So after months of opposition, doubt and indecision, the two navies united in the construction of this most stupendous job of the kind ever conceived or undertaken. It was well done and the result demonstrated its effectiveness. Admiral Sims himself, after its completion and success, said that "no such project has ever been carried out more successfully" and that "as an achievement it stands as one of the wonders of the war." I am not giving these details in any spirit of criticism of the British Admiralty or our representative in London, but to do justice to the vision, initiative and resource of the American Navy. It was, indeed, a bold and gigantic experiment, calling for many millions of money and the strenuous and dangerous work of many men. That it was so successfully done reflects credit alike on Britons and Americans, and both share in the honor of its accomplishment. Manufacturing 100,000 mines was a big order, but that was only the beginning. They had to be shipped 3,500 miles overseas, which necessitated a fleet of mine-carriers. Twenty-three cargo vessels were converted, and assigned to this duty. To fill the mines with explosives a mine-loading plant of 22 buildings was erected at St. Julien's Creek, Va., capable of receiving, loading and shipping 1,000 mines a day. Advanced bases, for inspection and assembly of the mines, were established in February, 1918, on the east coast of Scotland, at Inverness and Invergordon, with Captain O. G. Murfin in charge. For the work of mine-laying, a Mine Squadron was created, under command of Captain Reginald R. Belknap. This consisted of the flagship _San Francisco_ (Captain H. V. Butler), and her consort, the _Baltimore_ (Captain A. W. Marshall), "crack cruisers of the vintage of 1890," as Captain Belknap called them; and eight former merchant vessels converted into naval mine planters. Four of these were Southern Pacific or Morgan liners, carrying freight between New York and Galveston, renamed the _Roanoke_ (Captain C. D. Stearns), _Canonicus_ (Captain T. L. Johnson), _Housatonic_ (Captain J. W. Greenslade), and _Canandaigua_ (Commander W. H. Reynolds). Two were the Old Dominion passenger liners _Jefferson_ and _Hamilton_, running between New York and Norfolk, renamed _Quinnebaug_ (Commander D. Pratt Mannix), and _Saranac_ (Captain Sinclair Gannon). The remaining two were the fast Boston and New York passenger steamers, _Massachusetts_ and _Bunker Hill_, of the Eastern Steamship Corporation, renamed _Shawmut_ (Captain W. T. Cluverius), and _Aroostook_ (Captain J. Harvey Tomb). They were accompanied abroad by several seagoing tugs, the _Sonoma_, _Ontario_, _Patapsco_ and _Patuxent_.