Germany's Stupendous Preparations for War
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VICTORIA LOUISE, ONE OF THE BEAUTIES OF THE GERMAN NAVT.
KAISER FREDERICK III OVER 11.000
KNOTS AN HOUR.
(Copyright, 1903, by Frank O. Carpenter J (
IEL, May 20. (Special Correspond)
I enc of The 13 ee.) Are the Ger-i
A I m una nmnnrinv fnp way with lh!
United States? I think not. They
are Jealous ot our commercial!
supremacy and In response to the agra-'
rlans have enacted a tariff which may
affect our trade. They would llkeato over
throw the Monroe doctrine and develop
Bouth America, but they have no Idea ot
Attempting anything that might bring oit
an American war. Indeed, they realise fof,
the flrat time, something of our resources
and power. They know they are depend
nt upon us for food; they know also that
we are among their best customers, and
they claim to be the friendliest of our
friends on the European continent.
As for war preparations, however, they
are always going on in the German empire.
The kaiHer is surrounded by nations wha
would fight him at any time if they thought
they could win, and he believes that the
best way to prevent war Is to be ready!
for It. Today the army and navy are
trained as though war might be declare!
tomorrow and all sorts .of defenses are
Steadily Improved.
One gets a good Idea of what Is being
done by a look at the naval establishment
at Kiel. The Krupps have a big shipbuilding
yard here which works almost night and
day on the new gunboats the Reichstag has
ordered. Othor naval vessels are being
' built at Stettin and Danxlg. and tens of
millions of dollars are being thus spent
every year.
Indeed, the Germans are planning to ob
tain the greatest navy of the world. They
want England's place upon the ocean, and
are willing to spend money for many years
to gain it. About five years ago the gov
ernment decided to build three battleships
a year for fourteen years, and in addition
a large number of cruisers, torpedo boats
and minor vessels. This scheme is being
carried out, and at the same time the mer
chant marine is being Increased at a
dynamlo rate. Other acts have since been
passed, and in 1900 a scheme was under
taken which will give Germany within
thirteen years thirty-four new battleships,
eleven large and thirty-four small cruisers,
with many torpedo boats and special serv
ice vessels. The vessels, now in use are
among the best afloat' A number of them
range In six from 10,000 to IS. 000 tons. . They
are protected by the finest of modern
armor plate and equipped with armor
piercing guns of large caliber and an enor
mous number of quick-firing guns.
Kaiser Frledrlch III, which I have seen
In the harbor here at Kiel, has forty-nine
four-Inch guns, eighteen six-inch quick
firing guns and thirty-two smaller quick
firing guns. It is a magnificent vessel of
over 11,000 tons displacement and 13,000 horse
power. It can make eighteen knots an
hour and Is one of the most heavily armed
ahtps afloat. Victoria Louise, which Is also
here, Is much smaller, but It Is a beauty.
The navy Is now increasing at the rate
of nine or ten vessels yearly, with an In
creased tonnage of about 75,000 a year. We
have at present more vessels than Ger
many, but nearly all the German ships are
of the most modern build, while some of
ours are slow und out of date. - '
I find the German much Interested In the
navy. The people think their sailors su
perior to any others, and they have organ
ised a naval society, with a membership ot
more than 800.000, devoted to stirring up
sentiment In favor of naval Improvements.
The personnel of the navy Improves every
year. . It is Increasing In numbers, and It
now- Includes something like 10,000 men and
boys... There are altogether about 1,600 offi
cers, 1,300 boys and more than 17,009 petty
officers and seamen. In other words,' the
Germans have on their war vessels more
men than we had in our army prior to the -Spanish-American
war.
The Germans have good naval schools.
There is one here at Kiel with several bun-
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f HE KAISER INSPECTING IIIST 'BTjT.IJIERS.
dred students. The boys are kept but a
short time on shore and then put on training
ships. There are a number of these ships,
some here and some on other seas. A
common way is to have the summers spent
In tho Baltic and the winters in the Mediter
ranean or the West Indies.
