The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-01-16
GERMAN SYMPATHY
 WITH LIBERALS English Elections Are Being Watched With interest FUR AND JEWELRl TRAD Form Pretty Good Barometer of Busl- ness Conditions In Germany.
 Emperor William Returns
 From Shooting Visits.
FUR AND JEWELRY TRAD
BY MALCOLM CLARKE.


 Berlin. January 15.-(Special )-Germany Is doubly interested in the English eiee- tions which are now being held. and Ger man sympathy is with the liberals It Is felt here that in fomenting the German scare" the conservatives. while simply in- dulging in politics, have created a situa- ton which may develop along unpleasant lines and cause much friction If by any chance Mr. Balfour should be called upon to form a British cabinet.
 During the campaign In England the German government has been accused or bad faith and all sorts of evil designs on the integrity of the British emperor, and hence 1t Is hoped and believed here that the liberals will win out in the general elections and pleasant relations be main tained between England and Germany.
 In this connection letter published by the Deutsch Asiatische Korrespondenz, by Dr. Pand Rohrbach, an authority on questions of clonial and foreign policy, Is interesting. Speaking of the recent ac- ton of the Turkish government in giving a British concern special shipping privi- ieges Dr. Rohrbach says:
 ''What turned the scales, both for the attitude of the Turkish ministry and for the caution of the Turkish generalssimo and the circles in touch with him, must have been the knowledge of the Anglo German understanding on the question of naval armament. This understand ing is a fact. It Is a fact In the sense n4 Aaaf ing to the existing navy law. is not to be carried out, because in authoritative guar ters decisive importance is attached to an .alleviation' of the situation. which has been worked for with exclusive seif-sac- rifics on the German side for long tune past-the otherwise hardly understanda- ble and deplorabe attitude of Germany. in the Msnnesmann affair must also DC looked at from this same point or view German policy has abandoned its counter game to the English preparation for an impending invasion policy in Mesopota- mia"
 pr, Rohrbach assures me that his state ment Is based on trustworthy tnforma- tion."
 Of course there Is no official conf1rma- ton that the German naval programme Is to be abandoned or modified. or that there has been an Anglo-Gernan under standing.
 The proposal of Secretary of State Knox for an international arbitration court has been received here with interest but that anything of great value will come of 1t Is not generally believed While Germany may be willing to accept such an international court fin principle when it comes to putting the principle into effective practice 1t is believed that the difficulties will be found to be insu- perable.
 Further details of the plan will. how ever be awaited with interest
 In Germany, as in other countries, the fur and jewelry trades form a pretty good barometer of business conditions.
 Herr Naumann, the leading Berlin fur rier tells me that fnrrfers have done on an average a business 90 per cent heavier than usual, especially in the more expen- sive wares, such as sables- The manager of Messrs. Triedlaender, court jewellers. assures me that the favorfte superlative here, colossal" Is the only term ade- quately descriptive of this years pur- chases of pearls. diamonds and gold and silver plate. It was once a novelty for a German jeveler to sell pearl necklace costing a5ooO, and then the customer was usually a foreigner; but this season neck laces costing f12.500 have been regularly stocked and bought by German cus- toners.
 German naval officers have been quietly chuekling ever several items of naval news from Great Britain. One is to the effect that when the broadside of eight 12-inch guns on the new English Dread ol,f n+ ro1 h. trials 1t was found that part Of the super structure was bent and twisted by the concussion. Another is the reports of mutiny on the cruisers Levisthan and Sutlez. and reports of characterization on other British war vessels. This feeling of amusement is increased by the recent speech of an English statesman that the personnel of the British navy is 50 far superior to that of the German that even if Germany had naval supremacy of two to one on paper, England need have no fear. It is also recalled with a smile that a British naval officer in criticising the new German Dreadnought Nassau said:
 She offers a poor contrast to the de- sign of our own type She sits the water, in a towering heap of superstructure, more like a floating fort than ship" from which he deduces. first, that the Nassau will offer a very large target to hostile artillery; secondly, that she will be very unsteady gun platform in a seaway.
 A young nAva1 officer said to me the other day: "The Nassau may be a poor type of battleship, but her guns do not destroy her own superstructure: and the German seamen may be vastly inferior to the English. but they do not mutiny and will obey orders"
 The first performance of 'Bonifacius" a Christmas play in five scenes, by E. Mann. was given in the Court theatre at Darmstadt recently The name "E. Mann" has been adopted as a pseudonym by the Grand Duke of Hesse. The play cepicts scenes in the Black Forest of the eighth century, in connection with the