Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-11-02
GREAT GUNS ROAR
AS TAFT PASSES
SHIPS IN REVIEW

I O1ITOWMvlLW
3 Continued from First Page)
3 street. where the head Of the battleship
q column rested. On board the flagship
q | Connecticut a sharp lookout had been
= kept down the harbor. and as soon as
: the presidential flag made out in
& the distance the flagship let go with her
saiuttng guns. The white puff from the
i | first gun had hardly cleared the muzzle
= when the other vessels in the line. fol-
: lowing the motions of their leader, had
: begun the firing of the presidential sa-
q Lutte OF twenty-one rounds.
4 Admirals Pay Their Respects.
Z The last dying echoes of the salute were
4 drifting down the river from the far end
= of the line as the Mayflower crept to an
3 anchorage place near the Connecticut
I Here her engines had scarcely stopped
Z turning when half score of sturdy little
steam barges were headed for her star
I board gangway. The admrals of, the
! fleet were on their way personally to pay
their respects to the President. Rear
Admiral Hugo Osterhaus, COMMANDMENTS
chief of the fleet, sailing from the Con-
! necticut, was first to board .ne May
flower.
III He was attended by his aids, and as
! he passed up the gangway there was a
: flourish of trumpets, ruff1e of drums
I and a strain or two Of lively march by
I the marine band. Admiral Osterhaus
! soon was followed by the other flag Off
! GERS of the feet, who went aboard in ac-
! cord with their divisional rank. The
! the quarterback Mr. Taft had a cordial
I expression of greeting for each of the
officers
When the reception had ended and the
I admirals had sailed away in their waiting
! barges, the President prepared to return
the courteSies with a call on board the
Connecticut.
! The guns of the flagship Numbered a
! salute as he came aboard, and again
I when he left.
Ships in Full Dress.
III 1t was from the Connecticut that the
President got his best view of the an
! chored fleet. With the sounding of col
I ors at am. a great Transformation had
I come over the dull gray vessels. Their
! gaunt yardarms and skeleton masts,
! which had stood out bare and ungraceful
! against the skyline. suddenly bloomed
! with the vario olored flags of full dress.
| The long strings of f1uttering bunting.
I stretching from waterline to waterline
! across the mastheads. had appeared as
! If by magic The Connecticut dressing
I probably was the most gorgeous in the
! fleet. the usual single line of pennants
! being supplemented by others that arose
I athwartship to the yardarms.
The exchange Of calls completed, the
! Mayf1ower picked up her anchors and
! started down the water lane formed by
! the battleships on her starboard quarter
I and the slender little destr0yers to port.
! With the presidential flag again on the
I move. the saluting began anew. This time
! 1t was not in chorus. however AS the
! Mayflower's bridge cleared the Connect
! cut the flagship let go with twenty-one
guns. Next In line was the Michigan AS
the Mayfiower cleared her after gangway
the Michigan took up the tribute of. the
speaking cannon So 1t was with the
Delaware. the North Dakota and the
turn paid compliment to the President.
Mr.. Taft stood on the bridge and lifted
his hat as he passed the colors of the
various vessels.
Sides Manned With Bluejackets.
On board each battleship and on board
the destroyers the sides were manned
! with bluejackets, giving living outline
:, to the steel-belted hulls On the quarter
! decks the officers in the gold and lace
!, of special full dress uniforms were as
!; sembled and at attention. The marine
guards also were drawn up on the
quarterdecks. and the ship bands. uni
formed In scarlet. stood out a bright
afterdecks. AS the Presidents yacht
passed the battleships close aboard there
were trumpet fourshes and drum ruff1es
from each of the ships just before the
bands crashed out with the national an
them, THE Star Spangled Banner"
From near and far there came the
sound of bugles to mingle with the
music Of the bands and the crash OF
! the guns. 1t was a spectacle that sent
. a thrill through all who saw and heard.
To Disband After the Review.
After making round trip of the naval
columns the Mayfower drew clear Of
! the fleet and steamed down the bay to
her anchorage and there was a brief
respite. The President lunched on board
his yacht. Meantime aboard the fleet
the most serious work of the day was to
be performed. The ships with the turn
ing of the tide We're to lift anchors and
! get under way. To untangle the mass
of fighting material was matter of no
mean seamanship. The turn of the tide
| to an inflow had helped solve the prob
lem to a large extent, and the vessels
had swung naturally to downstream
position.
After passing in review Of the Presi-
I dent at twelve knots an hour and reach
disbanded. the ships going to their sew
eral home stations to prepare for the
winter maneuvers in the south
Greatest American Fleet
While the fleet reviewed by the Presi
dent today was the most powerful ever
! gathered in one American command, 1t
I was not such a homogeneous fighting
I force as that composed of sixteen bat
! tleships that sailed around the world
! three years ago. 1t reflected rather the
transitory stage of the American Navy
! the passing from the old line of battle
ships to the modern superdreadnought.
or ALI big gum type. The review may
: be said to have officially established the
all big gum ship as the future fighting
: unit of the American Navy, for among
! the twenty-four battleships In the i'm
: posing column six belonged to the new