The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-06-23
"A TERRIBLE WAR COMING.
Significant Increases In the Naval
Armaments OF European Nations.

The speakers Of greatest influence
and distinction Tuesday at the ses-
sion of the Imperial Press Confer
ence in London were Sir Edward
Grey, the British Foreign Secretary,
and Reginald McKenna, FIRST Lord Of
the Admiralty. The German Navy
League, which is said to have a
million members. held it's annual
conference last week at Kiel, and
among the delegates was Prince
Henry of Prussia, brother of Empror
William. Prince Henry made a
speech in which he is reported to
have eXtolled the work of the league
The president Of the league, Admiral
Koester, declared that the work Of
this organization is to arouse public
sentiment In Germany so that the I'm
perial Government will perfect a
fleet that will enable us to cope with
our most powerful marine rivals"
Count Reventlow, whom Germans
consider one of their leading authori-
ties on naval expansion, argued, it
Is stated, that "England's claim that
she must rule the seas is preposter-
ous." England" he is reported to
have said, "has no divine right to
dominate the ocean, Baron Engel,
another prominent member Of the
league, Is quoted as advocating a
naval armament powerful enough
to wrest control Of the seas from
England"
Now. the German Naval League
may be without authority to speak
for the German government. and the
views which Its members advance
may be absolutely without official
sanction. Nevertheless, the speeches
of Sir Edward Grey and Mr.. Regi-
nald McKenna in London Tuesday
at the meeting of the Imperial Press
Conference. and Lord Roseberry's
address on Saturday last before that
body. will be interpreted generally
as the official British reply to the
German Navy League. The Impe-
rial Press Conference is composed Of
representatives of the press Of Great
Britain and all the British Colonies.
Lord Roseberry, in a speech which
has been described as the most
weighty and most convincing deli
verance Of his career. made no con-
cealment Of his conviction that the
British Empire may soon be, forced
70 engage In a struggle for existence,
and he Indicated very clearly that the
conflict would be with Germany. Mr..
McKenna, the First Lord of the Ad-
miralty. said Tuesday that he fore
saw" the possibility Of the Empire be-
ing called upon to unite It's whole
strength in defense of the home coun-
try" He advocated the creation of
local navies by the colonies 80 that
British sea power would be supreme
In every sea. Sir Edward Grey in
dorsed unqualihedly Lord Roseberry's
policy of preparedness for any even
tuality and declared. with significant
/ emphasis, that ''the present excessive
| expenditures for armaments made the
political weather sultry."
Unquestionably the increase of ma
val armaments by European nations
has a significance which the British
Foreign Secretary aptly describes as
"sultry." The Old World powers are
obsessed with the idea that they must
have big navies or suffer disaster.
They say that their motives are pa
cific every time they add battleships
to their fleets. that they are only in
suring themselves against war. A
Paris dispatch published in The Sun
Tuesday announced that the French
| cabinet had decided upon a program
Of naval expansion necessitating an
expenditure of 100000, 900. Austria,
1t was stated recently in The Sun, will
| add four Dreadnoughts to her navy.
The italian government is contem-
| plating. according to recent dis
patches, the construction of formid-
| able warships to Offset the increase of
Austria's naval strengths Russia has
| fallen into line with the naval expan-
sicnists of other Europeaon countries.
Germany is moving steadily toward
| the realization of the ideal of the Ger
man Navy League--a navy as power
ful as that Of her most formidable ri
walls. Besides the regular program
for the increase of its navy the Brit
ish government has made provision
! for further addition of four Dread
| noughts to its naval armaments. Can