Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-14
AFFAIRS N LONDON
Preparing for Visit Of Italy's
King and Queen.
GOOD TIME Is IN STORE
INVENTION TO PREVENT SHIPS
FROM SINKING.
First Of New "Bookshops, Ltd.," In
troduced in Hampstead-Art
Season Begins.
GOOD TIME Is IN STORE

| november g., l@S.
London is already preparing for the visit
| of the King and Queen of Italy on the 10Th
of this month. when the italian royalties
will make the usual pilgrimage to the
City" the home of Cog and Magog. and
famous for its turtle soup and aldermen.
The route throughout will be lined by
| troops and the decorations will be on a
somewhat elaborate scale. The borough of
Holborn is decorating a long stretch of the
route. and the city corporation has deter
mined to make a grant of 200 guineas for
| similar work within the city.
| The city authorities have received an in
! tmation that the Prince and Princess Of
| Wales and several other members of the
| royal family will be present at the Guild
| hall. and the art gallery is being fitted up
as waiting room. The presentation of the
address of welcome. which will be inclosed
in golden casket. will be made in the
! library.
| The visit gives an added interest to the
| fact that it has been decided to hold
| Italian exhibition at Earls Court next year.
In the preliminary arrangements King Vic
| tor Emmanuel has taken keen interest.
and the members of the Italian colony in
London will cooperate to render the exhi-
| bition worthily representative of their land.
/ Though no details are yet available, L I'M
| derstand that a special feature will be made
| of the scenic effects and efforts will be
| made to produce artistic and realistic piano.
ramic views of some of the most famous
| prospects in Rome. Venice. Naples and
other of the principal Italian cities.
| Italian musicians will have a prominent
share in the attractions of the exhibition,
| and there is a possibility that a reproduc-
| ton of the carnival of Venice on a scale
hitherto never attempted in this country
| may be a leading feature of the daily show.
| A special sympathy with Italy and its
people has always existed in this country,
| and the increased warmth of that feeling
| which may be expected to result from the
visit of King Victor Emmanuel and his
| consort can hardly fail to have the effect
| of increasing the general interest in the
exhibition which will be opened to the pub
| lie in the spring of next year.
Desirable Forms for Army and Navy.
| The announcement that small commits
| sion is about to be appointed for the pur-
| pose of investigating desirable forms in the
navy and army has been known to several
people behind the scenes for some days
| past.
The intention to include the names of
Lord Esther and Sir John Fisher Is excel
lent. Upon the representative of the army
will depend good deal The inevitable
effect of any impartial examination of the
| facts relating to the fighting services will
be to emphasize the Importance of the
navy and to minimize the Importance of
the army.
If the British army were made a depart
ment of the navy and administered on the
same lines as those which Sir John Fisher
has made peculiarly his own the result to
the British people would be enormously de-
creased expense and enormously Increased
efficiency.
The Duke of Connaught's name is men
toned as the commissioner representative
of the army. If this turns out to be true.
it Is evident that the king has tight grip
of the fort Incoming commission, and his
ma jesty Is known TO be a most powerful
advocate of efficiency in the services, there
is some possibility that smart society will
at last receive bad blow.
To Prevent Ships From Sinking.
Those who go down to the sea in ships
should have gone to Southampton on Mon
day in the special train that took "pri-
vate party to view. the latest triumph of
marine science on the great ocean liner, the
Deutschland. lying out in Southampton
Water in the shape of water-tight bulk
heads.
The Victoria sank in the Mediterranean.
the Drummond Castle in the English Chan
mel, and the seas are dotted with thousands
of other vessels which have carried human
lives to destruction because hitherto no
one could answer the question satisfactorily.
1t has been left to Mr.. Ralston of Ayrshire
and Messrs j. Stone & Co. of Deptford-
combination of Scots inventor and English
manufacturer-to find practical solution
of the problem
The Victoria, for instance, had water tight
bulkheads, but the doors had to be worked
by hand. In the new invention all the
doors are worked by hydraulic pressure,
and, in addition to being capable of manip-
ulation individually by the turning of a
lever on the bridge, can be lowered 81
simultaneously. The mechanism is set in
motion. bells ring for fifteen seconds warn
ing all to clear. then the final lever is
touched, and fifteen seconds later all is
closed.
If sailor is imprisoned in a bulkhead
where he should not or would not be. all
he has to do is to touch a lever at the side
of the door and it opens. to close behind
him when he has passed through. If in an
accident one of the compartments is In
jured and the water rushes in, a float is
raised. and the door of this particular bulk
head closes automatically. Fitted with these
doors, worked as Messrs. Stone work them,
unless ships bottom is practically ripped
off her. she becomes unsuitable.
All the Hamburg-American and North
German Lloyd liners fitted with this in
venton, and the German emperor has as
serted that he will have every one of the
new vessels in his fleet fitted with 1t. Yet
although this is an English invention which
has been greedily grasped at by the Ger
mans. only one English vessel against the
thirteen German ones. aggregatfng over
10000 TONS has an installation.
1t is scarcely credible that no English
firm could be found to take 1t up The
extra cost. amounting to per cent of the
total cost of the ship. has been alleged as
the reason, whereas the annual saving in
insurance would alone cover the additional
outlay. The Deutschland Is the vessel
which. in a period of agitation centering
round the merchandise marks act and the
inferiority of things made in the kaiser's
dominion. sailed on her maiden trip into
Southampton flying the signal Made in
Germany"
Those who on Monday made the acquaint-
ance of the floating hotel in all it's elegance
and excellence could appreciate the humor
of the satire. To give point to the satire
the Deutschland since then has broken all
British records
First Of New Bookshops.
Literary Hampstead has cause for rejoic-
ing in the planting in its midst OF the
first of the new "Bookshops, Ltd" which
are to mark new era In the selling of
books, the idea being to make each book
shop literary center for the district
The enterprise which has for managing
director Mr.. ]. F. Whelen. q leader in the
stage society movement, has found support
among such well-known literary men as
George Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells and Sir
Conan Doyle. all of whom seem to have
found difficulty in getting their literary
ma sYltf fror hoa in, Ton