Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1914-11-27

lions h really marvellous, for every
thing human ingenuity has been able
to devise concerning the dlrigible You
viii find In application. Each station
is fully equipped and is an absolutely
Independent center In itself Take the
base at Helgoiand. II is the newest
and the one that in always cloaked
with secrecy.
Guarding the DlrIgIhles.
AT the extreme eastern corner Of
the island Of Helgoland one sees. amid
the sandy dunes, three vast oblong
ircn7gray structures. At distance
they are not unlike overgrown gas
ometers. say at distance. for Il IL
impossible for any visitor to set
within a thousand yards OF the sta
ton The solitary approach is guard
ed By 9 triple post of the marine
guard. If you walk toward the sta
ton. before you come within a hum
dred yards OF the guard. you win GNd
large signs setting forth in unmistak-
able and terse language that dire and
swift penalties follow any further ex-
ploratton In that direction. Not only
English but German visitors to Helgo-
land have found out that even the
slightest infringement Of the rules OF
these signs Is dangerous. shall. how
ever, take you little closer.
Walking on until you are within fifty
yards of the great balloon sheds, you
pause before a tall fence OF barbed
wire. this connected with an elaborate
alarm bell system that sounds in the
two guard houses. For instance. If
an enterprising secret agent Of France
were to try and steal up on the sta
ton, II he came by night and cut
through the barbed wire, series of
bells would Immediately sound the
general alarm.
Having passed through the six
strands Of barbed wire a tall octag-
onal tower meets the eye. In this
tower are installed two powerful
searchlights as well as a complete
wireless outfit. All the Zeppe1ins carry
wireless. BY means OF elaborate re-
Electors it is possible with the search
lights to flood the whole place with
daylight in the middle Of night. Thus
ascensions can be made safely at any
hour of the twenty-four.
The three oblong sheds stand in a
row, the middle being the largest, hav-
ing spaces for two complete dirigibles,
while the other sheds house but one
each They are about 800 feet long.
200 feet broad and 40 feet high. The
whole structure itself can be shifted
to about an angle of forty degrees.
an al tIav kf
the railroad engine turntable. The rea'
SON for it is that with the veering of
the wind the sheds are turned so that
the doors will be placed advantageous
ly for the removal Of the airship.
The whole layout and the vast area
of space show that 1t Is the govern
ment's intention still further to in.
crease the plant. In fact, on my last
visit to Helgoland-and 1t was nearly
three years ago-I saw the evidence
of another shed about to be built
At the station is the most efficient me
neurological department Of all the sta
tions. The most sensitive and up-to-
date instruments connected with this
science are there In duplicate and the
highest experts Germany can produce
are in charge of the department.
Helgoland has long been a sore spot
of British diplomacy. Seized from
Denmark In 1907, 1t was formally
ceded to England In 1914; now 1t is q
menace to her. While Lord Salisbury
was prime minister of England he
conceived what he believed to be q
shrewd diplomatic move. He offered
Bismarck Helgoland In exchange for
some East African concessions, and II
became q German possession in 1890
Helgoland is now the key and guard
of Germany's main artery of com
merce, being the key to Hamburg
With the dirigible station of Helgoland
to guard her, Hamburg Is considered
impregnable.
Let us consider one of these new
war monsters, the latest and most
powerful, the X Is. The latest Zeppe
Inns, charged with the newly discov
cred dioxygenous gas. giving these
sky battleships triple lifting capacity;
the perfecting of the Diesel motor
giving enormous horsepower percent
age with light fuel consumption (fifty
OF these Diesel engines, their work
tngs secret to the German govern
ment, are stored under guard at the
big navy yards at Wilhelmshafen and
K1el, ready TO be installed at the
break Of war in submarines and diri
| giblesl, have given the Germaaa type
of aircraft an Importance undreamed
of and unsupported by the rest Of the
world.
Guns on the ZeppelIns.
The operating sphere of the new
balloons has extended from 100 tC
1.400 kiIometers. Secret trial trips Of
> fully equipped Zeppelin like x Is
carrying a crew OF "a men, six quick
firing guns. seven tons of explosives
have extended from Stettin, over the
Baltic. over the Swedish coast, re
crossing the Baltic and landing al
Swinemunde. with enough gas. fue
and provisions left to keep aloft an
other Sc hours. The distance all told
covered on one of these trips was
1,1S0 kflometers. This fact speaks
for itself. The return distance from
Helgoland to London. OF any midland
towns in England. corresponds TO tbs
1 =