In Roosevelt’s opinion and in the opinion of the entire country, his
act in sending the fleet upon its world mission did more to favorably
advertise the United States to the world and to establish cordial
international relations, than any other of his deeds as President.
His object in sending the battle fleet on this voyage was to prove
to foreign nations that American battleships could be assembled in
the Pacific Ocean as well as in the Atlantic, without this movement
assuming the nature of a threat against any Asiatic or European power.
The impression prevailed among foreign navies that the American fleet
could not pass from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The English and German
naval authorities thought it impossible to take their own fleets of
great battleships around the world, and, of course, they did not
believe that the American fleet could make the voyage.
Then, too, Europe was expecting a war between the United States and
Japan and thought that if such a fleet sailed into the Pacific, Japan
would think that the United States intended to attack her. Roosevelt
desired to clear up all of these notions. He wanted to establish
friendly relations with Japan and he wanted more than anything else to
arouse the pride of the American people in their navy.
All of the President’s purposes were accomplished. The cruise made
a deep and favorable impression abroad, and no single thing in the
history of the new United States Navy did as much to stimulate the
American public’s enthusiasm as this voyage. Everything worked out just
as was thus predicted by the “London Spectator” when the fleet sailed
from Hampton Roads:
“All over America the people will follow the movements of the fleet;
they will learn something of the intricate details of the coaling
and commissariat work under war-like conditions, and in a word
their attention will be aroused. Next time Mr. Roosevelt or his
representatives appeal to the country for new battleships they will do
so to people whose minds have been influenced one way or the other. The
naval programme will not have stood still. We are sure that, apart from
increasing the efficiency of the existing fleet, this is the aim which
Roosevelt has in mind. He has a policy which projects itself far into
the future, but it is an entire misreading of it to suppose that it is
aimed narrowly and definitely at any single power.”
The fleet of sixteen battleships which, though it may seem small in
comparison with the navies that have been engaged in the world war, was
a large one in those days, went through the Strait of Magellan to San
Francisco. From there Roosevelt ordered them to sail to New Zealand
and Australia, stopping at the Philippines, China and Japan, then home
through the Suez Canal, stopping in the Mediterranean. There was never
a hitch or a delay in the schedule. The most notable incident of the
cruise was the warm reception given to the fleet by the Japanese. When
the fleet returned after its sixteen months’ voyage, Roosevelt greeted
it in Hampton Roads. The battleships arrived there on Washington’s
Birthday, February 22, 1907.
Roosevelt’s views on the success of this expedition are best summed up
in the following address, which he spoke on the flagship of the admiral
to the officers and enlisted men:
“Over a year has passed since you steamed out of this harbor, and
over the world’s rim, and this morning the hearts of all who saw you
thrilled with pride as the hulls of the mighty warships lifted above
the horizon. You have been in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres;
four times you have crossed the line; you have steamed through all the
great oceans; you have touched the coast of every continent. Ever your
general course has been westward; and now you come back to the port
from which you set sail. This is the first battle fleet that has ever
circumnavigated the globe. Those who perform the feat can but follow in
your footsteps.
[Illustration: COPYRIGHT, UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD