Note 7 — Chapter XII
Reading edition
A "Reuter" telegram from Washington, dated March 17, stated:
"Significant orders have been issued by the Navy Department directing three big armoured cruisers of the Pacific Fleet to proceed immediately to the Philippines for an indefinite stay. Their arrival will make the American Fleet in the Orient the most powerful there excepting the Japanese. The vessels under order are the cruisers California, South Dakota, and Colorado."