The Barnwell people. (Barnwell, S.C.) 1884-1925, December 17, 1914, Image 7
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Fll BATTIESBIPS
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djwels still mcfs his faitb
nils HUN
A8E DECISIVE FACTORS
Navy Chief Recommends Two Dreed-
nonghto. Six Destroyers and Eight
Submarines—Says This Program
Will Make Navy Equal to Any4—
Submarine Success not a Certainty.
Startling successes of submarines
in the European war have not'sway
ed United States navy officials from
their belief that all big-gun battle
ships of tjie dreadnought type form
the main dependence -of any sea
pow'er. The construction of two such
ships next year v?as recommended by
Secretary Daniels in his annual re
port submitted Friday to President
Wilson. The navy general board urg
ed the building of four.
The complete building program for
the, coming year recommended by
Secretary Daniels comprises:._ Two
dreadnoughta, six destroyers, eight or
more submarines, one to be a large,
sea-going craft, and the others of
smaller size for coast defence opera
tions, one gunboat and one fuel oil
ship.. ; >
If this program is followed out,
Mr. Daniels sq^s, “the increase will
- be notewoVtfif ahd will give us a wefl
rounded navy equal, if not superior,
to that of any navy in the world,
ship for ship and man for man."
Secretary Daniels’ program, he
s* states, follows the policy of the gen-
j ^^erate board recommendations, but re-
^^duces the number of ships of each
i 'class asked for Thfe board recom
mended the construction of the fol-
( lowing as the'1916 program
Four dreadnoughts, sixteen de
stroyers, three sea-going submarines,
sixteen coast defense submarines,
four scout cruisers, four gunboats,
* two fuel oil ships, one destroyer ten
der, one submarine tender, one navy
transport, one hospital ship, one sup
ply ship and a $'>,000,000 appropria
tion for navy aircraft.' The board
was acting on its policy looking to
the completion in 1919 of a fleet, the
main line of which would be 4 8 bat
tleships In its report transmitted
by the secretary it is stated that the
present situation of the battleship
fleet is ten ships behind that program
the total of those in commission, un-
construction and authorized for com
pletion in 1919 being thirty-seven.
Submarines come in *for extended
discussion by the secretary and the
general board. “Recent developments
in naval warfare.’’ Mr. Daniels says,
“have strengthened faith in the effi
ciency of the submarine. The depart
ment urges, therefore, the construc
tion of an increased number of sub
marines and the larger utilization of
this weapon of warfare, which h%s
demonstrated its effectiveness.
“There are, many (very many more
than a few weeks ago) who believe
the time has come when the advice
of Sir Percy Scott should be taken.
Months ago that able English officer
declared that the submarine was the
most effective ship of the navy of the
future and advised a cessation in the
rapid construction of dreadnoughts
and the utilization of the money thus
spent in building large numbers of
„ submarines.
“The lay mind has accepted this
view of the policy, but the trained
naval officers making up the general
board are convinced that, while the
submarines have a large part to play
in naval waffare. they do not re*--
place the larger craft. These naval
statesmen hold to the opinion that
the dreadnought remains the central
and chief fighting force of a’ well-
proportioned navy.
\ “The general board reiterates the
I opinion it has always held that ‘com
mand of the sea can only be gained
and held by vessels that can take and
keep the sea in all times and in all
weathers and overcome the strongest
enemies that can be brought against
them.’ It declares ‘other type
valuable and have their particular
uses,’ but .‘the backbone of any navy
that can command the sea Consists of
the strongest, sea-going; sea-keeping
ships of its day, orof its battleships.’
“The departmefu fMls that it is
upon safe grotind in looking to the
board to prescribe the character of
the ships .to be constructedr - The
largedncrease in submarines is most
<ieSirable, but nothing the present
/ war has disproved their faith In the
modern dreadnought.
“The fact that there has been no
encounter between these powerful
ships does not justify the conclusion
that their further construction should
be discarded in favor of the smaller
craft, which has astonished the world
by its ability to sink cruisers and
other craft, giving its severest and
most fatal blows' before its presence
is discovered.
