The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-03-22
Special Cable from the international
BY HERBERT TEMPLE.

London March 22.-Aside from poll
tics it is the coming visit of the Kaiser
and the kaiserin which interests all
London just now, visit which will
practically mark the beginning of the
great Coronation festival.
The Imperial couple will arrive here
on May Is, just after the ending of the
long season of mourning and their ar
rival will be the signal for an uninter-
rupted flow of entertainments such as
London has seldom seen.
Although the Victoris Memorial it
self, the unwilling of which is the
cause of the kaiser's visit. is finished
and the workmen are now gliding the
Victory" group which surmounts it,
good deal of work still remains to be
done at the base. on the four pedes-
tails. which flank the broad flight of
steps on each side. have to be placed
the bronze lions and figures, respect
lively symbolizing Peace Progress"
Labor" and "Agriculture.' Sur
mounting the fountain arch on each
side also will be groups representing
Science and Art" and the Army and
Navy" These have all been modelled
in clay. but have not yet been cast in
bronze.
As soon as the gliding is completed.
the work of removing the scaffolding
will be commenced-a slow and labor
ious process which is expected to oc-
cupv quite six weeks, on account of
the extreme care which must be exer-
cised The slightest slip in handling
the heavy timber IL inches square.
might cause irreparable damage to the
sculpture.
The monument towers to a height
of about eighty feet, and must to some
extent obstruct the view down the
Mall from the lower windows of Buck
ingham Palace. with whose dingy eX-
terror its beautiful designs and the
freshness of it's white marble and gilt
will challenge damaging compari
sons. 1t is now fourteen years since
the Royal residence received even a
coat of paint.
Before the coronation takes place,
new entrance gates are to be placed
closure in front of the palace. At pres
ent there is gateway On the eastern
and western sides, but none imme-
diately in the middle of the palace
facing the archway leading to the
quadrangle. The king. it is under
stood, proposes to have central gate
way provided for state occasions.
There seems to be little doubt that
the date for the coronation naval re-
view at Spithead will be Saturday,
June "a, the second day after the act
ual ceremonial in Westminster Abbey
and though it is yet too early to speak
of details, it is safe to say that the
naval pageant will be of an especially
that the home and Atlantic fleets with
their attendant cruiser squadrons, will
constitute the principal portion of the
naval force assembled, which will
thus comprise a battle squadron of
Dreadnaughts and battleship cruisers
of the Invincible type, with the Nep-
tune as the principal flagship. This
vessel is now absent from British wat
ers, carrying out an important series
of gunnery trials, but will soon re-
turn to hoise the pennant and flag of
the new commander in chief of the
home fleet.
If precedent is followed, the YES
sells will anchor in five to seven lines
between Ryde and Portsmouth, the
battleships and cruisers nearest to the
Isle of Wight, leaving a space in the
center of the line for the royal yacht
to take up her moorings after the re-
view for the illumination of the fleet.
The lines nearer to Portsmouth and
Stokes Bay will probably be occupied
by smaller war vessels-.scouts, torp-
edo craft of the various classes, and
vessels would be ranged in a line by
themselves or on the TANKS of the
Dreadnaughts, though in the event of
royal personages being on board they
would be assigned position of honor
in the immediate vicinity lof King
Georges own flotilla.
With regard to the illumination of
was one of the most remarkable feat
ures of the aquatic display at the last
coronation when every ship was trac-
ed in brillian lines of electric light,
and the use of the fleets searchlights
proved most picturesque. The play of
beams of light upon escaping steam
made the scene one of fairylike deli
cacy. and the use of colored slides
changing in rhythmic fashions as the
successive signals came from the
| flagship, enhanced the beauty of the
picture.
Another picture that appealed to the
| imagination on that occasion was the
firing of the salute by the fleet on the
stroke of midnight. when all of the
searchlishts of the fleet concentrated
their beams to focus above the
royal yacht and three her into bold re-
lief against the nights, till she looked
like a sparkling gem surrounded by a
halo. The suggestion is now being
considered that this very effective
spectacle be repeated. and indeed,
there is reason to believe that most
there is reason to believe that most of
the essential features of the 1912 re-
view will etand unchanged. though, of
course the class of ships mustered for