Norwich bulletin., 1911-11-03

completed, the Mayf1ower came again to anchor, about mile and a half be- low the battleship column, there to the ships after they had gotten under way. For more than hour past the scheduled time. the president waited Tor the tide to change and the advance of the moving fleet But under the in fuence of the gale, blowing out of the harbor, the ebb continued undiminish ed. Giving up hope at last for an ear ly change in conditions, Rear Admiral Osterh5us, in command of the feet flashed orders to the fleet to get under way. The gay lines which had fiapped and huttered throughout the day came tumbl1ng to the decks. and the mili- tary masts and yard arms of the bat tleshlps stood out again in all their gaunt baroness.
 Vessels Turned in Their Own Length.
 The exhibition of seamanship involv- ga Tn turning the massive vessels prac- ucally in their own length. against wind and tide, has never been eouaIled Tn the navy, and was highly praised by the president and the naval officials aboard the Mayf1ower
 The manoeuvre having been success IuIIy carried out. the fleet began to move As the leading vessels picked up speed the water could be seen to passed the Mayfower they were bowl ing along with a speed and a swish. only 400 yards apart. Happily there were no collisions.
 President Taft's Statement.
 After reviewing the fleet, President Taft issued the following statement:
 Those who saw the fighting fleet Wnleh H was assembled in New York harbor today, could not fail to be struck with it's preparedness and with JUS nigh military efficiency, and must nave been proud of its personnel Demonstration Had Educational Value
 The demonstration has had an edu- cauonal value in arousing patriotism, in increasing the general knowledge of ana interest In the navy, in Illustrating the ability to mobilize on short mo- tlce and in showing the skill of the oFncers. who turned the whole fleet in the narrow river and sent it to sea at the rate of 14 knots per hour. Need More Destroyers, Cruisers and
 Golfers.
 The equipment of the fleet is ex- rellent, except as to the number of de- Stroyers and cruisers and colliers in proportion to the whole number. We had in the fleet today twenty-five de- and to meet the full require nents there should have been approx mately one hundred destroyers, or an IS true that there has been a marked in the type of coIIiers i and fast cruisers in our navy, but if IS also true that we have not a suffi- | ,ient number.
 Other Nations Build High Speed |
 Cruisers.
 Tn addition to building great bat | leships, other nations are building enormous hish-spe cruisers, twenty | ,lght knots per hour-and 1t is believed i that our navy should be similarly Unless a navy is main aimed at the highest possible state of | efficiency, it is q needless extrava- ;ance-
 T am more than ever convinced of he desirabilty of conferring upon the commanding officer of our fleet the tile Of admiral. or at least of vice -dnliraL At present the ranking officer s rear admiral and this title is not with the importance of he fleet At the review of the Ger nan fleet at Kiel, a smaller number f ships was under the command of a uH admiral two squadrons were commanded by vice admirals and each f four divisions was commanded by
 rear admiral"