The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-15
DISQU|ET|NG NEWS
FROM THE FAR EAST
Berlin Disturbed Over Situa-
ton in Japan.
THE KAISER'S AIR FLEET
seIs-Eight Balloonists Killed in
Few Weeks In German
* Experiments.

| Berlin May 14-(Special) -Disquietin
news reaches Berlin from the Far East.
According to the reports which are cur
| rent in high circles, the situation in
Japan is very similar to that which ex-
listed just previous to the outbreak of
| the Russo-Japanese war.
| At all the Japanese dockyards the men
are working the full "a hours on the
| ships under construction and the same
| thing is true of the aresnals and estab-
lishments for the manufacture of war
material.
| At both army and navy headquarters
the general stats are working under full
pressure Of course this may mean moth
| Ing, but it is recalled that for months
before she entered upon her great strug.
| gle with Russia she adopted the same
tactics. 1t Is believed in diplomatic cir
ces that directly Japan considers her
| financial position is sufficiently strong to
warrant her adopting a belligerent atti-
tude, trouble is in store for one of the
other powers.
And by general consent that power is
America
| 1t is believed here also that some idea
of this sort is felt at Washington and
that the recently announced intention of
President Taft to send the American bat
| tleship fleet on another voyage around
the world is due to Japanese activity.
understand the kaiser has said in case
there should be trouble between Japan
and the United States, Germany's moral
support would certainly be given to Amer
lea, and if needed more than moral sup
port would be forthcoming. The Kaiser
regards Japan as a dangerous enemy to
| the western civilization and has more
than once expressed himself strongly
alcng this line.
Kaiser Wilhelm is proud of his air
fleet. 1t is understood that at this years
imperial manoeuvers each Of the opposing
sides will have an airship placed at its
disposal. The Parseval and Gross types
will be employed, the size of vessels of
the Zeppelin class making them difficult
to deal with under campaigning condi-
lions.
| After the recent review of the aerial
fleet at Hamburg, the first Of the kind
ever held, his majesty inspected closely
| the great machines. questioned the OFF,
! GERS and men and expressed himself as
greatly pleased with the high state OF
| efficiency reached.
Starting from Cologne at II 80 with a
favoring northwesterly wind, the squad
ron of military arships which has been
manoeuverng in the Rhine region for the
| past fortnight-the Gross I, Zeppelin II,
| and Parseval IT-sailed away In the direc-
ton of Frankford-on-Main, lying as the
crow flies 100 miles southeast The squad
fnr, rfc lu q
battleshfps, reached Hamburg few min
utes after 4 o'clock. having accomplished
| a journey without a mishap at an aver
age speed of % miles an hour.
The great white Zeppelin landed easily
| and without incident, and the Parseval
descended at the very feet of the kaiser s
party The Gross experienced some diff
| fculty in descending, and suffered mis-
hap so serious that the vessel was pre-
| verified from landing where 1t desired,
| and came down more or less involunta-
rily at another spot some hundreds of
| yards distant.
Awaiting the suuadrons arrival on the
| plain adjacent to the railway line be-
tween frankfort and Hamburg were the
kaiser, the kaiserin, Princess Victoria
| Louise of Prussia, and a brilliant entour-
age. Before landing, the three vessels
| executed a series of picturesque manoeu-
vers above Hamburg. to the intense joy
| OF the imperial party, especially OF the
| kaiser and his daughter.
| Aboard the Zeppelin were Gen. Baron
| Won Lyncker, chief of the transport de-
| partment of the German army. and Cen
| eral Won Sporting, the military governor
| of Cologne. They were able to assure
the supreme war board that the cruise
was successful in every respect. The
| kaiser escorted his wife and daughter
over the airshps, the princess making
good practice the while with. her camera,
1t is stated that army airship Ms dur
| ing a recent long distance Night, made
an important experiment in the discharge
OF explosives In the form OF aerial terpe-
does from airships. The experiments are
being continued.
Iincluding the victims of the Pommern
disaster on April 8, eight balloonists have
been killed in Germany in the past few
weeks Minor mishaps are events Of daily
occurrence and pass almost unnoticed
| The frequency of accidents in aviation
has stirred the Imperial Aero club, the
lea ding German aeronautic authority,s to
take action on behalf of those interested
in the navigation of the air, and the club
has decided to issue a code of rules and
advice to balloonists. Ever1 large town
has now a balloon club and ascents are
SO numerous that the frequency of acct
dents is less surprising than appears at
As a part of the German imperial fnan-
cial settlement last year, 1t was enacted
that the government should within a
given period introduce bill establishing
tax on unearned increment to produce
at least IS. 900 a year.
1t provides that the tax shall apply
OILY to real estate. 1t will be payable
on the sale Of property and is to be col
lected by municipalities and rural au-
thorities many Of whom already have
local taxes on unearned increment.
Local authorities will be required to
hand over 6 per cent of the yield of the
tax to the imperial treasury, which ex-
poets to net $6,5OOo00 yearly from the
impost
All forms of property other than real
estate are exempted from the operation
OF the tax on the ground that the inclu-
sion of securities ETC., would impose an
intolerabe burden on trade, drive cap
ital abroad and keep foreign capital out
OF Germany, with a resultant deprecia-
ton of German state and other secufi-
ties. and loss of revenue from stamp
duties.