The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-08
COLONIAL. RIVALRY BASIS OF TROUBLE Far East Attitude of Ger many and England FOR PAST 20 YEARS Strong Pressure Being Brought on Grand Duchess of Lumenburg
 to Marry-Queen Mary
 Is Interested
By MALCOLM CLARKE.

l Copyright 1912 by Publishers Press)
 Berlin, September 7.-(Special.)-
 Great wars often emanate from purely insignificant incidents, but underlying
 the trivialties are usually great is l sues. Reading some of the letters of Count Caprlvi, just now being prepared for publication. one is enabled to gauge
 to certain extent, at least. the throb-
 ping depths beneath the amusing opera
 bouffe now being played al London and
 Berlin. A desperate colonial rivalry is at the very bottom of the almost child
 fish suspicion manifested at almost ev- cry turn of Anglo-Saxon diplomacy. When, 1890, the Emperor William dismissed Bismarck and called Count Caprivi to the chancellorship of the
 empire, this rivalry and enmity be- gan. Curiously enough, the pivotal point, then as now. lay In the far east. William saw little opportunity in the African possessions since considerably
 extended. But, like Napoleon, in the | east he dreamed of a second empire.
 That was one of the reasons why he was so eager to seize the opportunity
 of parading Teutonic might during the
 Boxer expedition by dexterously man.
 aging so that German officer of tho
 first rank, Field Marshall Won Walder-
 see, should be in command of the al-
 lies. The friendship cultivated by Bis
 marck was ignored Germany's ambas- | sadors were specially instructed %
 keep sleepless watch upon every move made by Great Britain likely to inter- fere with the Oriental aims of the Kaiser
 Unfortunately, or fortunately, events
 so shaped themselves that both Euro pean nations were relegated to a rel atively minor position in the shaping
 of the future of Asia. But the dream remained and with the fall of the
 Manchus the playing of the cards was hurried. The editor of the Caprivi cor respondence seems to credit William 1 II with little confidence in the ca- pacity of the Chinese republicans to withstand pressure from without and
 within. According to his view, the
 Kaiser Is watching, waiting for the moment when China will appeal for help and blow will have to be struck l to save China" Then says the Bos- we'll of Capriyi, "Germany's chance will come and Japan will find instead of Nlauilnef or hOufOpdlklH, WllH i"", untrained, mutinous troops. the skilled marshals of the fatherland to face, backed by clouds of tempered Krupp
 steel and a soldiery as indomitable, as unfaltering as the legions of Nogi and Kuroki
 l Want Grand Duchess to Marry One of the purposes of the recent visit of Queen Mary of England to Neu- Streltz was a project for the marriage l.e of lllXenl- burg It is not so long since the Kaiser tried unsuccessfully to arrange q match between this young lady and one or the Prussian princes The attempt evoked quite a remarkable letter from the lS- year-old princess. She wrote quite frank ly to the Kaiser and said that 1T she considered such an alliance at all It
 would be only the understanding
 that the Kaiser and the crown prince would take a solemn oath not 10 ratlfy the absorption of the duchy. She has re- gently refused to ratify bill passed py tWo-thrds of the chamber, because sne considered it socialistic and anti-Catholic, and she has declared that as long as she is grand duchess, she will be advised
 but not coerced, by her ministers. She is pretty in rather heavy fashion, and undoubtedly clever
 Nearly Invented Aeroplane
 Germany's new compulsory insurance law is proving a heavy strain upon en- ployers and salaried persons( as distinct from wage earning workers). The annual burden amounts to over $75,000 LOO Strange to say, the employers are said to be quite satisfied with the law; but the em- rloyes resent the idea of having weekly and monthly contributions dedubted from their earnings This is especially true of clerks and others listed amongst the sal aricd persons who are taxed for bene-
 fits in which they do not immediately share, the bulk of the beneficiaries being the wage earning class,
 According to the Tagliche Rundschau, the Germany military authorizes are giv- ing thei rattention to a newly invented aeroplane, which is capable of remaining for a considerable time stationary in the air. Through ingeniously constructed mechanism, it is averred, the new flying machine can be arrested in it's courst by its pilot at any point desired and held motionless there.
 This aeroplane, which Is said to be the invention of a German engineer, and to differ widely in shape and construction from the machines hitherto used, is con- sequently expected to be of great value in military operations. The Tagliche Rundschau admits the apparently incredi- ble character of these statements, but asserts that they emanate from a source v,bich nt,ts their truth beyond question.