Show THE BRITISH liJE l CRISIS L I Sl s. s v- v V V THE SHIPBUILDERS SHIPBUILDERS' GREAT E T RACE I BY J. J HAS HASKIN N PEED and gun eun power will bo be the SPEED determining features In tho the next Great gloat S naval na battle whether r that conflict shall be he between Great Britain and Germany Gormany or not The universal raal recognition recognition re- re cognition of this primary fact forced tho tim naval authorities of or the world orld into a a. apoll poll policy C of or complete completo r reconstruction of or their fleets when th the British ship made Its Ita app appearance ran c cour four our years ago The Tha S. S 5 has a tonnage of af n a ned f speed ed of or twenty font 3 knots an m hour and IsS Is Is- S armed with ten 12 1 l M Inch guns capable of ofa S f a R gun fun un fire of ot 4 pounds of metal S. S Being four our to six aix tx miles an hour faster S S than other modern battleships t the tho h e S when S It Hint went Into commission n would have hl been able to engage the next I powerful battleship battle Frederic Haakin Haskin afloat and to sink it It before tho ho other ship hip could get within range of tho the Dr Dread Dread- ad- ad naught for the ue use of or Its complete arma arma- ment Tho The superiority of ot the range of ot tho the guns the tho weight of metal they could throw tho faster R speed ed of ot the ship all these se combined made the tho new ship tho the most powerful and terrible engine of or war ar afloat Immediately It ft became necessary for other nations to build ships able abl to grapple grap- grap plo pie with this monster The German empire empire empire em em- pire and the tho tho United States were first to take up the thc gage followed shortly by Japan by-Japan Japan and at a a. slower pace by theother tho the other maritime nations of tho the world In Including Including In- In Brazil IzU and the tho Argentine lic lie But the tho original was not riot Ion long lone to remain tho biggest and the strongest ship for tor Ha its power was soon to be exceeded although It gave Its n name mc to the and the super super- classes of battleships Tho The British ship Neptune which will bo be completed completed com corn next year has a tonnage of W- W The ships now heln being built willbe will wll willbe be bo armed with guns of calibre anc and throwing shells each weighing 1250 pounds as compared to the tho pound shells of ot th the Inch 12 guns JUns of ot tho the Dread Dread- naught Thus the tho race raco In tho the British navy alone Th The first all gun ships to bo completed completed com corn outside of the British na navy y were the American battleships Michigan anc and South Carolina each of or tons of ot eighteen knots speed and each having eight Inch 12 gun guns These two ships a ar arnot arx not so largo large nor t so 80 o swift as the British but they aro are Included In Inthe tho the class by European nava naval exports experts because of their gun all armament The Tho North Dakota and the Delaware nt nearing completion of tons each bearing ten Inch 12 guns gun are of th the this true type as are aro also the tho Florida and tho Utah now building which have havo tho the same armament but bu which arc ro 2000 tons tors heavier The new Wyoming and Arkansas will be bo of tho the super Dread super naught class An English navy officer remarked that In his opinion the tho most terrible thing In all this fierce competition was the tho proposed now American Amen Ameri can ship of or tons armed with 12 inch guns capable of throwing a broadside broadside broad bread side w weighing pounds as compared to the tho pounds During the year car 1909 1009 foul four new Dread Dread- were added to the British fleet bringing tho the total up to seven Thc Thosa It were the three battleships and Superb and the tho Dread Dread- naught cruiser Invincible Tho latter latte has S a a. ot of 25 knots and is armed with eight Inch 12 guns Aa As the navies navle of ot the world stand today this cruiser cruise l IK all that its name implies During Ui the present year three new will bo be added to his J majesty 9 navy th the battleships batt St. St Vincent Collingwood anc and Vanguard all nIl of lOt which are now almost almos I Ibe b placed in commission Etch Each of or thes these has s a a. tonnage of ot Tho The super Neptune and the thc 19 10 ton cruiser Indefatigable have been launched and will be ready for commission commis- commis don glon early In 1911 1011 Last year car under the Influence of ot tho German war scare the British govern goorn ment ordered eIght new ships The Tho Hercules Hercules Hercules' Her Her- cules cules' and Colossus were laid down in I Jul July and August and the Orion and Lion In November The first three aro are bat bat- and tho the last Is a A. cruiser of th the tho class Tho The other four battleships battleships battle battle- ships were laid down in April All these thes will be completed and In lri commission by bythe bythe bytho the tho summer of 1912 bringing tho the BritIsh lInt Brit Ish lab fleet up to twenty In the meantime there thero has been n no lack of ot activity across tho the North sea The German emperor and the German nation are arc seemingly In entire agreement agreement agree agree- ment on tho the subject of ot the German navy They believe that It should be large larg enough to protect Germanys Germany's great marItime marl marI time commerce that It