Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-29
BRITAIN STOLE MARCH
Will Have Four Dreadnaughts
Instead of One.
WANTS A WHOLE SQUADRON
Duke Of Cumberland's Rebuff From
the Kaiser.
LONDON'S BUS CONDUCTORS
Picture Show Season Starting Earlier
Than Usual, Brings Out Con-
siderable Talent.
pecial Correspondence of The Star.

| northern yards for the British navy are not
to be what they have been given out. but
actually battIeships of the Dreadnought
| type. has not only taken this country by
| surprise. but what Is much more to the
point, the news has caused CONSERVATION
| in Germany and. France, especially in the
former. The British are accused In Ber-
| lin of preaching peace and disarmament
while strengthening their navy out Of all
| bounds. In less than three years the
British navy will contain in all seven
! Dreadnoughts, a powerful deadly squad
ron unmatched by any navy in the world
Admiral Sir Edmund Freemantle doubt
less had an eye on the future when after
the Dreadnought's trial the other day he
| expressed the necessity Of more of the
same sort to effectua!ly use the facilities
I of the class. The admiral admitted of
course, that 1t was satisfactory that the
turbines worked so well, that the great
| battleship attained SO high a rate of speed
| But said Sir Edmund, II don't think it
| is Of much use having one shp Of great
speed If We don't have more. Evidently
she Is not In the condition to fight in line
with our existing ships If she does her
| extra knots are thrown away. and If she
| uses them she will have to fight by her
| self. It's quite plain that the sooner we
| have squadron of Dreadnoughts the bet
ter
Admiral Freemantle went on to remark
that he is not convinced of the wisdom of
the policy Of getting rid Of the medium
guns u.s. is question Of tactical
! with what Capt. Mahan writes about It.
We tried 1t in the Russian war, and 1t
failed. My doubt is whether in an acton
you can finish the fight-complete the bust
ness. as Nelson called it-at long range
If you come to close range, is the Dread
nought the ship you want? Personally, I
| should prefer the armament OF the Lord
Nelson or of the Agamemnon at 1900 yards.
"Of course, at 1900 or 5000 yards the
Dreadnought would have the advantage.
But If it were at all thick the captain
might find 1t necessary to close If he did
| not wish to lose his opponent, and at two
| or three miles the want Of medium sized
guns would be acutely felt" The moral
Of the whole thing. according to Admiral
afford to slacken in her shipbullding policy,
and that until she has colleagues Of the
same speed af1oat, the Dreadnought Is very
| much of white elephant. too expensive
of battle by sacrificing three or four knots
of her speed capacity. The liberal gov
eminent which has been scored over and
over again by the conservative peers for
sacrificing the navy are now found to have
been more up-to-date on the subject than
any previous government.
The Duke of Cumberland must be smart
| ing under the disappointment caused him
by the reply to his letter addressed to the
Most illustrious and most mighty en-
and brother" Cousin the duke is to the
kaiser in the second degree but as for
brother" well, that is a term generally
| used by one sovereign to another. When
of Prussia at Sedan, the Emperor Louis
Napoleon addressed his conqueror as Mon
| sieur mon frere." On the other hand, be 1t
that In replying ,xsa to ,' the letter Of the
Prince Ernest Augustus of Great Britain
and Ireland. Duke OF Cumberland" This
raises question as to the real status Of
| the claimant to the thrones Of Hanover
and Brunswick. What is his nationality?
| His father, George v OF Hanover, was GER
tafnly German of the Hanoverian type,
and it is iS,e Of international law that
| a son, in whatsoever circumstances born,
takes the nationality of his father.
A London newspaper lately referred to
the Duke of Cumberland as the possessor
more than doubtful whether he would be al
lowed to make a speech in that gilded
| chamber on the grievous wrongs from
which he is now suffering-wrongs which
| place him in the same category of martyrs
as the disfnherited knight in 'Ivanhoe." In
this connection 1t may be remarked that 1t
was never quite clear what was the in
| ternational status of the late Duke Of Ed
| inburgh after he had succeeded to the
| throne Of his uncle of SAKE Coburg Gotha
Certainly he then became a German SOW
ereign. but there were some who contended
| that he had not thereby ceased to be q
British subject and British peer. But
| as the French say. a door must either be
open or shut. Therefore what is the Duke
Of Cumberland? A British peer or a Ger
The kaiser dubs him royal highness''
and calls him Industrious prince" which
he certainly is NOT; and "well-beloved
matter ends. The emperor remains to
quote a well-known German saying. cold
to the very core Of his heart" Both are
thinking Of the same thing, but neither
| mentions the word for it-Hanover. 1.-The
contents of your royal highness COM
munication.'' writes the kaiser. afford no
ground for regarding the situation as
changed" and all because the duke made
! no reference whatever to the question of
Hanover.
The British Medical Journal this week
rightly calls attention to the turbulence Of
the London motor bus conductor. He is
charged with refusing to stop for persons
attempting to board or desiring to leave
| his bus He stares straight into his bus
and lets men run. He refuses to signal
to the driver until in desperation people
| jump of and risk fall. Many Of the ~xe-
cent motor-car accidents, 1t is pointed OFT
| have occurred through his methods. Ali
/ this is quite true. but Londoners have &C.
| cepted 1t as they accept their other wrongs
! believing that there Is compensation some
| work 1t out In this case the compensation
| probably lies In the increased speed Of
street travel. II you are vigorous, enough
to jump on and of your gain is several
| hours a week. But IL you are not you
lose by being carried past your destina-
ton as much as you gain by the increased
speed.
There is a question II the failing alert
| ness and courtesy and the ready arm of I ne
| old conductor have not developed in the
Londoner type too leisurely and soft for
the hard-edged twentieth century Lon
doners were continually coming from visits
| to. American towns filed with surprises at
! the way people. especially the young women
1 and old men. jumped of and on moving
| tramcars. It was, SO different from the Lon
| don streets. where a dozen eager conduc-
tors eyes searched for ones signal. At
1 once a bell rang. the bus pulled in to the
pavement side. q short conversation with
the conductor about ones destination would
| follow, then a climb of the stairs, and nalf-
I way up. when he saw you. safe. with hold
| tight, SIR" he would ring the bell and off
we would so. When he came to getting
| down there was the conductors hat to
touch with ones umbrella. He would then
draw in to the side. one would rise and
pick ones way down the companion and
SO to the steps, then the firm grasp of the
conductors hand under ones arm, then
! to tread the pavement again. the whole
| thing over with, credit to all concerned