The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-04-18
BY. BERNAnD rIsUnnn.

BY BERNARD F19CHEU-
 Berlin. April 17-In 1912 Germany will hsve at least twenty-four mann moth Zeppelin ships. each capable of speedisr than any naval vessel. In the present year she win have four zeDpeiins. and tho fmaenincsnt factory at .Frfedrfchshafsns endowed with over &f60o.00 by the German nation. will be able to turn out at least eight ves- seis . year after this autumn Thus by 1913 Germany can have twenty-four zeppelins, and her other military dir igibics win number at least a dozen. Englands rate of production Is one vessel per annufn. and by ist2 she may. have ct most some five small sized. slow. nen-rigfd airships. which. as compared with the zeppelins. will be antiQuated cruisers to Dreadnoughts.
 England has had no up-to-date facil- tiles for building large dlrigibles even of the non rigid type. and as for the faster rigid: craft of the Zeppelin type, she has absolutely no experience or resources. either of the government or private, which would enable her to lay down such ships successfully. British experts have sneered at the Zeppelin. and they have never built ship of this kind, though 1t Is now established to be the fastest and the most power ful, and the only craft which can at tempt low oversee voyages. The Brit ish fleet of five ships in 1912, If built according to the present estimates. will be, fitted only for overland work. and will be quite unable to cope with the larger and swifter German vessels, which can mount better guns and car- A Zeppelin of the present day type could reach England In ten hours and do enormous damage In brief space of time. British experts have no ade- quate idea of the heifmprovements which can be effected in the Zeppeiins in the next year or two. Twenty great vessels of a vastly improved type might in 1912 put ten or more of Engiands twenty Dreadnoughts out of action, and damage her naval bases seriously; while Germany would still have well tried second aerial fleet of twelve diri- gibles to carry out further operations It is not necessary to say anything oi the moral effect of this sudden aerial attack, or of the panic which would be created by a single German ship mak- ing q demonstration oyer London.
 The English Laugh. ..a. .s
 The majority of people in England laugh at the whole idea. and even aero nautical writers pooh-p the possi- iOittey VI G tt&tN wy NAsaf ' W the records made by the Zeppelin in 1908 show that ship of this type has travelled over 500 miles and later rec ords show It's speed to be up to thirty five miles an hour. with power, to as. cend to an altitude of over mile. II can carry at least a ton of explosives and sufficient supplies for run of over 800. miles. The bee-iine distance be- tween the most contiguous parts of (t~w a s.i HA miles Yet the whole notion of aerial attack by vessels of the Zeppelin, type Is ridicuied in England At least three highly-equipped. factories in Germany are now making dirigibles, and Count Zeppelin alone has $1.5o0,oo0 for the work.
 England has Lot yet built a success full dlrigible. her two attempts were failures--too slow, too small in carry ing capacity, too limited in range of action. and altogether unsuitable for oversea work. At present she has an- other vessel on the stocks. at the im- poverished establishment at Farm borough, where she cannot lay down a really modern ship. This vessel will be her product for 1909, and the Ad- miralty may add another experimental dirigible, as promised. There Is no private factory in the British Isles Wnlchs nas ever produced a really suc- cessfui dirigible. Thus, by 1910 Eng land may have at most two non-rigid dirletbles of more or less experimental l types and probably too small for prac- tical work. In 1911 she may be no bet ter or and may be content to produce 1 two more ships. also more or less ex- perimental, and by the critical period of 1912 she can add only one more.
 Unless most extraordinary activity is evinced at tyonce In making preparations England will be utterly unable to pro- duce by 1912 a fleet of ships capable of 1 giving her any degree of security | against the attack of vessels like the German aerial fleet. It has cost Ger.