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 ROOSEVELT ARRIVING AT GARDINER, MONT., ON THE WAY TO YELLOWSTONE PARK]