The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-11-02

were manned with blue jackets giving
q living outline to the steel belted hulls.
On the quarter decks the officers. III
the gold and. lace Of special full dress
uniforms, were assembled and at at
tention. The marine guards also We're
drawn up on the quarter decks. ana
the ship bands uniformed in scarlet
stood ont bright. patch of color IN
the grouping on the afterdeclks.
As the presidents yacht passed the
battleships close aboard there were
trumpet dourisheS and drum ruff1es
from each just before the bands CRASH
ed out with the national anthem, The
Star Spangled Banner" From near
and far there came the sound of bugies
to mingle with the music of the bands
and the crash of the guns. 1t was
spectacle that sent a thrill through all
who saw and heard.
After making round trip Of the ma
val columns, the A1ayfiower drew clear
of the fleet and steamed down the bay
to her anchorage and there was a brief
respite The president ate luncheon oll
board his yacht.
Meantime. aboard the feet the most
serious work OF the day WIS TO be per
form ed. The ships with the turning
of the tide, were to lift anchor and get
under way. To untangle the mass of
fighting material was a matter OF no
mean seamanship. The turn of the
tide to an inflow had helped solve the
problem to a large extent and the YES
stream position. After passing in re-
view of the president at twelve knots
an hour and reaching the open sea.
the fleet was to be disbanded, the ships
going to their several home stations to
prepare for the winter maneuNerS IN
the south. While the feet reviewed
was the most powerful ever gathered
IN one American command, It was not
such a homogeneous fighting force as
that composed of sixteen battleships
that sailed around the world three
years ago.
Six Big Sun Ships.
It reflected rather the transitory
stage of the American navy-the pass
ing from the old line of battleships to
the modern superdreadnoughts or al
big gun" type. The review may be
said to have officially eSta blished the
'all big gun" ship as the future fight
ing unit of the American navy, for
among the twenty-four battleships in
the imposing column. six belonged to
the new class of floating fortresses-
Development of Dreadnought.
Even among the dreadnougnts in
the line today, there was evidence of
the mad pace the naval architects of
the world are setting. Although the
first of these We're com pleted less than
two years ago there had been a jump
from the 10000 tons of the Michigan
and the South Carolina. the first Of the
American big gun ships, to the 21.S25
tons of the Utah and the Florida, fresh
from the hands of the builders. In
between the Michigan type and the
Utah-Florida type. there was repre-
scented today the Delaware and the
North Dakota of 1000 tons each
President Taft was much Interested
in the details of the various ships and
Kept Secretary Meyer answering a
rapid fire of questions He learned
that the drea thoughts South Carolina
and Michigan with their batteries
of eight 12-inch rifles had quickly
been surpassed by the Delaware and
North Dakota class, with ten 12-inch
guns in five turrets. The twenty
3-inch guns on the Michigan type had
been replaced by fourteen 5-inch guns
on the North Dakota and the Della
ware. The Utah and the Florida rep
resenting the third step in American
dreadnought building, remain At a
standstill so far as the main battery of
ten 12-inch rifles is concerned but
have sixteen 5-inch rifles in the sec
Ondary or torpedo repulsing battery.
The Fourth Step.
The fourth step. represented by the
Arkansas and Wyoming now on the
ways, finds the tonnage increased to
26.40 and the main battery to twelve
12-ineh guns in six turrets.
The secondary battery takes jump
from sixteen five-inch guns to twenty
two of the same bore
The fifth step, represented by the
New York and Texas. just begun. finds
the most radical change ever intro
duced in the navies of the world, in
that 14-inch rifles are installed in the
main battery-ten of them in five tur-
rets. Finali1- comes the i'm prov ed
Texas type authorized but not vet
lalG down, with a tonnage estimated
at between $4,000 and 80. 600 and a