“It may be that naval engagements
later oh will teach lessons that will
change expert opinion, but as long as
Xthe bulk of the ablest, naval officers,
believe the increase of the navy
. -should embrace, in fair proportion,
, the dreadnought, the destroyer, and
the submarine, the secretary would
not feel warranted in recommending
a widely different program of con
struction. Nj ' '• '.
“However, in ylew of the demon
strated power of the submarine, I
would impress upon congress the im
portance of making a larger increase
in the submarine craft, appropriating
generously therefor without reducing
(the 'appropriations ^for other craft.
he estimates for these were reduced
to the minimum.
“That our navy has,nqt neglect*
^ s<
- the aaAatanapnn of suhawtnM wi
ing number of submarines: England,
84; Prance, 76; United Stiles, 51;,
Germany, 31; Japan. 17. This esti-
mate was made in July of this year.
“When the relative sizes of the
fleets of the great nations enumerat
ed above are considered, it will be
seen that the United States has a sub
marine flotnia relatively and actually
very powerful. England’s fleet Is
more than twice as great as ours, yet
she has put little more than half as
many more submarines. France has
a considerably larger submarine fleet
than ours, with a smaller navy, but
she has in the past taken the lead in
submarine building. Some years ago
she abandoned the dreadnought pol
icy to acquire large hiimberrs Of sub
marines, but in the last two or three
years has made unusual ekertlona to
repair her deficiency '(n dread-,
noughts. England has overcome this
lead, and we are on that road, having
in addition to the 51 ships already
mentioned eight or more authorized
by last year’s bill, on which work
will shortly commenc^* and ^e} are
asking for eight or more this year,
which will swell our total to at least
67 in the next three years. Ger
many, with a larger fleet than ours,
has less submarines, and Japan, with
a fleet smaller than ours in strength
only half as many submarines.
“What we have done ( hdwever, in
submarine construction is but an
earnest of what must be done In the
future. Whqn we shall have a divi
sion of sea-going submarines In com
mission we will have added to the
battleship fleet a strong fighting unit
which must be of larger importance
In any over-sea operations.
“As far as the submarines them
selves are concerned. It is believed
.that ours are on a par with any in'
the world. In the appropriation made
by the last congress two types for the
first time were included—one of high
surface speed, to accompany the fleet,
and one for coast and harbor de
fence. In the building of two such
distinct types we are In accord with
what foreign countries are doing, and
submarine flotillas in the future will
probably be composed of vessels of
these two types.”
Of aviation the secretary says:
"Aircraft have demonstrated in the
present war in Europe that no mili
tary arm is complete which Jacks
them. They will not replace vessels
of war. but will' extend the field .of
operations to the air as well as on
the surface of and underneath the
water. They provide tfie best means
for discovering submarine mines and
have become an Indispensable naval
adjuct
“We are but in the infancy of air
craft. The development In the man
ufacture of these craft in this countfy
needs to be stimulated, and the suc
cess of this arm of the military ser
vice abroad will be a mighty stimu
lant to American manufacturers
“Orders Were given early in the
year for some foVeign-built aero
planes, in addition to large, orders for
aeroplanes made in this country. Un
fortunately, the war has made It tm
possible for the orders to be placed
abroad to be filled, and the trial of
such craft must be postponed. The
best types of American manufacture
have been ordered and the depart-
mnet will develop this modern branch
of the naval service steadily and rap
idly ''
The general board does not take
the same view. Its report refers to
its recommendations In 1913), which
“brought to the attention of the de
partment the dangerous situation of
the.country in the lack of air craft
and air men in both the naval and
military services. At the present time
the total number of air craft of any
kind owned by the navy consists of
twelve aeroplanes, not more than two
of which are />f the sDme type, and
all reported to have too little speed
and carrying capacity for service
work.
“In our present condition of un
preparedness, in contract with any
foe possessing a proper air sfervice.
our scouting would be blind. We
would be without the means of de
tecting the presence of submarines or
milie fields, or of attempting direct
attack on the enemy from , the air,
while our own thovenients would bf
an open book to him. The general
board cam not too strongly urge that
the d^artment’s most serious thought
be given to this matter, and that con
gress be asked for an appropriation
of at least $r>,()0ft,000 for the pur
pose of establishing an efficient air
service.
