The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-19
JOHN BULL VERY JOLLY.
Looks Upon the KieI Blowout as the
Acme of the FarcicaI

New York, Dec. 1S.-The Evening Posts
copyrighted London cable to-day, says:
THE terrific goins-on at Kiel over Prince
Henry's departure for China,have been the
all-absorbing topic with Englishmen this
week. Pale fear, says the German nation
al organ in Vienna, will penetrate to John
Bulls marrow as he reads of it,
"As a matter of fact, John Bulls first
impulse has been to split MS sides with
laughter over a farcical melodrama such
as no coming Christmas pantomine can
hope to rival.
When the kaiser talks of Prince Henry
as the Sea King; my only brother and
calls to heaven to witness how firmly
the German Michael planted on China
soh the shield emblazoned with the i'm
perial eagle, in order to afford protection,
once for all, to him who applies for it,
the Englishmen rudely laughs. He recalls
that the German Michael is the mildest
hammered of man, the idol of his English
grandmamma, who is taking what even
halT-seasoned sailor would regard as
pleasant cruise with one 7,00O-ton, 23-
year-old battleship and a 40O0-ton cruiser
IN order to secure coaling station, which
practically already has been ceded over,
while no one dreams of a single shot be-
ing fired. When the same mild-man-
nered young man apostrophizes his own
brother with Most powerful lord, king
and master. forever Hoch! Hoch! Hochr
and eulogizes the gospel of your majesty's
hallowed person. blunt John Bull serious
ly asks himself whether these young peo-
pie have not altogether lost their wits
Indeed the Saturday Review to-day
builds up an argument that William the
Witless,' as it used to call him, has now
gone stark staring mad, and it is GER
tainly to be remembered that, by the un-
alterable etiquette of the German court
the emperor must himself have read
Prince Henry's words before hand
ITO closer students of European affairs,
however there seems much method in his
madness, The average Englishman, who
is laughing loudly to-day, prob
ably will be puzzing his
brain next week as to whether the
thing to be reckoned with. 1t may have
been more than a mere joke when, in talk
ing to Count Zichy, the emperor said: You
should visit China, by the time you get
there you will find Prince Henry Emperor
of China Why should not Emperor Will
lam found a second India for Germany in
China, as a means of imperial aggrandiZe-
ment and of averting the social revolution
threatened at home?
1.-THE Spectator dilates on this view to-
day and is quite prepared, perhaps, even
to welcome the German emperor as the
acknowledged master and opener to civil
lization and foreign trade of the richest,
best populated and quietest section of the
Chinese empire.
"Kiao Chou, with its harbor and hinter-
land, which Germany is annexing, is as
large as Wales and fun of people.
''It is capable of yielding a substantial
revenue and of becoming the stepping
place for the acquisition of the central di-
vision of China. These possibilities will
come home to John Bull when he has done
his laughing Anticipating that time, and
taking advantage of mind bordering on
frenzy to which German trade rivalry
has reduced no small section of the Brit
ish people, the navy league, whose one
desire is for increased naval armaments,
yesterday sent round to London editors
document marked Private and confiden-
tial,' begging them to awaken the public
to the peril of the deadly enemy, silently
steadily and stealthily preparing to strike
England down
In the end they will succeed, for so
soon as the German emperor gets his
naval vote through the Reichstag and
that seems the most obvious purpose of
these Kiel antics, so surely will the cry
go up for proportional increase of the
British navy