Weekly journal-miner., 1912-03-06

most third by the naval measures which will shortly be submitted to the Rcichstag. These will, it is sn. derstood, provide the men and money for commissioning a third squadron of eight reserve battleships, which will be kept fully manned and in constant service SO that they will form to all intents and purposes an integral part O. the active battle fleet. Four of these ships, all of them members of the active fleet which participated in the great naval review last summer, will be available during the year and the other four within another eigh. teen months.
 Public attention in Germany and abroad, particularly in Great Britain, which has been concentrated on the more sensational issue of laying down during the next six years six new mammoth "battle cruisers" not pro. vided for by the organic law govern ing the construction of the German fleet, has failed to notice the signif. ieance of the proposals for the re. serve ships.
 The original Naval Act, providing for fleet of 34 battleships, half to constitute the active fleet and half to be in reserve. specifically declared I.t lalt IA .l l.a kept in commission with full crews. Owing to financial reasons and tho difficulty of training officers and men fast enough to man the big ships of the new navy. this reserve fleet has consisted of o9l" two little antiques, the wittlesbarh and the Kaiser Vii. helm II which with their 9.4.inch guns are mere pigmies beside modern ba.. fleships.
 With the large number of new dreadnaughts completed or rapidly np. preaching completion the admiralty not only has been able to get togeth. CT for the first time the full comple. ment of seventeen battleships, inelud. ing the fleet flagship required for the High Sea fleet, but will also be able Ito commission in the reverse four fairly modern ships of the Elsass class which under the old system would join the others now dashed to the harbor spiles. They are harely eight years old and carry each four of the Krupp ll.inch guns which German experts consider equal to the l2.inch guns carried in foreign navies. Another batch of dreadnaughts, to he finished in 1913 or the spring of 1914 will
 force four sister ships from the Higi Sea fleet into the active reserve, giv
 ing the High Sea fleet two complete
 squadrons, each of eight moderr
 dreadnaught.
 The Kaiser, Kaiserin and Frcidriel
 der Crosse, which were launched las
 autumn. the Prinzeregent Luitpold
 launched this month, and the King Al
 bert. which is almost ready, are sai'
 to carry ten l9-ineh guns, two les
 than that of their predecessors. As
 however. the news ships are rated a
 24,500 tons, nearly 20OO tons large
 than their predecessors of the ostfries
 land class, which carry twelve l2
 inch guns, there is n suspicion tha ] Germany has something up its slee, ] and that the ships carry the new 8 centimeter (ia.75.ineh) gun made b the Krupps.
 The krupp works have now complei
 ed and, tested, it is stated, l4-ineh an : even i5.inch guns for battleships. q l 4 as is stated the Krupps have bee ! able to increase the bore of the gn and the weight of the proieetile [ , this extent without diminishing tb mpzzle velocity of the shot, the new 3 est Krupp model promises 10 stan unequalled for a long time to come. ! The conviction of Mir BertraI ' Stewart, "thc gentleman-spy," iea'
 ing member of the British bar, for a [ tempted espionage in Germany, add 1 another to tbe list of victims of 9Th - Riddle of the Sands" widely rea ], English novel which appeared sbo, ]. two years ago, The tale was inten'
 ed to bring home to Englishmcn tf
 danger of German invasion, deseril cd with considerable basis Of fact tt
 adyentures of n patriotic Briton VII
 carried out some dangerous but hiRl [ ly important investigations during q pleasure cruise along the Germa l. coasts. IL brought the possibilities { F volunteer espionage clearly before il [ British mind and was followed short f by the expedition of Captain Tren' c and Lieutenant Brandon, two Briti' O officers who employed their summ | ! x..a,tnn lnoLtns, into fhe aefenses ,