The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-06-16

they had been standing for two hours in chilling rain.
 Besides, it is no easy distance from the beautiful homes of Hamburg to the Vulcan works, where the first of the three colossal steamers of the Hamburg Amer lean line had been created. I stool at the Hauptbahnhof, an hour ahead of time, vainly waiting for an electric car that could offer even standing room. Then I began to look for a cab--and saw frantic crowd of Hamburgers in top hats chasing madly in the direction of every cab that appeared above the horizon. Even high officers of the army-booted and spurred and festooned with medals--found them selves marooned upon isles of impatient humanity. two miles from their posts of duty. Such was the earnestness of the German people, only by two strokes of good luck was I able to reach the rendez- vous in time for the momentous ceremony.
 At the St. Pauli landing place 1 was sternly halted in my wild career by a cordon of helmeted police aligned upon an open square Vexation was followed by elation when I discovered that for tune had smiled upon mo again: it was the hour set for the authorization of the Kaiser upon the launch that would con yey him to the shipyards. Presently the crowd began to surge and the state auto
 
 the square. Almost in silence the throng sauted its great Emperor and the bur gomeister of Hamburg, Dr. Burchard. The newspapers reported it as tumultu- ous outburst: but only the most light hearted American reporter would call It such. This impassveness of the populace was not due to indifference for thousands of people were waiting in the rain when the Emperor returned from the launching.
 In the wake of the imperial guest fol- lowed procession of motor cars loaded with big generals and high admirals and councillors of state. Kiderlen- Wachter was there, and von Bulow, and Duke of Nurtemburg, and Count von Eulenburg. and General von Plessen. and Admirals von Holtzendorf and von Tirpitz-and a score of others whose names are al- ways spaced out by the typesetter when he meets them in reporters copy. When these gentlemen had all been load ed into the Kaisers lanch. the crowd broke into rush for all the other launches that could. hired to go to the launching.
 The tide that surged about the yul- can works was the scene of an impos~ ing spectacle. The harbor was alive with small craft loaded to the gunwales with passengers and crowding consistently 10 the front. Wheeling and circling about the lofty framework in which lay the "Imperator." the puffing tugs of the harbor police had a busy hour in haltng the sight seeing launches and forcing them back beyond the danger zone-for not even its makers could forsee what might happen when the 50.000- ton boat should be unleashed All about, in their own little cradles In the vast shipbuildng yards, lay future battle ships and cruisers, torpedo boats and destroyers, and mer- chant vessels in the process of construc- tion. In the background were silhouettetl the tunnels and giant masts of the Ham burg-American liners that chanced to be In port-each of which could easily recall that not far-away day when 1t, too. was the biggest steamer afloat. And among them lowered the two smoke -begrimed tunnels of the world cruiser Cleveland" whose homeward bound pennant had so recently come streaming up the Elbe after seven-months cruise in which it had twice encircled the globe.
 As the hour of nine drew near. q hush of tense expectancy settled over the great crowd and all eyes were fixed intently upon the motionless bulk of the new leviathan. It was a moment that recalled Hugo's description of the birth of Napoleon's son-the solemn, strained stiffness of that distant scene when the eyes of France were focused upon the balcony where Git was hoped) the first consul would presently appear with rAiglon in his arms
 The christening chancel--a tiny white pavilion draped in the national colors and flying the imperial standard, looked like pigeon cote beside the "Imperators