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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (April 9, 1909)
STRUGGLE IS FOR NAVAL SUPREMACY A obscure IlrltlHh army officer, serving In South Africa. has done a vory remarkable thing. For enrs Kipling had bean b 1 1 1 o rly, apostrophizing IiIh countrymen: Must ye wait for tlio sputtered shrapnel r ye learn how a gun Is laid. 1'or the low, ml gleam to the southward whero your rtdded coast towns hurn (Light ye Mltatt hnve on that lesson, but little time to lean. Hut "arid, aloof, incurious, unthink ing, ' unthaitklng," tlio empire over which tho sun never acts wept on its way, "waiting some oasy wonder, hoping gome Having sign." And now an army olflcor who had turned play wright for tho moment ban accom plished at one Htroke all that Kipling had failed to do with all of his many proddlngB. In hla extraordinary play, "An Englishman's Homo," tho fanci ful portrayal of a midden foreign In vasion and Its dlro roHultfi liaa excited Grent Britain nlinost an niuoli as tho actuality might have done. In tho vomacular, the play hit tho British public where It lives. IUi far-reaching which Great Drltaln Ih arming In such feverish haste. It would bo difficult to 8ay what combination of two powers Is at present regarded by Downing Street an being tho most probable. But It is recognized that the kalcldoscopo of International relations can alter more rapidly than fleets can bo built, particularly thoso fleets of Dread noughts whose rapid upbuilding In Germany has brought so much disturb ance to the sober British mind. Theso are tho nll-blg-gun ships which ono hears ho much of nowadays, vcbbcIh of such tremendous offensive and de fensive power, of such high speed and wldo stream radius, that It is now ad mitted that upon tholr preponderance will rest the naval suprcmncy of tho future. Origin of the Big-gun 8hlp. Althoug the idea of tho alt-blg-gun ship originated on this side of tho At lantic and had Its inception in target practice lu tho American navy, that distinguished Italian, Cunlbcrtl, of tho Royal Italian corps of naval engineers, has, by reason of tho capaciousness of pigeon holes In Washington, boon QRZATBPIMIH .909 It i iiliimHblJi m ymffCB 628.882. kmm mm W nation ibc conditions would be to tally different. Among other iKMslbllitle that may arise there Is the one that must not be overlooked that is. that the world might see two repetitions of Port Ar thur, ono within and tho other be yond the Danish straits. And such blockades Wight protract the war for months and months without nny def inite results to either side, except for tho effect on their commerce. Leaving aside all the fancies of the Napoleonic days, the imaginary sur prise landings and all those other ro mantic idoas that so Interest one in one's young days, rnd which are now so much disturbing Britain, let us consider tho matter In Its most nat ural and almple aspect. Tho most probable situation would bo that the land nrmlos would be vigilant and ready, that tho German ships of war woutJ bo in tholr ample and well-pro tected harbors of refuge of compara tively little depth, and that the Brit ish chips would bo keeping watch out side so that no hostllo cruiser could get away unmolested to play havoc with the commorco of Britain and dla turb her food supply. Thero Is no reason whatever why such a state of things should not go on for month uftcr month, and especially so if tho Toga of the day, instead of being outside, is In this caso within, and has tho Intention of keeping hla few ships intact at all costs. Outcome of the Blockade. Tho blockadcr will then find himself in this dilemma, either ho maintains n really strict blockade, and then thero Ih HcrlouH risk that his hips go tho wny of tho Hatsuse, Petropaviosk and others, or ho keeps them well oflt of danger, and then the blockade Is but a fictitious one, nnd in such a case British commerce hnB everything to lose. Of course, It Is understood that tho German ocean-borne commorco Is completely stranded for the time be ing, but the effort of mich suspension on tho large extent of German terri tory will bo nothing in comparison with tho results of such suspension In