Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-06-21
THELAST STONE LAID
Formal Completion Of the Baltic
Ship Canal.
FINAL CEREMONIES At HOLTENAU
French Criticism of the Kaiser's
Pacific WtrIs.
HE'S REGARDED AsINsINCERE

HOLTENAU, Germany, June Platter
visiting the Russian armored cruiser Rurik
at $50 this morning, Emperor William
laid the last stone of the Baltic and North
Sea canal, in the presence of many thou
sands Of spectators. The weather was bril-
liant aid the ceremony took place in the
open air. and not in the light house adj
joining the sluice, as at first contemplated.
The scene of the ceremony was embel-
lished by handsome designs in landscape
gardening and the light house standing
close to the spot showed the three bronze
reliefs of Emperor William l, Frederick
III and William II. Under the relief me-
dallion of Emperor William l is black
marble tablet on which is engraved in gilt
lettering: His majesty William I. laid the
corner stone of the Baltic canal on June
,, 1887, and accompanied his blows with the
hammer by the words In honor of United
Germany, to her perfect welfare, in token
of her might and power
The light house and the block of ma
sonry into which the emperor placed the
finishing stone We're surrounded by enor-
nous scaffoldings rising in a semi-circle,
and affordlng seats for about 10000 people.
In laying the stone the emperor said: I'm
memory Of Emperor William the Great, I
chrsten this canal Kaiser William canal"
His majesty then tapped the stone three
times with mallet, saying, I'm the name
OIL the tTiune IN nOnOr OF emperor
William, of the veal of Germany and the
welfare of nations
Accident on a Steam Launch,
KEEL, June 21.-The boiler-of one of the
steam launches of the United States
cruiser Columbia exploded today. The cyl
inder head was blown off and carried over
board with it the smokestack and other
portions of the launch. Four persons We're
injured by the explosion and were taken
to the naval hospital.
Think the kniser's Speech Insincere.
PARIS, June 21.-The newspapers gener-
ally regard Emperor Williams speech at
Hamburg as inspired by a desire to be
agreeable rather than expressive of his
real sentiments.
The Estafette declares that 1t is neces-
sary for the realization of the wishes ex-
pressed by the emperor that France and
Germany should be reconc.led-i.e., that
the question of Alsace-Lorraine be settled.
The Soliel remarks that in spite of the
pacific tone of the emperor's utterances,
morose persons remark that peaceful fes-
tivities have sometimes preceded terrible
wars.
The Rappel, referring to the same subject,
says that Europe does not believe that
peace is the sole object of building the
Baltic and North Sea canal
According to La Paix Emperor William
desires peace, but The republic alone can
give universal peace to the brotherhood of
nations
The Steele submits that the peaceful Ian
guage of the emperor is inconsistent with
the dispatch of wreath to London on
the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo.
According to the Radical. the simplest
method of assuring peace is for Germany to
surrender whas she owes to war, apparently
referring to Alsace-Lorraine.
The Petite Republique expresses the opin-
ion that to credit the utterances of En-
peror William at Hamburg, vessels of
commerce should have been convoked at
kiel and not wdrships.
The Gauois regrets that Germany does
not admit even that there is an Alsace-
Lorraine question.