Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1912-07-16
WILL SPEND s., 100000
FOR AN AIRSHIP FLEET
Germany Plans to Have Great
Bunch of the Latest Means
of War-Under Construction
Especial Gable to The journal

BERLIN, Germany, July 13.-Ger-
many's public subscription for the Gre
alton of the largest aerial fleet in the
world. now figures up something like
$1,250,00 France set the pace in what
Baroness Bertha Won Suttner, the aged
leader of the worlds peace movement,
has termed "barbarizing the air" but
has been outdistanced by her rival for
fund that is to carry power and glory
into the air. With a start of several
weeks the French have been passed by
the Germans, whose fund is now about
one-third larger than that of France
The stake is the Supremacy of the
air" The rivaly that so long existed
between the military forces on lana De-
tween Germany and France, it is claim
ed, has long ago passed to Germany ana
can hardly be wrested from her by
reason Of the vast difference in the pop
ulation of the two countries. Apparent
ly resigned to that, France turned and
that superior genius might give her
control of the air as England has or
the sea- A campaign for public contrl-
buttons to an aerial fleet fund was
launched with enthusiasm characterls-
tically French. A few weeks later
similar appeal was made in Germany
and 1T was declared that German pride
would not permit France to raise
greater sum. There was less enthusl-
asm than on the other side of the Rhine
but more method and system. Each city
wanted an aerial craft named after It,
and the municipality got busy in seeing
that a snug sum was raised. Some OF
the radical papers complained that
some Of the contributions were not al
ways voluntary" but nothing was
brought out to indicate pressure. The
Socialist organs fought the idea tooth
and nail and it is not likely that the
81, 25O,0OO fund contains many marks
from the 100000 Social Democrats.
The development of aerial navigation,
in Germany as elsewhere, has been CIV
en- a new turn and a new impetus by
the tendency to shape it for military
rather than peaceful commercial pur-
poses. A small coterie of peace propa-
gandists headed by Baroness Won SUIT
ner, are protesting against "barbarizing
the air" by making it the means of
raining death and destruction on the
earth. They demand that the powers
renew the former agreement not OF
drop explosives from aerial crafts. But
the peace propagandists stand little
chance of being heard. No effort is
made that the development of aerial en-
gines of warfare will go on until the
peace Of Europe is better assured than
it has been for the last year
WOE unto the moment when through
some stroke of Fate the iron power OF
Berlin falls; then will the hate-flled
proletariat take a terrible revenge on
the strong ruling elements and with
the proletariat will be associated the
disconnected of the middle class in the
movement against the orderly develop
ment of the German people. Let us
say 1t openly; the 100000 votes cast
by the Socialists are nothing else but
1000, 900 atheists, republicans and revo-
lutionists. But God, who let iron grow
will never let such people come into
power. The proletariat has right to
live and to enjoy life; right to join in
the governing and to exercise the sharp
est control; when II does that 1t becomes
a firm foundation of the state. But 1T
has not the right to overturn affairs up
on which for centuries the many bloody
and bloodless sacrifices have been Of
fered, in order to reach the heights of
civilization which we see today"
So writes Count Adalbert Sternberg,
one of Austria's statesmen, in his book,
'In the Change of the Times" which
will soon ocme from the press. Count
Sternberg takes a gloomy yet hopeful
view of existing political and social I'M
rest in Germany and Austria-Hungary.
He shows that it is the iron hand of a
strong ruler and a strong government
which keeps in check the eruptive forces
of unrest in Germany that have had ex-
preston in riots, disorder and bloodshed
in other European countries. Count
Sternberg compares the cities and cen
+ral Governments of the capitals of Ger
many and Austria-Berlin and Vienna.
He says: 'In Germany one fights with
open vizier. face to face, breast against
breast, and the sword of the govern
ment lies ever in clean hands. In Aus
tria, on the other hand, the fighting of
the individual anti-government senti-
ment with the sword has long been CIV
en- up. As the declining Roman empire
pacified it's enemies by paying tributes,
so in Vienna fighting has been succeed
ed by purchasing and paying.