tho case of Britain, which would bring with it absolute peril to that country, while In tho caso of Germany there would bo no such danger. What pos sible use would be those big guns of the Dreadnoughts and the Invlnclbles? Certainly thoy would bo useless for tho purposo for which they were orig inally designed, a fight in tho open, in tho Atlantic, for example, In full day- they do not present any novel features. Of the submarines on which Ger many is embarKing, comparatively little is known. From tho excellence of the Russian boats built at Krtipp's, Germnnla yard, the assumption Is that the German boats will be at least equally efficient. The main defect ap pears to be too small a radius. Two In Third Place. Japan and Germany now both oc cupy the third place among tho naval powers. Oy paper Japan, perhaps, oc cupies almost the better position on account of all tho ex-Russian battle rn MAN OR BEAST? Bv ELLIS PARKER BUTLER (Copyright, by Dally Story Pub. Co.) It was half ait hour before the per formance In the big tent, but tho mo nagcrlo tent was beginning to fill. The ships that she owns. Outside and , . ..T. , . .Cnn apart from these ships, however, the Japanese fleet Is now very consider blc In the most powerful types of units. The Satsuma. of the new Dreadnought type, was completed dtir Ing 1908, ns were most of the armored cruisers of equal date. Considerable progress ha been made on Japan's other big Dreadnought, the Akl, nnd two ships, tho first of a new series, aro woll advanced. Four oth era are projected, but nono of them nppears to bo yet in hand. The num per of big armored cruisers to bo built Is ralhor Indefinite; it is doubt ful whether more than ono is act tally In hand. Ono of tho most interesting develop meats of tho recent past Is the ad vent of Dreadnoughts among tho north ern European "coast defense" navies. Of thoso navies, that of Sweden Is damp pine sawdust under foot aided in creating that distinctly circus scent that is the incense of bliss to the nose of the small boy. The venders of peanuts and pink and white "lemo" were busy nt their stands near where tho rough-hided elephants and shop-worn camels were chained to stakes around tho center pole, and through an opening at the far end of tho tent could bo Hoen tho tiers of blue plank scats in tho big tent beyond, and ono or two blue-Jacketed men hastily raking sawdust in the two big rings. A stream of eager sightseers pressed around the circle of cages, crowding close to tho guard-ropes, ejaculating with wonder at sight of the gnu or eagerly glancing ahead In vain en deavor to see the hippopotamus with probably equal to the Russian In ships h,8 cnvc.1Ike nimith Tho80 who hnd u un-i now Bianu. unucr me ley canca Qp unlbroUaB slyly ,)oUcd the "uHl " u "!. nu.wuy ..u ' animals, keeping ono eye on tho sleopy linn mi juujvtL ui uiv ucriuiiihs lu I watchmen. uuiiii uii-uuuuiib'iun ui power, uuuo u wa (ho ren, drcUg( u,0 onl. ten equal to the best battleships set afloat combincd BrPntest shows on earth, and by any nation n few years ago. Sup- ,t ,iad nctn,iIy como t0 Yarnaby in all posing Bweuen 10 muni inesc as in- Ita B,ory wlth s cngea and fluUering dustrlously ns she has built her coast bann0r3( i,B four champion bands and defense battleships in tho past, It will nghtnInR tlcket-sellcrs. It was tho real not. ue long oeioro mis country oe- clrcUB( from Ul0 wonderful bcaBts that cornea nn extremely important. lactor am,onrod on tho show-hllla and no III thO Baltic, especially 111 tho event wl,nrn oIro. In flit. nnW nnd nnata nnd of Norwny co operating, an might well Beat8( pated that shade of blue that bo the caso In matters Involving gen- js Rcen on circus-poles nnd posts and erni Scandinavian interests. senta nmi seen thero only in mo aoutn American navies nono All Yarnaby county that had not at ot tno nmimious programs 01 last tended tho morning performance year have yet borne fruit except tho crowded tho tent that evening, and of urnzmun. Tiiese carry 12 12-lnch, and ai tho nnimals tho Hons wore viewed so aro considerably superior to tlio with tho greatest we. Tho monarchs Dreadnoughts in gunflro, but tho pro- 0f tho animal kingdom lay at the back tection givon is distinctly less. In vnrylng degree with each of the smaller navies, tho standards of value which apply to tho great navies are JkGSPTfAjYy S24.573. 