Financial eppditions resulting from
the European war have caused the
department to refrain from asking
this year for an increase in person
nel, Secretary Daniels states, but sayg
a plan will be presented to congress
next session for the organization of
a competent naval reserve force from
the men who receive honorable dis
charges from the navy.
The general board lays great
stress on the question of personnel.
“The board,’’ the report says, ‘“can
not too strongly urge the repeated
recommendations to provide the fleet
with a personnel active list and train
ed reserve, equal to the manning of
the fleet for war. In the opinion of
the general board, this is a matter of
even more serious import than that
of construction, for it can not be too
often repeated that ships without a
trained personnel to man and fight
them are useless for the purposes of
tvac, i The general board recommends
legislation for an active personnel,
officers and enlisted forces, capable
of keeping in full commission ail bat
tleships under 15 years of age from
date of authorization, all destroyers
and submarinest, under .12 years of
age from authorization, half of the
cruisers and all gunboats and all the
necessary auxiliaries that go with the
active fleet, and of furnishing nucleus
creWs for all ships in the navy that
would be used In time of war and the
necessary men for the training and
other shore etations.*'
Secretary Daniels again urges that
the grades of admiral and vice ad-
&1 l^a. rfiatnred. and giving rnnsid-
HONEY FOR DEFENSE
OFFICIAL ESTIMATES ARE SCB-
- DOTTED TO CONGRESS. 1
COST $256,421,357
e/
Two Battleships Are Provided for In
' ' : . ' ' '■> ■ ' J
Estimates — Numerous
Are Asked—Submarines Excite In-
' '.rv,' ‘ - ,
terest to Some Congressional Lead-
WILL BE UNFRIENDLY
CARRANZA SAYS V. S. SHOULD
NOT USE ARMED FORCE.
... —■... •' '
Says Bryan Does oNt Appreciate the
Gravity of the Threat—Would Vio-
; late Mexican Sovereignty.
GOETHALR REQUESTS WARSHIPS
FOR CANAL ZONE.
fttjnln
-erst
uhle ■■pace 1 tc- tlw pmigatw
The nation's military and naval ex
penses during the next fiscal year, not
including certain fixed expenses,
would amount to $256,421,357, com
pared with $251,284,167 during the
current year under, plans of the ad-
'minlstration, as emboldied in esti
mates submitted to congress Monday.
This amount provides for the regu
lar army, the military academy, the
militia, so far as its cost to the fed
eral government is concerned, forti
fications, aresnals, military post and
the naval establishment, including
the proposed naval building program
and the increase in the navy hereto
fore authorized.
The tentative administration naval
building program 1 for the next fiscal
year, as indicated in the estimates,
is for two battleships, six torpedo
,boat destroyers, “eight or more sub
marines,” one oiler and one gunboat,
one of the submarines to be of the
sea-going type and seven or more to
be of the coast defence type. The
hulls and outfits of these vessels
alone would cost during the coming
year almost ten mi lion dollars and
their arms and armament $9,425,000.
Democratic Leader Underwood,
some of the members of the naval
committee and others in congress
having in mind the European war’s
lessons, favor an increase in subma
rines rather than in the larger type
pf naval craft. This sentiment 1s ex
pected to be injected into debates
during the, present season. Tenta
tive estimates for the naval program
is all “on the assumption that new
vessels to be authorized as this ses
sion will be builtNjy contract,’’ .The
final program will be outlined by
Secretary Daniels just * before the
naval bill is reported to the House.
Submarine mines, an important
factor in the European conflict, are
provided. For purchase of mines and
necessary appliances to operate them
“for closing the cjmsoela leadinirTo
our principal seaports and for con
tinuing torpedo boat experiences" an
appropriation of $190,350 is asked.
There also is propose) $68,000 for
maintenance of submarine mine ma
terial and for torpedo depot admin
istration in continental United States.
In the - general scheme of fortifica
tions, aggregating almost $6,000,000,
numerous Increases are asked. For
construction of gun and mortar car
riages last year’s appropriation is
more than doubled in the estimate tu
$.'>85,060 for fortifying Ckpe Henry,
Va., together with $100,000 to mod
ernize older emplacements.
