jan
uary and 9.
New Test of the Canals Capacity.
The American fleet is the most pow
erful to pass through the Suez canal
and will be new test of the capacity
Of the great artificial water route. |
Great Britain often has sent strong |
souadrous to the east along this road, |
but none has been more than one-half /
as large as the American circumnaVi- |
gators of the globe
A New Phenomenon in European Af |
fairs.
The presence of this great force in /
the Mediterranean has been the object /
of curious theoretical studies by Flu !
ropean admiralties. A member of the /
staff Of the intelligence Office of the |
British admiralty called attention to |
the fact that some weeks ago when \
war in the Balkans was under discus |
sion that the United States would have |
a force in the eastern Mediterranean
in January holding the balance of /
being divided-a force capable of dci
tating a settlement. Although this
may appear a fanciful suggestion, the
presence Of this enormous fleet is a
new phenomenon in European affairs,
and is taken into account in expert
discussions as having future possibil-
tiles
Passage Safe Even for Ships of the
Connecticut Class.
The passage of the canal is regarded
as a safe one even for sixteen thou
sand ton vessels such as the Connec-
ticut class. which will be the heavi-
est fighting ships that ever have gone
through None of the British Dread
nought types have made this voyage.
The canal which originally provided
for vessels of draughts of "a feet
inches, has been deepened to some
what more than 28 feet. Vessels of
the Connecticut class require 26 feet
9 inches. When the present plans |
are executed the canal will have 81
feet depth over a floor of ten feet The
width is ample. The Dewey drydock |
135 feet wide, got through with only
two feet In breadth to spare at one
bad spot. The Dewey was the widest
craft ever taken through the canal
and the Connecticut classes will be a
precedent so far as draught is con-
cerned.
Speed Limited to Six Miles an Hour.
The canal is eighty-seven miles long.
: si2ty-six miles being through dry land
and twenty one through the AIenzaleb
Balleh, Tinsah and the Bitrer lakes.
Ships 60 through under their own
steam. The speed through the canal
is limited TO six miles an hour. BY
using electric lights many pesselS now
pass through at night. The canal runs
free from scs TO sea with slight ebb
and 1oH OF the tides following roughly