1911 CRZAT BSJrAlli 7A7U76 effect 1b shown In cable dispatches Which doscrlbn the turbulent scono In parliament whou tho naval bill camo Up for debate and tho overwhelming vote of !J22 to 83 In favor of tho rapid upbuilding of n more poWorful navy NuvIcb are essentially business In- Etrtimetits, and no amount of tirgu lent can dlsgulso tho fact that they (ire built for uso nnd not for ornament, l'horo is no need hero to attempt to floflno which In tho governing princi ple, whether thoso who lmvo tho great est strength are tho ones who nro most likely to uso it, or whether tho tnoro poscsslon of armed strength Im plies an Intention of employing It. But tho fact remains that for many years Great Britain's postulate had boon that, whatever tho cost, she would lmvo a navy superior to that of any two powers, lior attitude has boon that, iib tho greater Includes tho Icsb, Ihoroforo by preparing to fight a com bination or tho two greatest nnvnl powers that preparation would nwiko her secure against any other combina tion that could possibly be concolvod. vBut now," said Mr. Balfour In his Impassioned speech beforo tho Iioubo, "for tho vory first tlmo lu modorn his tory wo are fnco to fuco with 11 naval Bltuntlon ho now and so dangerous that It is dlfllcult for us to realize Us Im port." The Nation Responsible. Tho nation that has created for Great Britain tho nltuntlon "so now ttud dnngorous" can ho easjly onough Identified. With good reason or with out, Britain bus long distrusted Gor many, and long boforo tho production of tho play which so uturtlod the Brit ish populace, and so much electrified Its parliament, thero was In tho heart at most every Briton a conviction that If Great Britain over wont to war, Germany would seize the opportunity to overthrow British maritime supre macy. Great Brltaln'H frankly dis closed portubatlou is nnw duo to tho vast strides that Germany has boon limiting with her navy, and Instead ot the sottled IlrltlHh Idea of maintain Ing a two-power stuiulnrd, thero are uow somo excited doubts, as to her ability to maintain ascendancy over this single ono. It Is estimated that 13 German Dreadnoughts and InvlnclbloH might bo complotod by 1011, as ugnlnat 12 Dreadnoughts and four Invlnclbles which Great Britain would have by Novombor of 1011. If Germany ac celerates her construction work she would lmvo 17 of thoso ships by April of 1012. Great Britain, it was pointed out lu parliament, could not afford to talio risks, and if sho was to main tain her superiority tho admiralty must be In n position to obtain tlio do llvory of four additional Drondnoughts by March of 1912, thus giving Grout Britain 20 such vosanola against Ger many'u possible 17. Thus, while it is plain enough that credited with tho (irst design, In tho current volume of "Jane's Fighting Ships of the World" this distinguished commentator notes a remarkable evo lution In German bnttloshlp design, "although up to tho present time there hnd been a distinct difference between tliom, or either the French or British system of construction." Continuing, ho Hays that "among theso throe great unvles tho British certainly predominates, hut whllo It Is hardly likely that tho other two will modify their Ideas lu warship con struction, tho general trend of con structive Ideas may now bo modified, ns n wur betwoon Great Britain nnd her two allies is altogether Improb able." This elimination leaves only Ger many, Franco and the United States as tho only powers with Hitlllclent nnvnl strength to confront Great Brit ain without, being utterly swept from tho sons from the very start. This country and Franco may bo loft out of tho count ns It Ih not against either ot these that Great Brltaln'H shlpbulld' Ing energies are now directed. But In tho untoward event ot hostll itles botween Germnny nnd Grent Brit nlu It may well bo assumed that the theater of conflict would not bo such an is portrnyed in tho drama of "An Englishman's Homo," but in tlio North sea, and possibly also In tho Baltic. Supposing merely for tho