The sun., 1919-04-15
FLEET SLIPS IN
ADAY EARLIER
THAN EXPECTED
Armada of 1913 Ships With
10000 Men Drops Anchor
i'm the Hudson.
BACK FROM WAR ZONE
New York Caught Mapping,
but Magnificent Spectacle
Remains on View.

The greatest fighting feet New York
yesterday with less fuss than a ferry
boat arriving from Jersey. Mighty bat
tleships, slow moving mountains OF gray
steel, their guns at rest in their tur-
rets; swift, silently darting destroyers,
fleet things Of beauty, and low lying
submarines. half awash and grimly sug-
gestive. each after the fashion OF their
kind. slid up to their anchorages with
the precision of navy seamanship.
New York had not expected them I'M
I'll to-day. and when they began arriving
early in the morning, the destroyers In
the lead, there were comparatively few
persons along the shore TO wave a well
come. Then after the destroyers had
passed came another long interval be-
fore the arrival of the battleships. and
again the crowd gathered on the word
OF moment, a small assemblage be-
side that Of last December when the
ships came back from their long North
Sea watch.
=
Admiral Tells Of Maneuvres.
Admiral Henry T. Mayo received
newspaper men aboard the battlsshlp
Pennsylvania after the flagship had
anchored in the Hudson River and
spoke Of the mannuvres the feet had
been having in Cuban and Atlantic wat
ers. The fleet departed somewhat from
the usual custom Of manpuvring in
units and manRuvred In divisions, a
division consisting OF from three to Ave
ships deploying under one direction.
I'VE were inclined to man9uvre from
the centre rather than from the ends,
which was the old method" said Ad-
fiiiral Mayo.
The Admiral also spoke OF the air
service of the navy and Its assistance to
the feet.
The aircraft Is an important part
of the navy now he said. I'VE used
airplanes that could land on the ground
and found them great help in con-
Quoting the operations OF the fleet. The
Texas~and the Nevada are fitted for
aircraft. with platforms forward over
the turrets. and the planes could take
flight from them. They went far out
to sea and communicated with us by
wireless. We also used kite balloons
keeping one of them up for two weeks
THE men of the fleet made a splendid
record in the battle exercises They did
one thing that had never been done be-
fore, firing salvo from divisions and
hitting the target at 1900 yards. The
best previous record was hit at $4,000
yards"
Game In TO Avoid Storm.
The newspapers had been told long
ago that the feet would not arrive until
to-day and people planned accordingly.
They wanted TO see this mighty fight
Ing force come in,, principally because
In II was the largest destroyer squadron
ever gathered together here. and they
were disappointed. 1t was explained in
the afternoon by officers OF the fleet
that there was a falling barometer at
sea with signs of a storm, and that
Admiral Mayo decided not to delay COM
ing into port.
But the privileged few who were on
hand saw spectacle OF dignity and
beauty, and received an impression OF
terrific striking force and swift action,
which they will not forget in long
time. The day was perfect. Last De-
cember when the fleet came directly
home from its vigil at Scapa Flow, snow
swiried about the ships and hid them
from the peering multitude. curtained
them completely. but yesterday the sun
shone from a cloud fiecked sky. the
waves chopped briskly under a wind that
made every signal flag snap at Its hal
liards and the air was 30 clear that
every detail of mysterious outward
mechanism could be seen.
Those sea wasps. the airplanes. could
be seen on forward and after turrets,
blocked in solidly for the voyage, their
brilliant red markings shining in the sun.