should be bc powerful powerful pow pow- erful enough to maintain Germanys Germany's dig dignity dig dig- among the nations that it should bo ho strong enough to know no fear Laugh taugh- LaughIng Ing at British panics and disclaiming any desire whatever to outstrip tho the English Eng EnS' lish navy tho the shipbuilding yards ards arc are bus busy and the Krupp gun factory is hard hardat at work Tho Timo German naval progress is not nol so easy to estimate as the British Th Time British press and public demand and re receive ro- ro complete information The German German Ger Ger- man press and public do not demand anything and are content with what I Is vouchsafed mom above Two German aro completed com corn and In commission the tho Nassau and the They are each o or of tons have a speed of ot twenty knots knot and are armed with twelve Inch 11 guns gunEl Thc They also have supplementary batteries of twelve inch guns The Tho was built at Bremen lInemen and on the way t to th the sea sen went aground In the shallow water ator of tho river Weser The ship wa was detained some time while the British I smiled and the Germans gnashed their thel teeth It was another proof that German Germany Germany Ger Ger- man many needs new and better sea ports The battleships Posen and just completed and ready read for commission are similar to the Nassau The battleships battleship and Thuringia were launched last autumn These three o will be bG of ot OOOO tons each and they thoy will carry armaments of twelve inch 12 guns of a new design b by K Krupp upp possessing an extraordinary range and throwing shells weighing 9 31 01 1 pounds a ap compared with the pounds of trio tnt British inch 12 guns Tho The battleship Ersatz Frithjof was laid do don domi n II In March 1909 and Wand the battleships Er Ersatz atz Hilmie brand and Ersatz wore begun gut gutIn In tho the late autumn autumnS Tho Time armored cruiser cruise Von dor der Tann also was launched In March 1909 1009 It was tho the launching of this I ship hip and tho the laying down of the Ersatz which brought to the attention of f Britain tho the acceleration of tho the Cerman German Ger- Ger man nan naval program Those events C were cre not ot on the schedule of German naval activity ac- ac thIt h by which England had been guided 1 and nd when the facts acts became known it created the great naval panic In the house of commons commons the the beginning of ot the present present pres- pres ent nt crisis In Britain The cruiser Von yon der Tann and two Unnamed un unnamed unnamed un- un named cruisers G G and H arc are according according ac- ac cording to tho the admission of or the first toni ION of or admiralty In the tho house of or commons faster url and more powerful than tile t Invincible In In- The Tho Von der Tann will be able to o steam twenty five knots an hour and will carr carry ten Inch 11 guns Juns The two later later ater cruisers both of which w were re laid dov down n quietly In December 1908 are arc alst al nearing completion The They will havo have a speed of or twenty eight knots an hour and will carry twelve Inch 12 guns This means moans that the they will be as 8 heavily armored ar ar- mored as the tho Drca able to throw a greater weight of metal In a broadside and that they will be oven even faster than the Invincible These German crul cruisers ers now stand at the very ery top of or the worlds world's naval 08 fighting machines In both offensive t strength hand and strategic value All AIl tho the German ships now building and ordered so go far tor ns as Is known will b be completed by 1912 1012 bringing the German strength up to thirteen Not least among g the alarms which have o agitated Great Britain In the tIme la last l twelve twelvemonths twelvemonths months was the tho unwelcome discovery that Germany was able not only to construct ships hips of th the ht class but bul that tho the work could b bf be carried on as os rapidly as In England Until this time England I had held not only the mastery maRtery of tho the seas by virtue of or Its great fleet but it also had boast boasted cl the mastery of ot the tire shipbuilding ship ship- building yards N NO other othor nation could construct naval vessels fl as quickly Now Germany Gormany has lias demonstrated Its ability to build ships of ot tho tIre most advanced types as U quick quickly as they can he be turned out In British yards ards The Germans German also showed that the they could build ships without telling the tho world of ot what was wae going on In th the ship yards ards Of or course CO Great Britain is still sun far and away the strongest sea power Its navy Is 18 equal to those of or Germany Germant and ma Ut United States combined Tho The time honored hon horm- ored British naval principle of maintaining maintain maintain- ing the neat fleet at the two-power two standard a as os strong as the combined fleets of or the next two strongest powers has not been violated The German and anti American navies today arc aro tied for second place and Japan ranks third But n nevertheless less tho British security is threatened Germany will pass the United States nex next year and for three years will Increase Its relative strength more rapidly than any nation has ever e done before Great Britain Brit it nm ain knows and fears this fact Tomorrow Tomorrow The The British Crisis Cris VI His Vr His Britannic Majesty's Army |