sake of 11 lust ration, that the Hoots of tho United States wero tho ones to aBBall or bo assailed, tho theator of war would doubtless bo tho high seas; in tho second case, or that of Germany, It Would lu all likelihood bo fought out In the North sen. In tho first event thu laud armies of tho two powers would lmvo llttlo to do It we exclude possible warfaro lu their colonics; whllo in tlio second, tho far greater powers of tho land nrmles of Germany could lu no wise compensate for the greater power of the British fleot on tho son. Naval Necessities. An emlnont naval authority recently pointed nut as an obvious truth tho fact that battloshlps of great displace ment and capable ot keoplug tho sens for n conslderablo length ot time would bo Indispensable to Great Brit ain in any war that sho undertook to wugo with any nation wldoly sep arated from her by sen. Equally In dispensable would bo fast and very powerful armored cruisers. Thus tho Dreadnought and the Invincible types seem exactly designed to meet such needs, and for long runs iiciohb the ocean. But In the case of Gormnny would they be of thu hiuuo servlco? Tho difficulties that would encompass the theator of conflict in that ovent would, Indeed, bo serious for such ves boIs; tho shallow coastal waters of tho North sea, the dlfllcult Straits of Den mark nnd many other drawbacks I which hardly ( require enumerating, JikjvL. Ft! eIje run t GP7fy 6 3.599 "inn nn & ?&am& 770.4&S light, with 11 final strenuous effort of tho Tsushima type. If tho history of thu armored ship era teaches anything, it tenches that ovory change is always preceded by 11 universal conviction that something akin to finality has been reached! Italy has so frequently anticipated ovonts that her program Is alwuys of special Interest. And It was quite a vory fow yoarB ago that Col. Cunl bertl's "Ideal British Battleship" ex cited something very llko dorlslon from those who characterized tho Idea of a battleship armed with nothing but 12-lnch guns ns "altogether too fanciful nn Idea for a scrloiiH work!" Vet now every battleship 1b a "Cunl bertl," more or less. Mystery of New Battleships. To dnto the mystery ot tho now Gerlnnn battleships has been well maintained, but none apparently aro quite so poworful as was once sup posed. Tho three guns In a turret Idea Is entirely given up as unsatisfactory which reduceH the number of guim to 12 or possibly only 10. Tho two first of the Nassau class aro of 17,710 tons; tho two next about 19,000 tons, but with tho same armor and armament. Tho ships to be built under tho 1009 program aro probably sisters to theso last. Of tho now armored cruisers the cruiser "F" is now understood to enrry but 8, or possibly 9 11-Inch. Sho Is of practically tho sumo dimensions ns tho British Invlnctblus. it Gormnny lu tho ono power against whow at onue that In a war with this "He's Hypnertlzln' the Lion." of their cage blinking sleepily and I glancing now and then nt the curious faces ot tho crowd with lazy In dlfforenco. When, from sheer weariness, the lioness yawned and showed her white tooth, the crowd beforo tho coge fell uacK precipitately ami tlio women SEEK BLACK KING'S WEALTH, "ttered little cries of terror. The lion esse lot her head drop comfortably be Expedition After Treasure Said to Be twocn ncr l)IlWB nnl Blnced nt her hardly applicable, the value of any warship being governed by Its prob- ablo antagonists. Hidden in Africa. Tho Transvaal Leader tells a mnrkablc story of hidden trensuro which onco belonged to lxbonguln, tho mate "What do you think of that?" she re. asked. Tho Hon sniffed contemptuously. "They weary me," he sald;'"l,o. tell famous king of tho Matabele. It is l evoryining wenries mo now. said to bo reckoned In millions. l'ko to Eo back to tho Jungle. Do Five men only know tho plnco where J'011 remember tho day 1 killed the the tronauro wns donoslted nnd of w'" ox, soon alter i met your them but ono Is nllvo to day John Ja- "Indeed I do," said tho Honoss; "I cobs, a native minister, who wns at can sco you Btlll crawling slowly near- ono tlmo nrivato secretary to Loben- wh-n you hold him spoil-bound only posslblo to give conjectured de signs of her. Tho Bluchor Is