For purchase, manufacture and
test of ammunition Xfi r mountain,
field and siege cannon $1,600,000 is
asked, an increase of $400,000, and
various items ranging from $100,000
to $450,000 for seacoast cannon, pur
chase of ammunition, sub-calibre
guns, alteration of three-inch bat
teries to rapid-fire field batteries are
asked. Far purchase of searchlights
for defence of the more important
harbors $150,000 is qsked, an in
crease of $50,000; preparation of for
tification plans doubled, to $10,000,
and maintenance of the Mobile artil
lery $5,5,000
For fortifications in the insular
possessions $446,000 is asked, an in
crease of $90,000. The Panama
canal fortifications aggregate $1,942,-
228. an increase of $717,673, includ
ing $25,000 for torpedo building, and
$763,000 for purchase, manufacture
and tebt of ammunition for seacoast
and land defense cannon and machin
ery necessary for .its manufacture at
the arsenal and for maintenance of
seacoast artillery
The secretary of war also would be
given discretionary authority to
spend $50,000 of this amount to erect
a building for manufacturing projec
tiles. The estimates also call for an
appropriation of $568,580 for con
struction of barracks for the mobile
army and coast artillery in the canal
zone for which $70QJliI0__wa8 appro
priated last year, and increaStr the
appropriation of $50,000 for fire cen
tral stations at Panama to $383,301.
onstration of the all-around efficiency
of the navy.”
The report discusses at ’length
many other subjects with which the
department has been engaged includ
ing the manufacture of powder, in
vestigation of the- cost of armor,
plate manufacture, construction- de
tails of new ships, the anti-wine mess
order promulgated this year, the edu
cation work for enlisted men, for
which the secretary expresses great
enthusiasm and reports pleasing re
sults, and the work of the relief
ships North Carolina and Tennessee,
still in European waters watching
over American interests.
»-•»•*
Funeral .Services in the House.
For the first time in fifteen years
a formal funeral ceremony took place
in the House Sunday when Sereno E.
Payne, a veteran member from New
York, was paid the last reepects by
his friends.
• ♦ :
Von Der Goltz in.Turkey.
The heir apparent of the Turkish
throne greeted Field Marshal von der
Goltz when he arrived in Constanti
nople Saturday jtfghl
“If the United States employs force
to stqp the firing by Mexicans across
the International boundary line at
Increaee«TNaco f it will be considered an ui#
friendly act, notwithstanding the
friendly motive cloaking the.gct.’ , „.
In this manner Carranza made an
swer In a statement to the Associated
Press to the formal notice served by
the United States on both Provisional
President Gutierrez and Gen. Car
ranza that unless such firing ceased,
force would bo employed to protect
American territory.
Carranza's reply to the American
note will repudiate responsibility for
shots that have crossed the line and
clearly set forth that he and his gov
ernment will regard intervention at
Naco as a hostile act.
At no time since the receipt of
Secretary Bryan's note calling atten
tion to the repeated wounding and
killing of residents of the American
town has Gen. Carranza appeared per
turbed. but he has had long confer
ences withjhose close to him, and. In
framing his reply it is said he has
been careful not to let himself stand
in any uncertain light.
"Gen. Hill, Constitutionalist Com
mander of the forces at Naco, is on
the defensive,” continued Gen. Car-
ranzo, “and, since his back was td
the line, it is difficult to see how he
could be responsible for the firing.
The fact Is that Maytorent's men
have been attacking and therefore It
appears reasonably clear that they,
and only they, could have been to
blame.
"As a matter of fact I do not know
that the rights of American citizens
have been violated. It seems to me
that it would be well for the state
department to Investigate the ques
tion In order to fix the responsibility
“I remember similar instances at
El Paso, when the Madero forces werp
attacking there In that case those
shots were for the most part the tm
prudent and curious individuals who
flocked to witness the Agthlng'ijs If
it had been a spectacular show staged
for their benefit.
