The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1895-02-10
MISERY IN GERMANY.
Great Suffering Caused by
Intense Cold.
RIVERS ARE FROZEN OVER.
Difficulty Of Steamers in Getting
Through the Ice.
ECHOES OF THE ELBF DISASTER.
Abuse ShoWered Upon England for the
lnhumanity Shown by the Officers
of the Crathie.
ECHOES OF THE ELBF DISASTER.

tense and in several places the thermorne
tiers have registered 20 degrees below zero,
Fahrenheit The Rhine, Neckar and the
Main are frozen over for long distances,
and the southern part of the Cattegat is
also frozen Heavy snow drifts have com
pletely stopped traffic about the Eiffel
Mountains and the Rhineland, where the
snow is six feet deep.
Great misery has been caused in many
parts of Germany, and numbers of people
have been frozen in the country districts,
and even near Berlin. Railroad traffic is
especially disorganized. There have been
several cases in which the tires of wheels
have broken on account of the extreme
cold, and have thus caused the derailment
of trains.
From Altkirch, Alsace, it is reported that
wolves in some cases, driven by the ex-
IRENE cold, have come to the villages in
order to seek food, and in other provinces
the same occurrence is recorded.
Steamers have experienced the greatest
difficulty in forcing their way through the
great belt of ice along the coast, and the
mail service from Kiel to Korsoer, Den
mark, was suspended to-day.
For some time past distinct feeling of
luminosity toward Great Britain has been
evidenced by a large section of the German
press and the Elbe disaster has been the
occasion for quite a display of Anglo
phobia. The Kreuz Zeitung led the on
slaught with a highly preiudiced article in
which it was claimed that the catastrophe
has again shown that the English have
brutal disregard for other peoples right,
the blame of the collision entirely falling,
according to the Kreuz Zeitung, on the
British steamer Crathie. Other news
papers followed with severe denunciations
of the Crathie, embelished with shower
of abuse against England, and the state
ment appeared in some of the newspapers
and remains uncontradicted that the EN-
peror, on receiving full particulars of the
collision, characterized the conduct of the
Crathie as ruffianly and inhuman.
In the Reichstag this afternoon Baron
Won Stumm- Halberg introduced the sub
iect of the loss of the Elbe by asking the
Government what steps would be taken to
prevent loss of life and shipwrecks. In so
doing he expressed the opinion that the
conduct Of the captain and crew of the
Elbe was irreproachable. He added that
the construction of ships ought to be super
vised by the state and that the rule of the
road on the high seas should be definitely
regulated.
The Chancellor, Prince Won Hohenlohe,
in replying, said that the Federal Govern
ment was directing attention to the sub
iect of insuring the seaworthiness of ships
by state control, and he hoped that all the
mercantile nations before next winter
would give effect to the decisions arrived at
by the international conference at Wash
ington in 1889 in regard to rules of the road
at sea- The Chancellor also said that the
Federal Governments share in the grief of
the nation at the horrible accident which
had befallen the Elbe, adding that the re-
proaches heaped upon her officers by the
foreign press were quite unfounded.
Herr Jebezon, National Liberal, who is
ship-owner, objected to state control of
the construction of ships, and proceeded to
severely denounce the conduct of Captain
Gordon, master of the British steamer
Crathie.
Herr Singer, socialist, said that the in
surance and technical maritime associa-
tions could not adequately supervise the
building of ships, and in his opinion state
control of that work was needed. He
added that the Imperial Government must
also see to the matter of life-saving
appliances and pay no attention to capital
lists, contractors and ship-owners.
Dr. Won Boetticher, imperial Secretary
of State for the Interior, in reply, said that
| a knowledge of the regulations for the
prevention of accidents at sea was incum-
bent upon every seaman. In his opinion
the Governments proposed supervision of
ship companies through the insurance and
technical and maritime associations was
the only practical system. However, if
ever this system was shown to be faulty
state control would be introduced, but in
the meantime the present course should
have fair trial.
Herr Lieber expressed the view that the
main thing was to secure international
regulations for navigation, as seaworthi-
ness, he added, would not avail ship
when British vessel dashed savagely into
her and run her down.
To this DR.. Won Boetticher added that
| the international regulations would come
| into force in the autumn. The Crathie, he
added, ought to have given way, and in
| Germany her master would have been de-
prived of his certificate.
Baron Won Manteuffel, Conservative, con-
demned the attitude of Great Britain in
the matter Of rule of the road, and advo-
Gated state control of ship-building and a
reduction of the rate of speed.
Baron Won Stumm-H berg, during the
early part of the week, paid visit to
| Prince Bismarck at FREDERICKSBURG, in
order to seek the veteran statesman's adj
vice as to the best method of pushing the
anti-revolution bill. But he received cold
comfort, for Prince Bismarck declared that
the measure was a stillborn child, which,
| while intended to restrain one dangerous
element of the population, threatened the
liberties of ALL and hence was acceptable
to none.
Preparations for the celebration OF the
eightieth birthday of Prince Bismarck on
April are proceeding on large and gen
eral scale everywhere in Germany. The
students OF all the universities and high
schools have been offered prize for the
finest ode to Bismarck, the judges to be
the poets Heinrich Siedel, Julius Wolfe
and Johannes Strotjan. From all over Ger
many addresses will be sent to Prince Bis