| Show NAVY RIVALRY England made a naval demonstration demonstra-tion In the preparation of her flying fleet to pro nobody knows where to do nobody knows what but this It did do it demonstrated Englands easy superiority on the ocean and has awakened a determination among her rivals for power to increase their naval force Russia was the first to move making provision in her budget this year for the payment of upwards of S3UOOOOOO In the next seven years for the construction of warships The din of building warships on both sides of her seems now to have alarmed Germany Ger-many and she Is agitating the question I of increasing the number and improving improv-ing the class of her warships It is now said to be well known that the German emperor has long wished to increase the strength of his navy hut the reichstag by refusing to vote the I necessary funds has rendered it impossible im-possible Imperial ingenuity however under the irritation produced by the prospects of being outdone In such a matter has hit upon a plan by which the refusal of the legislature of the empire to further burden the people with taxes for such a purpose may be overcomehIs mighty highness the emperor will borrow the money and then of course a subsequent reichstag can tax the people to meet the indebtedness Indebt-edness The amount that it is proposed pro-posed to raise by borrowing for the purpose is 300000pOO marks about 71000000 The justification for this course is set forth to be that the colonial co-lonial interests of Germany require the navy for their protection The claim set forth will deceive nobody it is too well understood that its purpose is to enable Germany to keep pace with Russia and England especially the latter It is to the credit however of one German statesman that he had the courage to tell Germanys imperial warlord that Germany could not hope to create a navy which would rival I that of Great Britain This was I Prince von Arenburg but it is questionable I ques-tionable if his counsel will be heeded i Yet if the German emperor would but stop to think of it reason would surely sure-ly tell him that the prince is right The hostility of France and the jeal I I ousy of other European powers compel com-pel Germany to keep a standing army which is conceded to be the most powerful pow-erful in the world a burden of which England is by comparison free hut makes up for it by supporting the first navy of the world That Germanys I I manys resources are not equal to keeping up both the most powerful I army and also the first navy of the world ought to be not difficult to comprehend com-prehend Now that Germany has resolved to I increase her navy we may confidently expect to heir in the course of a few days that France has done the same thing This continually increasing armies ar-mies and navies this continually improving im-proving the war footing of each and yet never fighting is getting monotonous monoton-ous and if Europe is really going to have war if war is Inevitable those of us at a safe distance could almost wish that the Europeans would goat go-at it and have done with it that the worlds attention could be given to something else than this eternal war bluster |