“As to the use of force! of which
Mr. BryaiT talks, that is something
the gravity of which. L fear he does
not fully apreciate. He says it would
-not mean an invasion of our territory
or a violation of our national sover
elgnty. It would And moreover it
would certainly be an act directly
against the Constitutionalists who
now hold the town, and If In favor of
the VUlaists. who would be left free
to continue their operations It
would be simply tying Gen. Hill's
hands and leaving Maytorena free.
“I sincerely hope that the good
friendship of the American people to
ward the Mexican people will prevent
the consummation of Secretary. Bry
an's threat.”
FOUR AHF DROWNED.
Three Boats Capsize While Rescuing
Marooned Hunters.
The Wateree river claimed a toll of
four lives, according to a report
reaching Columbia Monday from
Jacobs Four jnen, James Griffin, i
young white man of the - Jacobs sec
tion of - Richland county, and three
negroes were drowned Sunday, when
they tried to rescue a huntyig party
marooned on an (stand, known ai
Betty’s Neck. >
Last Tuesday Hamp Jacobs, Hor
Lewis and Ben Walsh, with several
Lewis and Ben. WFalsh, with several
others, left Jacobs for a hunt of sev
eral days In the Water river swamp
Thhy camped In an old houpe. on
jetty’s neck. The heavy rains caus
ed the river to rise rapidly.
Saturday morning an old negro
canie to Jacobs and reported that the
island was almost covered by the
water. A rescue party was formed
Going to the river,,the party of ten
including the drowned men, tried to
cross the river to the island in three
boats. The three boats capsized at
the same time. Four of the occu
pants were drowned. • George Seeley
battled against the heavy current for
live hours before he was rescued.
WILSON A BRAVE MAN.
ASKS FOR DESTROYERS
Activity of BeUlfforeat Warship* and
Colliers Around Isthmian Water
ways Causes Concern.
LOST ONLY 7
lima ms iff Huun b-
LAMS nmilfflCim
DIG .SHIPS IN BATTLE
Col. George W. Goethals, governor
o /the Canal Zone, announced Sun
day that his request that two swift
American torpedo boat destroyer* be
stationed at the entrance of the Pan
ama canal was prompted by recent
activity of belligerent warships and
colliers^ jn Jb-e vicinity of the Isth
mian wattirwifr:
The .action of the Australian col
lier Mallina in leaving Balboa with-
otu clearance papers, and the fact
that other colliers have shown a dis
position to disregard canal zone ship
ping laws, convinced Col. Goethals
that decisive measures should be
taken to preserve the neutrality of
the canal. .
Nearly all the colliers in canal
waters arrived without health certifi
cates and In several instances sailed
without clearance papers. It Is pre
sumed the steamers met and coaled
the’ Australian r/ d English fleet
which concentrated recently in the
vicinity of the Pearl Islands, sixty
miles southeast of Panama City.
The torpedo destroyers requested
by the governor are expected to. do
patrol duty and overhaul belligerent
craft attempting to disregard the
canal regulations.
Alleged violations of the canal
shipping laws have, It Is said, been
the subject of complaint to Sir Claude
.C. Mallett. British minister to Pan
ama, and also have resulted in orders
that ihe fortifications prevent unneu
tral colliers remaining in ports on
the zone In disregard of the orders of
canal authorities.
In the case of the collier Mallina
it is stated that she arrived without
clearance papers or a health certifi
cate and with no coal or supplies
She attemtped to buy $3,000 worth
of supplies, consisting largely of artl
cles Intended for a Christmas dinner
for a large force. She was refused
the supplies and was ordered to de
part because she refused to state her
destination, as required by the canal
zone laws. The collier Proteellaua Is
pointed to as as a similar caae.
It is stated that there has been
much wireless interference in eaaai
waters on the part of eight colliers,
which recently were In the vicinity of
the cangl and also by large warship
fleets, reported to be within twenty-
flve miles of both ends of the'canal
Col. Goethals' request for two tor
pedo boat destroyers came aa a sur
prise to official at Washington, who
had received no previous Intimation
that neutrality was being violated In
the vicinity of the canal. Secretory
Daniels prepared to order destroyers
from Charleston or from the west
coast of Mexico.
TO STAY LN WAR.
Japanese Premier Declares Naval
Duties Will Continue.