now reported to have 10 8,2-Inch guns, which, hor dis placement being under 16,000 tons, is far more probnblo than the heavier ar mnmentB hitherto assigned to her. Bo tween the 12-lnch, -15 caliber of tho Invlnclbles and tho German 11-Inch GO-callbers, thoro is no very great dif ference in weight, not more than six tons per gun nt tho outside. Seven 11-Inch German guns would weigh uh much as six 12 Inch, -to-callbor British ones, or rather more than that. Tho sinnll Germnn cruisers tend to become fuster annually. They have now reachod "Scout speeds" and, bo Ing considerably bettor armed; must bo regarded ns distinctly superior to tho ordinary scout. Gorman destroy, ers are following tho usual tendency to Increased size and armament, but guln, and who hns lately returned to Johannesburg after nu expedition In quest of tho burled treasure. That is set out by him as follows: lu coin, $11,000,000; HC bars of raw gold, ten wagon londs of Ivory, 400 diamonds. Rather more than a year ago, ac cording to tho Transvaal leader, Ja cobs entorcd Into negotiations with A, Spinner, a well-known Johannes burg prospector, as the result of which both men, accompanied by Jacobs' two sons nnd a Mr. Monckz, t-et out for tho north, trolling Into regions rarely traversed by white people They start ed January 3, 1908, from Johannes burg, nnd wero absent for over a year. They did not bring back tho treasure, but thoy are firmly convinced thoy have found tho spot where It lies. Dlf- Is still ! Acuities of transport, tho obtaining of food, water, etc., caused the abandon' mont of tho search. Another expedi tlon is about to be sot on foot. All Mirrors Lie. "Kvorybody Is better looking than tho mirror makes them," Bald a mill iner. "Tho mirror robs us of our ex pressions and of our coloring, and ex pression and color, are to the face's beauty what tho logs aro to tho llg uie's. "First, our expression. When wo look Into a mirror, our eyes take on a glassy tituro and our inouthH a curl oub and sad droop. Rcally-wo never look llko that savo when Wo nro going ro bo HI. "Then our coloring. All mirrors lmvo a palo green tinge, and this tinge mukwa ovon the purest rose-leaf com plexion muddy. It takes thu gloss from the hair, tho brilliance from tho o;.o, Biul .ynrlotj from the Hps." with your eyes until you sprang upon Ills back and bore him down." Tho lion raised his head and swayed his tall stealthily, as he had In his free days, nnd then laid his head on his paw nnd gazed through tho bars of the cage. "Yes!" ho said. "Yes! I would glvo nil tills comfort nnd regular diet for one day of the old hunt. Just to be free nnd to hypnotize nn antelope or u shaggy ox as 1 stole upon It, to see It quiver with fear, wishing to fly, but hold nerveless by tho power of my oyo. Do you reiucinber the day I hyp notized a man?" "Indeed I do!" said his wife, proud ly "He was an Englishman." "Yes," said tho lion, "n mighty hunt or. It was tho full of tho -moon, nt the nntelopo pool. Ho wns hunting me." He chuckled grimly. "Do you remem ber, It wns our firstborn's birthday. Wo ate tho Englishman for dinner that night. It was llttlo Leo's first tasto of man." "I can tico It very plainly," Said tho lioness; "but I should hnto to have you meet a man with a gun now, dear. Eight years of butcber's moat hnvo dulled your eyes. I fear you could not hypnotize a rabbit now." Tho lion rained his head and his brow contracted. IIo gazed ovor tho heads of the crowd Into tho Junglo of his youth, The lioness hnd hurt his pride. At that moment Silas and Sally stood beforo the ostrich cages, Silas was in his Sunday clothes, and on his breast glowed a scnrlet tlo. and Sally clung to hla arm with both hands only loosonlug her grip from tlmo to time to take a bite of the brick of popcorn sho curried, She glanced at tho crowd ahead of them. "What arc wo comln' to now, SI?' slut asked. "That's the lions," said Silas. "Evor seen any?" She tightened her grip on his arm and giggled nervously. "No, I ain't," she said, "Ain't you frightened of them?" "Who? me?" asked Silas, con temptuously. "No, I nln't scared. They're safe enough; they'a stout iron bnrs to his cage. There's a feller gits in his cage and niukes