The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1918-12-27
NEW WORKERS
uHIu 'r
GREET GREAT
BAT Tie FLEET
DREADNAUGHTS PASSED
DANIELS In REVIEW:
Tars, Headed by Mayo and
the Secretary, March in
Victory Parade.

NEW YORK Dec. 26.-Riding at an
chor in the Hudson tonight were twenty
one supcr-drehdnaushts, dreadnaughts,
ships OF the line. cruisers. destroycrs
and q host of smaller craft. the mightt-
est American armada ever assembled.
Ton Of the floating fortrcsses steamed
into the hnrbor Today after eighteen
months service overseas with Bcattf's
grand fleet. Tho others are the flower
Of the North Atlantic fleet. Grim
guardians Of 4 great nation, they SYM
boIi3cd that the United States has be-
come the second naval power OF Lac
world.
In the teeth Of a northwestern. in The
chill of n driving snowStorm, thousanos
waited hours until the ten battleShip"
of the homecoming armada appeared
This was New York's and the nations
tribute to the ships. far more eloquent
than the greatest din Of whistles. oeils
and human voices. TIL" vocal we!coln2
came later when the rugged, weather.
beaten tars dcbarkcd and, with Sccrc-
tary. Daniels and Admiral Mayo at their
head. marched down Fifth avenue IN
the counlrv'S first great victory parai2.
Unstinted Tribute.
Leading civilians in the cheering
were wound,! soldiers returned from
Franco. With the memory OF their own
first anxious voyage still fresh IN thele
minds, they paid unstintcd tribute 10
brothers in arms who had guardeo
them across the Atlantic.
The New York was the FIRST OF the
ba;,leships to display from her main:
mast ;hr "horncward bound pcnnant,"
long. slender strand Of red. white and
blue, a foot for every day out from her
home base. All the ships which fol-
lowed her carried the pcnnants. and IL
seemed rs if each were longer than tho
others. .-.
deeD silence followed the last sa-
Into and so accustomed had those on tho
MavfIowcr become TO the. roar OF the,
guns. that j; seemed hardly possible thas
Ine review had lasted Tess than 20
minutes
Stern Array.
It was stern array Of ships. despite
tho splcndnr OF the flags with Whicl
they were decorated. All the battlcshipa
wore coats OF sinister gray. while DE-
stroycrs and auxiliarics bore the can
iastic touch Of the cnmouficar.
Exclusive of all except battleships. :he
tonnage OF the fighting craft now IN tho
Hudson amounts to 42i,S22. The ten
homecoming craft had tonnage, OF
/ EOS. 900. Not counting guns OF sInaScS
! cnlibre, the baltlcships alone carry
total Of IS four;ccn-inch guns. 20 tn
tccn-inch guns and 56 twelvc-inch. T.
NIissiSsippi, New Mexico and othd
drc. naughts made the battlcships whic
were the last word in naval architectur
only a few years ago seem puny craft
huge rs they arr"
Under tn" shadow Of the New YORK
shore. 300 yards apart. the bridge OF
steel extends six miles from Fifty
fifth street to Fort Washington Park,
where. in revolutionary days. an iron
chain was stretched across tho river &c
bar the progress Of hostile craft.
In inspecting the vessels the May
flower made 4 run OF nearly ten miles
before she finally dropped anchor at the
berth shc had left in the morning. I'M
mcdiatcIy she was surrounded by fleet
Of gigs, hearing admira1s. vicc-admirals.
rrar-admiraIs and captains 70 pay their
respects TO Secretary Daniels and Vice
Admiral A. w. Grant. Of the home fleet,
who arranged the days program.
Touching Scene.
4 touching scene was enacted IN mo
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