The sun., 1918-12-30
FLEET is STORMED
BY GENERAL PUBLIC
Riverside Drive Furnishes
Base for Great Land At
tack on Ships.
VISIBILITY IS SUPERB
Motor Cars Rush Up Reserves
for Continuous Waves Of
Onslaughts.

haitian Island which supports Riverside
Drive on It's perch above the river was
strained to the utmost yesterday by the
thousands OF people, afoot and In auto
mobiles. who streamed along the paths
n roadway. q mighty day long victory
parade OF New Workers. welcoming the
great battle 1eet-the feet which had
waited. with Great Britain's Grand Fleet.
in the fogsy North Sea risking mines
and t~orpedoes. for h Germans to come
out and fight. e.
The fact that the Germans came out
TO surrender and not to fight was an
added cause of rejoicing TO the civilian
throngs who paced the Drive with eyes
turned toward the ri~ver-bitterly as II
was regretted by the blue clad officers
and men who had lonEed to even up the
matter OF the Lusitania and the Tus-
caniA with the German navy.
The day was full Of sunshine. and a
brisk northwest wind which whipped
along the Drive and kept the tempera-
ture below the freezing point did not
deter the promenaders. The general
public, the people who crowd the sub
way, consume tons OF lemon meringue
pie, buy billions of Liberty bonds and
furnish the personnel OF army and navy
was out to see the ieet zephyr or cy-
clone notwithstanding.
Array OF Motor Cars.
The mildest of summer uugasless Sun
DAYS never brought a larger crowd Of
automobiles to the Drive. Flivver and
Limousine. model 1909 and 1919. swept
along together more slowly than Is
usual on the polished. speed tempting
surface OF the highway. Traffic cops
at every corner choked of the steam at
FREQUENT intervals to give pa and ma,
Willie and the baby a chance to skip
across and dive down into the park for
a nearer look at the sea monsters.
Then chauffeurs. too, turned their
heads toward the battleenips and kept
them there till the. peevish shrill Of the
traffic cops whistle awakened visions Of
summouses for o~bstructing traffic. But
It was the city itself which most OBJ
structed traffic
At the north end OF the viaduct
stretching from north OF Grants Tomb
to 135th street the roadway was being
repaired with such unsurpassed energy
that the nnrthward bound line Of auto
mobiles, five abreast. was halted md
compelled to crawl and turn and back
In order to squeeze through the bottle
neck opening left by the road members.
Tho oonrNstion extended not only 20
the Drive itself, but to the park below.
the docks at Fiftv-ninth. Seventy-n!nth.
Ninety-sixth, 129th and l5sth streets,
and the hundreds OF craft gathering a
harvest of quarters and half dollars for
trips about the fleet. For Il was visit.
'rF day on the battleships and accord
ingly q large part OF New York clam
bered up the steep landing stages.
Crews Also Go Visiting.
II was visiting day too for the crews.
70 as New York climbed ZIP. goos, chief
petty officers and Lieutenahts, Com
marders and CAPTAINS climbed down and
went over to try out the social and ell
tertainment features Of the city Many
came back late last night TO report that
New York compares very favorably with
Scapa Flow, In the Orkneys. one Of the
two bases where the battle feet has
spent much OF Its time in the last year.
But ven II the full crews had been
ABOARD all the battleshlps there would
not have been enough men about to an.
swer one-terth OF the questions asked
bv the visiting New Workers.. Every
thing was open for inspection except the
keel. The guns were gaZed at, the galley
was inspected. the military mast was
criticised as too chunky, the hammocks
tested. the white deck admired. the en-
gines viewed with awe and the bridge
stared Mt. Men. women and children
who had come aboard the stairs down
back on the left hand side Of the boat
returned to their launch at the aft port
ganEway.
Many OF those on the Drive spent a
good part of their time gazing with hair
on end at the careening. overloaded craft
which bore hundreds out 10 the battle
ships and around them. The unstable
boats. big and little, started out on an
even keel. but when approaching a war
ship the curiosity of their passengers
started a rush to one side and capsiz!ng
seemed imminent a score Of times. The
launches and barges belonging to the
hattleships themselves were under proper
supervision, but many persons seeking TO
visit tAe ships in company with sailors
from the feet were unable TO make the
trip on account OF the congestion.
Many Tales Are Told.
The visitors had an opportunity Of
learning from the lips OF their hosts
many tales OF hard work. danger and
duty-tales that could not have been told
a month or so ago under the pain OF
court-martlal. Officers laid particular
stress uron the nne cooperation and
good feeling between the British and
u " all Ia al LOINtSs
Don't forget to tell the people that Il
Admiral Beatty and any part OF the
Grand Fleet come over here for O visit
they should get as rousIng and hearty
a reception as was given TO us" said
one Lieutenant. "They treated us like
regular people. and shared the danger.
hardship and credit without favor and
without imposition"
SIR David Beatty was prepared to
sacrifice an entire squadron of from
five TO eight b~atleships simply to de-
COY the German fleet out into the open
sea where a finish fight would be pos
sible. officers who had spent thirteen
months abroad on the New York said
yesterday.
"A squadron would be sent. ostenslbly
to convoy a number OF Norwegian
merchant ships. into waters where the
German high seas fieet could dash out
ard destroy II by sheer force Of gun
fire" he said. "Of course the squadron
would he absolutely lost. but Il would
give the allied feet an opportunity TO
c me 10 a finish fight with the Ger
mans. But they never would come OUT
The New York and her companion
ships took their turn at being the vic
Tins Of the enemy's fleet, but neither
British nor American bait would bring
the Germans out OF their hole.
Most of the United States naval forces
which have been In European waters are
now IN their homeward Journey. The
destroyer force which did such effective
work against submarines Is due to-day
or tomorrow. The submarines are also
coming back. following the southern
route. with orders to TAX their time and
put into the Azores, Bermuda or other
OOrta To avoid rolrh weathar