The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-11-03

Sea-.
In the beautiful vineyard country
Of France the worlds most stupendOus
land battle is raging.
On the North Sea-, that broad, tur-
bulent, shallow expanSe Of water
which stretches between the chalk
cliffs Of England and the mud flats
of the Continent of Europe may begin
at any moment the blodiest, costlier,
most epoch-making naval engagement
Of all time.
mighty battle fleets of France and
England. The North Sea holds
somewhere in it's bays and e~stuaries
and fortified harbors the great great
sea-fighters OF the German Emperor.
Day and night all England scans the
North Sea with anxious y e 1t is by
the North Sea that the invader must
come. Out OF the fogs Of the North
Sea must arise the phantom shapes Of
Zeppelin MISUNDERSTANDING never
ceasing nightmare.
Yet from the North Sea, week
after week only rumors have come.
with now and then the barest facts
concerning some brief out bloody en-
gagement Of cruiser and submarine,
OF trawler mined and sunk, Of swift
skirmishes in the dawn, Of British
losses and reprisals. There has been
no general engagement. The world
at large does not even know the eX-
act location Of the hundreds of hostile
ships and thousands of eager sailors
massed here for the sea fight which,
if it comes, will ruin one or the other
OF the worlds mightest navies. The
mystery Of the North Sea will be
solved only by the flash and oar Of
great guns.
Germany and the allies alike dread
the results which may follow the great
naval battle which both feel sure is
only "a matter Of time. For a general
engagement is almost bound to be de-
cisive. There can be no shifting of
battle lines. no bringing up of fresh
forces to try their fortune in a more
favorable engagement, no prolonged
attack and defense and counter-at-
tack with victory lowering now over
Germany and now over the allies. The
Battle of the North Sea will be for
all time.
II Germany wins. the way to armed
invasion Of England lies open, an easy
task. If England and France sweep
the German fleets from the North
Set, the allies will hold in their hand
the key to he Baltic and Germany
will be exposed to their attack alone
both her coasts. The huge issues tC
be lost or won in this Battle of the
North Sea have mad the command.
ers OF both the German and the alice
fleets cautious. England is waitins
for Germany to come out from under
the guns of it's fortified harbors. Ger
many. with fewer ships that the al
hes is content to play a waiting game
TOO. meanwhile sending it's mos
quito fleet" it's torpedo boat de
stroyers, it's light cruisers and it's sub
marines on swift raids against de
tached English ships engaged il
scouting n patrol duty. All tn
losses Oh both sides, so far, the sink
ing of the German cruiser Mainz. tn
torpedOing of the English cruiser
Aboukir. Hogue n Greasy by a Ger
man submarine, the ~torpedoing of tn
German cruiser. Hela last in onth b
the English submarine E-S, and tn
more recent sinking Of a German tol
ped0 boat destroyer by the same sui
marine, have been in raids and SIKH
mishes. The great ships Of the lin,
the ~dreadnaughts which cost million
and carry a thousand men, nave RI
manned in the background, the Ems
I'm ships supposedly aligned off Helg(
land. Borkum and C~uxhaven, the Gel
man North Sea strongholds, and
the entrance to the Skager Ral
which leads into the Baltic away U
north of Denmark. The Germa
fleets are believed to be living und,
the protection Of the guns of Helg,
land, in the basins at Cuxhave, ar
Wilhelmshaven. and in Kiel Harbo
in the Baltic. They can readily rear
the North Sea through the Kiel cana
1t is at Wilhelmsnaven, Germany
greatest laval base on the North Sc
that the great aerial fleet Of German
is supposed to be massinS for a d
scent either upon England or up
the allied fleets. Count Zeppelin w
very recently reported to be at w
neimshaven with his staff of dirigih
builders. fitting up the Great Re
pelln fleet for it's bomb-hurling e
petition out over the North Sc
whether it be true or false that &c
many contemplates an attack I'D,
either London or the North Sea He
by means of the air, Wilhelmshav
is being watched night and dav
the encircling English and Fren
war vessels. ready to intercept