him net. Wo'll Bee him In tho big tent. I seen It on tho show bills." "Ain't you makln' fun of mo. SI?" Bhc asked. "My Bakes 1 I wouldn't git in that cago fer nawthln'." "Pshaw 1 it's easy when you know how to do it," said SIUb. "Ho docs It with his eye. Hypnertlzes 'ora." "What's that?" sho asked. "How kin anybody hypnertlze a lion, Si?" "Well, ho JlBt lookB him plum In tho eye, steady. I read all about It once. When he looks hard enough tho Uon'a got ter do what ho wants him ter do." "Ain't that funny, now!" giggled Sally. "I bet you couldn't do it." "I bet I kin," ho boasted; "I got a mighty stondy eye." They had edged their way up to tho lion's cage, and as tho lion lowered his gaze It fell on the scarlet of SUns' tie. "Well, my dear," said tho lion, "I may be getting stout, but I'll show you my oyo has lost nono of its cunning. Seo that man with the red spot on his breast? I will hold him spell bound ns I did the ox and tho English man until you are convinced." Tho Hon nrose and walked to tho front of the cago, his eyes fastened on Silas' face. Sally screamed and drew back In terror, but Silas laughed. "Don't be scared," ho said; "Jlst hang onto me. I'll show you 1 kin hypnertlze him." "What you goln' ter mnke him do?" asked Sally, tremulously. "I'm a-goln' ter mnke him go back an lay down," said Silas. He braced his feet firmly arid gazed straight into the lion's eyes, repenting slowly under his breath: "Go an' lay down! Go an lay down!" and tho lion leaned his nose against a bar and glared at Silas. The crowd edged close to Silas. "What's he doll??" thoy asked In whispers. Sally giggled. "He's hypnertlzln' tho Hon," sho whispered, proudly, and tho word passed from ono to another, and all stood eagerly watching Silas and the Hon by trims. The pupils of the lion's eyes . con tracted and expanded. Flashes of yel low fire flow from them. His tail swung slowly to nnd fro, colling and uncoiling llko an angry serpent. SUns wrinkled his brow and frowned steadily at tho Hon. Ho clenched his flats and drew every muscle tense. He breathed quickly, and dug his toes into the insoles of his boots, and tried to concentrate his whole being into tho words: "Go an' lay down," that ran through his brain, rud the minutes slipped by. Tho crowd wearied and passed on, but Silas nnd tho Hon stood motion less. The lion swung his tall more rapid ly, and IiIb nostrllr qulvored with ex citement, and Silas set his teeth on his tonguo and lowered his eyelids until his eyes gleamed narrow and snake-like. Tho lioness raised hor khnkl-colorcd bend and gazed on tho nffulr with In terest, nnd Sally glanced proudly 'at Silas' face and then nnxloimly nt tho"' emptying tent. Silas grow warm and uncorafortablo nnd shlftod his weight from foot to foot. Tho veins swelled into great cords on his neck and hands, and ho threw his chin upward nnd bent his head forward. "Go an' lay down!" he almost hissed, but the lion swung his tall and gazed steadily with un winking eyes. In tho big tent the band began play. Ing. Sally and Silas wero left alono with the HonesB and her mate, Silas longed to turn and fly, but tho repu tation of hlr, eyewaa at stake. Tho lion too was weary. IIo soldom stood so long, Jor ho had grown fnt In cap tivity. A burst of npplauso In tho big tent told that tho "grand triumphal entry and pageant of nil nations" had begun, and Sally pulled gently at Silas arm. t ne lioness sircicneu Herself and yawned. "Well, denr," hhe said, "I admit your eye has lost nono of its cunning, Como nnd Ho down now, or you will bo too tlrod to sleep to-night." The Hon gavo SllnB a pnrtlng glauce, turned slowly nnd lay down beside his mate, and Silas straightened his crnmed back and wlpod his hot face "You done It. didn't you?" said Snlly. "Hurry on, or wo won't git no scats in the big tent." Cod Liver Oil for Plants. A woman who owai two splendid looking rubber plants which keop green and vigorous though tholr habitat la an apartment, says that sho attributes tholr good health entirely to an occasional doso ot cod Hvor oil. She has. found a Inrgo spoonful ot this medicine, from tlmo to time, better than any of the fertilizers usually ad vised, and not more expensive.