• Vice-Admiral Roiuro Yashlro, min
ister of marine, touching on the war
in a speech In the Japanese diet Tues
day. say.
“While war in Europe endures,
the Japanese navy's duties will con
tinue. In the meantime our fleet. In
conjunction with an English fleet,
seeks the Germans in South Ameri
can waters.”
CHILDREN FLOATER OFF.
(Starving Chinese Parents Take Des
perate Chances for Children.
“Knowing that they themselves
had to die, parents have tied their
children onto wooden doors and let
them float off in the hope that they
might be rescued by some one and
the children have starved to death
after floating so far many hours,’
says a Chinese government official in
a note to American Minister Reinsch
at Peking regarding the distress
caused by the Huai River flood, the
worst in China for sixty years.
Two Negroes Lynched.
Two negroes were hanged by a
mob of fifty men at Mooringsport,
La., Friday after they had confessed
to murdering a white man for rob
bery.
Secretary Bryan Praises the Man Who
Occupies the WlUte House.
Secretary of State Bryan, speak
ing before the Baltimore Bar asso
ciation Tuesday night, deplored any
suggestion that the United States pre
pare for war in the sense that Ihe
nations of Europe have prepared for
it.
“I have been fighting all my life,”
said Mr. Bryan, “and I never fought
beside a braver man that he who to
day occupies the White House.
“Why should .men be asked in
times of peace to prepare to die for
their country when there is so much
need for them tp live fpr their coun
try?"
Fight to a Finish.
Myron T, Herrick, returning am
bassador from Paris, believes that the
war will be fought until one side or
the other is definitely whipped.
Turks Bombard Batum.
Datum, a Russian seaport on the
Black Sea, was bombarded on Satur
day by the Turkish fleet. Over 100
men were killed.
Mine Sinks Turkish Gunboat.
A Turkish gunboat was sunk ,by a
mine near the entrance to the Dar
danelles Saturday.
i i ■■ * •!
Huerta to Visit Mexico.
A London dispatch says ex-Presl-
dent Huerta Is preparing to return
to Mexico. - ^
Buying Stock in Texan.
European agents are spending $3,
0MiM.0rre-Te^ag jpglng. stork, aaidj
Fights Duel With Cope.
After shopping his fleeting sweet
heart, Ignacia Tirglrina, a Mexican,
feught a pistel duel with three pe-
licemen in New Orleans Saturday.
Negro Burned at Stake.
Watkins Lewis burned tp death at
Sylfester, La., Saturday, made the
fifth victim of mob vengeance in
Louisiana in ten days.
X.'
Fleet of Vice-Admiral gtnrdee Waa
Made Up of Battleships and Battle
cruiser*—Either of Three Ships to
the Fight Should Have Whipped
the Entire Hostile Fleet.
London announces officially that in
the battle off the Falkland Islands, in
which the German cruisers Scharn-
horst, Gneisenau, Leipzig and Nurn-
berg were sunk, the British casualties
totalled seven men killed * an four
wounded. No officers, the dispatch
says, were either killed or wounded.
The Germas lost upward of 2,000
men.
Buenos Aires reports that the Ger
man light cruiser Dresden, (which
escaped destruction by Vice Admiral
Sturdee’a fleet off the Falkland Is
lands Tuesday, waa run aground at
that port Saturday.
The Buenos Aires dispatches at the
same time give the flfat hint at the
magnitude of the efforts to put forth
by the British admiralty to round up
the German raiders, in the statement
that Vice Admiral Sturdee has at
least ninp ships under his flag, in
cluding the battleships Albemarle
and Hindustan and the huge battle
cruisers Lion. Indefatigable and In
domitable. i
Previous reports from South Amer
ican points have indicated the pres
ence in those waters of the armored
cruiser Carnarvon and Defence, and
the battleship Canopus still remains
of Sir Christopher Cradock’s squad
ron. Inasmuch aa tbs least of these
ships would reasonably be figured a
match for either of the larger Ger
man ships the awful odds piled up
against Admiral von Spec are appar
ent.
