The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-04-28

Inc.
w YHEN the German battle cruls.
M er squadron made Its attack
w on the English coast 1t did not
tarry long The Germans knew
that when their presence was known
the British battle cruiser squadron.
with more gunpower and slightly bet
ter speed. would be running between
them and their home base. They could
not get away from the British. and
they would have to fight against odds,
a. Won Spec had at Falklands. The
art Of any kind of warfare Is getting
there first with ire strongest force
and holding the other fellow under
your blows until you have beaten him.
After having killed and wounded
more than 200 and destroyed a great
deal Of property the Germans man.
aged to slip past the British battle
cruiser squadron through the fog back
to Kiel.
On the morning Of the oath of Jan
uary the German battle cruiser squad.
ron under Hyper came out again.
Hipper had with him, of course. some
light cruisers. which we lack, and a
fotilla Of destroyers, In which we are
woefully deficient They guarded his
tanks. they protected the superior gun
fire and the range Of his battle cruisers
from surprise.
But the British battle cruiser squad
ron, under Vice Admiral David Beat.
ty, also put to sea about the same
time. 1t had news Of the Germans
coming, perhaps secret service news
from Kiel. Not the least important
part of preparedness Is intelligence of
your enemy's movements If the news
did not come from Kiel, Beatty got 1t
from the light cruisers and destroyers
scouting in the North sea, which fash
ed their wireless messages back to Sir
John Jellicoe.
Ameriea's Navy Ten Years Behind.
When Beatty went out 1t was with
force enough to beat Hyper il he met
him. Not only must you have battle
cruisers, but better ones than the enc
my. The British had taken care Of
this. Year by year they have kept
ahead Of the Germans, both In speed
and gun power. They have led In
type and in rapidity of building. Al
ways they have had a knot or two
more speed, type against type; always
two or three months edge in the time
required for construction.
The British set the style. They lead,
others follow. We who by our nature
ought to be most up to date are most
backward. We are only ten years he
hind the others. Add two years for
construction Of battle cruiser II we
lay one down, and we are twelve.
Against the German Moltke, 22,64C
tons, twenty-seven knots and ten elev
en-inch guns, Beatty had the Tiger,
$4,000 tons, twenty-eight knots aad
eight 135-inch guns; against the Derf
fingers 26,200 tons, twenty-sever
knots and eight twelve-inch guns
Beatty had his flagship, the Lion, 26,
$50 tons. nearly twenty-nine knots and
eight 13.5-inch guns; against the Seyd
litz, 24,600 tons and twenty-sever
knots, he had the Princess Royal, sis
ter ship Of the Lion. These three Brit
ish ships were the last expression In
the line Of battle cruisers. You car
make comparisons for yourself. They
expressed the policy of the British
navy to keep year ahead Of all ri
walls instead Of ten years behind
Germans Had More Guns.
The Germans had more guns, bu,
less powerful ones. The British LIE
carried shell weighing 1.4OO pounds
with longer range, against the Ger
mans eleven inch. weighing 68l
pounds. But the Germans also had
the Bluecher, 1850 tons. twenty -four
knots and twelve 80 guns. Poor old
out Of date Bluecher. only twenty-foul
knots, yet she was faster than any
armored fighting ships we have In the
whole United States navy. She could
run away from or close In with any
armored cruiser or battleship We have
Our last is the old North Carolina type
finished in 1908 In the naval lists the
North Carolina appears after the head
ing. Battle cruisers, none built or
building" which Is preceded by the
dreadnaughts.
In that battle Of the North sea
known as the battle OF Dogger Bank
the Bluecher had about as much
chance as the old Oregon. which
fought so well at Santiago, would have
against the dreadnaught New York.
She was not powerful enough to hold
her own in battle or speedy enough to
escapes.
The British also had the battle cruis-
er New Zealand. 1880 tons. twenty
FIVE knots aud eight twelve-inch guns,
and the Indomitable, sister ship Of the
lnvincible, which was at the Falk-
lands. had 1880 tons. twenty six
knots and eight twelve-inch guns. OF
course they had plenty of light cruis.
ers and destroyers. which were as i'm
portant as the fielders in ball nine.
The British engine rooms were SC
efficient and probably the Germans
too. that they could drive more than
the trial speed out of their ships un
der forced draft. Not only must yoU
have enormous speed, but you mus
be able to have your ship in such q