On these training vessels the boys are
taught practical seamanship. They learn
all about navigation, gunnery and ' naval
warfare.
They manage the vessels themselves,
under the eye of their superiors, und carry
on their studies on board. They are taught
naval engineering, torpedo science, naval
construction, mechanics, fortifications, tac
tics and learn how to fence, ride and swim.
After a time they are taken on the vessels
of the war fleet and upon graduation are
well fitted to fill the positions in which they
are placed. Kiel has a marine school and
also a marine academy. The academy
comes after the school, being something
like ours at Annapolis. '
The most Important thing that the kaiser
has done in connection with his naval de
fenses was the building of the great canal
here at Kiel. I have gone out to see It and
have photographed Its entrances to the
Bultlo. The canal cost about $40,000,000, but
It is worth more than ten times that to
Germany in the way of naval advantages.
It has cut down the time from north Ger
many to the ocean almost two days, and
has.' in fact, made the Baltic for all prac
tical purposes a German lake. This canal
begins here and extends for sixty miles
right across the peninsula to the mouth of
the Elbe. In time of war It will be closnd
to outside nations, forming a highway for
the German gunboats only. Today there is
a large naval harbor Just below It, which
always has gunboats ready to sail back
and forth for the protection of the empire.
, The canal la a sea-level canal, with great
locks at either end of It to control the
tides. It Is so wide that the largest gun
boats can go through' It, and there are six
places where they can pass. It is thirty
feet, deep and seventy feet broad at the
bottom. At present it Is used largely for
merchant vessels, 90.000 having passed In
and out last year. The dues on these ves
sels annually pay more than 1 per cent
on the cost of construction.
You have heard a great deal of the Ger
man soldier. ' He - Is the biggest man In
Germany, and he Is always present. His
trumpet awakes you at daybreak, and you
bear It also when the sun seta. Tou can't
walk the streets without meeting him and
stepping aside to let him pass. He has the
best seats In the railroad trains, the best
tables In the beer halls, and he Is the most
honored guest at every social entertain
ment. He appreciates his Importance, and
Insists that It be respected.
Instances have occurred where be has
enforced such respect, and that In the most
brutal manner. Take the case of Lieuten
ant von Brusewlta, who killed a man for
Jostling him in a beer hall at Carlsruhe.
This lieutenant was sitting In bis chair,
drinking, when a poor plumber, possibly
under the Influence of liquor, in passing
through knocked against him. The lieu-.
tenant at once demanded an apology. The
plumber refused to give it, and the lieu
tenant thereupon drew his sword and tried,
to run the man through. The people in the
hall interfered and the plumber ran. The
lieutenant, however, grew more angry as
he thought over the Insult he had received.
He followed the plumber, and, finding him
alone and unable to get out on account of
a locked door, stabbed him through the
back and killed him. The offense created
a great stir at the time, but the officer's
conduct was practically excused by the
government and the court-martial gave him
but a short, inild Imprisonment .
There are frequent altercations between
the soldiers and cilisens, and in most cases
the cltisen has but little chance against
the soldier, the presumption being alto
gether In favor of the latter.
Indeed, It seems to me that everything
here tends toward a military aristocracy.
The kaiser encourages it and the people ap
parently do not object. Today the rich
tradesmen, manufacturers and bankers of
Germany are as anxious to have their
daughters married to military officers as
some of our millionaires are anxious that
their daughters should mate with the
broken-down dukes and earls of Europe.
An officer of rank has no trouble In getting
a wife, and it is the generally accepted
fact that the wife should bring enough to
support the husband. Penniless officers ex
pect to marry rich girls. They realise their
own market value and insist ' upon ' the
price. According to law, an officer must
marry money. If he has no money himself.