That the three battle-cruisers
alone should have been - detached
from Admtral Beatty's battle-cruiser
division, after the splemfld service
they performed in the fight of August
28 off Helgoland, la of itself s suffl-
cleqt Indication of the importance at
tached by the admiralty to the tssfc a t
at the same time of avenging Sir
Christopher Crcdock’s squadron and
clearing the ocean of Germans. •
Any one of tbe three hettlo rrnls ‘
ers should alone, on sheer weight of
metol. be more than a match for the
entire German aqnadroa. The In
domitable Is a ship of 17,250 tons.
560 feet long, and carries a main bat
tery of eight 12-lnch guns. She has
made a speed of 28 knots or bettor.
The Indefatigable is a larger edition
of the Indomitable, displacing 18,760
tons, Is 590 feet long, and is the taut
est big ship In the British navy, hav-
infl made 29 knots on sen trials.
Ai If this were not enough odds
against the Scharnhorst and Gneiss
nau, which each mounted only eight
8.2- inch guns, and neither of which
had ever beaten 24 knots in speed,
the Lion is as much bigger, and near
ly as much more powerful, than the
Indomitable la more powerful than
the Gneisenau. The Lion Is 709 feet
long, displaces 26,350 tons (about
the size of the U. S. 8. Wyoming)
and carries a main battlery of eight
13.5-lnch guns. She hae beaten 28
knots on her trials.
The battleship Hindnston is a 18,-
350-ton ship, and mounts n main bat
tery of four 12-lnch and four 9.2-lnch
guns, with a casement battery of ten
6-inch and fourteen 3-inch. She was
built In 1904, and haa made nineteen
knots on trials.
The Albemarle and the Canopus
are much alike, ao far as fighting
value is concerned, although the Al
bemarle la a newer ship. Each mounts
four 12-inch and twelve 6-inch guna
In the main battery. The Albemarle
displaces 14,000 and the Canopus
12,850 tons.
The armored cruiser Defence was
built in 1907, displaces 14,600 tons,
and carries a main battery of four
9.2- inch and ten 7.5-inch rapid-fire
guns. The Carnarvon Is a slater of
the Hampshire, believed to have been
sunk by this same German aqundron
off Hong Kong. She displaces 10,860
tons, and carries four 7.5-inch and
six 6-inch . guns. Both she and the
Defence are twenty-three knot shipa.
Berlin announces a statement from
the German admiralty: “The Brit
ish admiralty does not say in its
statement of the battle that our
squadron had been on the high seas
for four months without means of
communication, either cable or other
wise, and had been without any port
where it could put in for repairs or
supplies. Despite this, 1U always ob
tained coal."
A semi-official statement says: In
view of the superiority of the enemy’s
fleet, which consists particularly of
big, fast, well armed ships, there
seems little chance that our two
cruisers can long evade pursuit. We
must, therefore, also reckon with the
loss of both these shipk.
“It is hardly to be expected from
British sources that accurate Infor
mation will be given of the course
of the conflict or of the composition
of the British squadron.”
Fleet to Assemble.
Twenty-one battleships of the At
lantic fleet will assemble off the coast
of Cuba in January for battle man
oeuvres.
be seen by a comparison of our Vera Cruz by the United States naval
strength In thfs craft with that of
foreign navies. It is rohghtly esti
mated that there are built or build
ing for tbe various navies the follow-'
forces, pays tribute to the nineteen
men who lost their Jives there. - The
entire record of Vera Cruz, the sec
retary states, la “a remarkable dem-
To Avoid Extra .Session.——-
Congressmen are determined to
complete their program before March
4, ao as to do away with the necessity
tor another extra session.
I for Germany:
Three Are Injured at Naco.
Three more persons were injured
by Mexican bullets at Naco, Artz.. on
Sunday/
No Truce Arranged.
Europe-has
through.
Building Six Destroyers.
Secretary. Daniels has given out
contracts for six torpedo boat de
stroyer* authorised last year.
* Guitterea Orders Cessation.
Provisional President Guitterea.
has ordered a cessation of all hostili
ties around Naco. saying the friend
ship of America must be retained.
Submarine* at Firth of Forth.
German submarines Wednesday
ed sank by
Twenty-five
The wreck of
Boger, off the Por
salted in the tone of :
Are