Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1913-03-21
DANIELS TO SEA.
Secrelay q Navy TO Witness. First Gun.
ming DriIl-WilI hieet 0fficers.

Mr.. Daniels, the Secretary Of the
Navy, accompanied by several other
cabinet officers, viii leave New York
on the evening Of April l on board the
Mayfiower and the Dolphin. They
will 90 on board the flagship of the
Atlantic feet and the vessels of the
first division Of the feet in Lynn Hs-
ven Bay on the morning Of April 2.
SIR. Daniels and the other Cabinet
officers will meet Rear Admiral Chas.
j. Badger, the commander-in- chief
of the Atlantic fleet, and the other
commanding officers of the first divi-
sion. Later the members Of the Off
cial party will witness the target
practice of the feet on the Southern
drill grounds Ii will be the first
gunnery practice Mr.. Daniels has
witnessed.
The Atlanti. feet left Guantanamo
yesterday and is due at Tangier
Sound, in the lower part of the Ches-
apeake Bay, on Sunday morning.
The target practice viii be begun on
Monday. March %. The first exercise
will be spotting practice at the hull
Of the old San Marcos.
The Florida will do the firing, the
other battleships sending their spot
tiers to the Florida to give them train
i'm in this work. After the compile
tion Of this practice the battleships
will proceed TO an anchorage five
miles east Of the gas buoy outside of
Cape Henry, where they will remain
until target practice is compile ted.
The firing will be conducted by d.
visions and all vessels will participate
except the Virginia, the Vermont, the
Georgia, and the Nebraska now at
Mexican ports, and the Arkansas and
the Kansas, which are at navy yards.
These vessels will hold their target
practice at later date.
The first vessels to fire will be
the Utah, the Michigan and the
Ohio, which are to go to their home
yards by April l. Following them
division will fire each day, wealth
er permitting. The first. division,
consisting of the Florida, the North
Dakota and the Wyoming, will hold
practice on April e. Rear Admiral
Badger has been directed to assign
this date for the firing of the first
division in order to permit Secre-
tary Daniels and the members of
his party to witness the work of
the newest vessels of the fleet, as
we'll as to enable them to see certain
experimental firing to be conducted
by the Idaho and the Minnesota on
eho - Hovy
The vessels now being overhauled
at the navy yards, the Rhode Island,
the New Hampshire and the De la
ware, will have a brief period of prep
aration after March 81, when they
will leave their home ports and they
will fire last.
Naval officers on duty in this city
and elsewhere will get the opportu-
nifty to observe the practice. The
War Department has assigned party
of coast artillery and ordnance Off
GERS as observers. Several officers of
the naval militia have also been in
vited to attend
The observers will take passage on
an auxiliary vessel, which will leave
Fort Monroe on the morning of March
23 to convey the observers to the
ships to which they have been as
signed. By having the practice of
divisions on different days and all
starting from a common rendezvous
there will be an opportunity for Off
GERS and men of the fleet to observe
the firing of vessels other than their
own and for the observers to see the
firing of ships other than those to
which they have been assigned
Washington Correspondence New
York Herald.