Such money is put Into funds which cannot
deteriorate, and the increased Income there
from is supposed to maintain the family as
becomes that of an officer and a gentle
man. I do not know the exact sum re
quired, but It Is somewhere in the neigh
borhood of $10,000. .
The average officer wants much more
than this. His hope Is a catch with a for
tune of a hundred thousand dollars or
more. He does not hesitate to ask his
prospective father-in-law how much he ex
pects to give, and In certain cases If the
matter is not definitely stated the wedding
is oft
I am told that the cost of the army Is
rapidly Increasing. This Is net so much In
the amount paid by the government, but la
the enormous sums which have to be con
tributed by the people to enable their sons
to maintain themselves la good military
style.
The German government. In fact, does no
TONS, 13,000 HORSEPOWER AND IS
spend as much on its war department. In
cluding pensions, as we do upon our War
'department and pension. In 1902 the total
cost of the German army was about $140,
000,000 and its pension account about $25,
000.000, making a total of $lGu,000,00. Dur
ing the same year we spent In round num
bers $112,000,000 upon our War department
and $138,000,000 for pensions or in all $00,
000.000 more than the Germans.
The actual expense here, however, is
equal to two or three times what the gov
ernment pays. There are 600,000 private
soldiers In Germany who receive from 6 to
13 cents a day outside their rations. The
rations are poor, and they must have more
to supplement them.
The resjlt Is that every family which has
a son In the army supplies him with a
weekly or monthly allowance as great as
it can afford, and the total of these allow
ances amounts to hundreds of millions of
dollars a year. I have seen It estimated at
two hundred millions, but It Is probably
more. This sum Includes the sons of of
ficers, who must Bpend proportionately
more than the private soldiers.
At the same time the standard of living
among the military is more expensive from
year to year. Germany Is a much richer
nation than it was a few years ago and all
classes are living more extravagantly than
In the past. The military class especially
Is spending much more. Many of the of
ficers are club men and In the best clubs
gambling Is common. Indeed, It Is said
that some of the old families of Germany
have been ruined by the play of their sons
who belong to the army.
Germany has undoubtedly the best trained
soldiers of Europe. The whole nation be
longs to the army, and the country is a
vast military camp. There are military
clubs in every village, and a constant drill
ing goes on in every province According
to law every able-bodied man must spend
seven years in the army. It is not possible
to send a substitute, and this is so of rich
and poor, of noble and peasant. There are
some who get off on account of undersixe
or delicate physique and some because they
are the sole bread winners of the family,
but as a rule every German belongs to the
army until he is 45 years of age and can
be called out at almost any time.
There are over 800,000 new recruits each
year, and the drilling which goes on every
where makes it so that , 000,000 soldiers can
be called to the support of the kaiser at an
bour's notice. In the reserve and Land
wehr alone there are 3,000,000 men and more
than 29,000 officers.
In other words, there are more officers
than we had soldiers and officers in our
regular army before our war with the
Spaniards. There are about 4,000,000 men in
the Ersats reserve and the Landatrum. and
these can be called out in case of the in
vasion of Germany.
The most of this enormous force is such
that it can be worked as one machine.
Everything Is prepared to feed it and move
It from place to place. The government
has control of the railroads. It has its
military lines. Us secret telegraphs and Its
fortresses at every weak spot along Its
boundaries. The German frontier has a
total length of 4,670 miles and It must
guard it all. It has S43 miles to fortify
against Russia, 242 miles against France,
seventy miles against Belgium and 377
miles against Holland. It divides Its fron
tier defenses into ten great fortress dis
tricts, each of which has its own organiza
tions and troops. It has altogether sev
enteen fortified places which serve as camps
and nineteen other fortresses. The for
tresses are all connected by underground
telegraphs and there are military railroads
from the chief military centers to the
frontier.
The government has 100,000 horses In the
army, and it could double or treble this
number In time of war. Z have seen the
cavalry at the maneuvers. The horses
(Continued on Pace Sixteen.)