Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-05-13
SEEKING AIR HON0RS
Germany on Trail of France,
Aviation Leader.
Special Cablegram to The Star.

Special Cablegram to The Star.
BERLIN, May 13.-Germany is making
desperate efforts not to be left too far
behind in the race for the military SUI
premacy of the air, In which France at
present leads by a goodly number of
lengths. Money is not as plentiful here
as it is in wealthy France, but during
the last six weeks about $4,000 has
been collected for military airships and
aeroplanes. OF this amount the little
kingdom of Saxony, encouraged by King
Frederick's example, has contributed $780,
600. The cities Of Mannheim and Heidel-
berg gave $1,000 and $500 respectively
on the first day the subscription list was
opened.
No Sarah Bernhard has fascinated the
audiences with the charm of her golden
voice, but the ladies Of Dresden have or
ganized ball in aid Of the fund which Is
certain to be a great success, for patriot
ism and frivolity in combination is ire
sstible.
Distinguished Names on List.
The national fund is under the patron
age of Prince Henry of Prussia, Count
Won Posadowsky- Wiener, formerly min
lister of the interior, and now an indie
pendent member of the reichstag. is
president of the committee, and Herr
Mandelssohn, the banker. is treasurer.
Some of the most distinguished names
in Germany appear on the list Of the COM
mittee. among them Dr. Kaempf, presi-
dent of the reichstag; several royal
princes and the more prominent Jewish
financ.ers. 1t is noticeable that the semi
official Nordeutsche Allegemeine Zeitung
prints the committees appeal in place of
its leading article The committe has
adopted the motto: For the People,
Through the People, and the movement
appears likely to be very popular.
As evidence of the progress the Ger
man flying industry has made in a brief
two years, it is proudly announced by the
newspapers that 1.-The worlds largest
atoms at Johannisthal. 1t is the works of
the Albatross Company. 1t will employ
400 hands and have an output capacity of
ten or twelve machines month. That. it
is claimed, is an unapprOachable world s
record.
New Play Worth Seeing.
One Of the few plays just now worth
seeing in Berlin is the Fluent Frank
| fuerter" at the Koeniggraetzer Street
| Theater The scene is laid in Frankfuert-
am Main hundred years ago, and the
| five Frankforters are the five brothers
Rothschild. the founders Of the famous
banking firm. The five brothers come to-
! gether from the various capitals, where
| they represent the Arm, to discuss the
| financial situation of a reigning prince,
one of the banks clients. One Of the
brothers proposes to solve the problem
| of the princes affairs by marrying the
: prince to his daughter. The prince, who
| has accidentally met the girl at water
| lady, who Is in love with the youngest of
| her uncles. marriage with whom Is not
| forbidden by Jewish law. The inclination
| of the heroine makes the play somewhat
strange and unsympathetic to the Ameri-
can spectator, but OF course, In no way
shocks the sensbilities of Berlin Jews,
who form large percentage of the au-
dience There are one or two amusing
characters and the acting is excellent, but
the play has, perhaps. its chief charm, in
the successful reproduction of the old
world atmosphere.
Nowhere IL the cinematograph more
popular than in Germany. Here in Ber-
| lin there are vast numbers of picture
theaters. In the west end they are ex-
ceedingly elegant and elaborate picture
plays historical, modern, tragic, amusing
are announced. People ask one II one
has been to see Dante" a specially beau
| tiful picture piece, just as they inquire
whether one has seen Offenbach's La
Belle Helene" the most popular comic
opera now running in Berlin, at the Thea
| ter des Westerns. Great actresses receive
enormous fees for acting to the cinema
! tograph photographer. Count Gisbert
| Wolff Metternich of gambling case fame
and his wife. one of the most charming
actresses in Germany received $4,000 the
other day for starring In a cinematograph
play.
Provincial theaters are being ruined by
| the competition of the Light Theater."
as Germans often call it, Now the edu-
| cational authorities are taking a leaf out
| of the entertainers book. The cinemato-
graph already has been successfully used
| in one of Berlin's technical Institutes and
| the experiment of teaching by this meth
cd has now been tried with the happlest
results in an elementary school The
capital of the empire has not, however
the honor of initiating this departure
The first German school to use the cine
| matograph is the Volksschule of leila
Sankt Blasii, in Thuringia. The local
authorities have installed apparatus and
purchased films and the delighted chill
dren arc being taught geography and his
| tory in classroom which has become
picture theater. People probably punish
| their children in leila Sankt Blasii by
i keeping them home from school on cine
imatograph days