The herald., 1917-06-28

is supposed 10 have
wrought great damage e
the imperial docks and Shipyards re-
Gently. IS one of the two most impor.
tant naval stations of the German en-
pirc, says bulletin of the National
Geographic society.
only siXty-tive years ago the site OF
this now strongly fortified town OF
$4,000 inhabitants given over chiefly
to shipyurds, dry docks, fitting out har-
bOrs, iron foundricS boiler foundrieS
and boiler factories, was Il dcSolate,
lOw-lying, marShy tract Of land on the
edge of Il shallow inlet of the North
sea. known rs Jade BUScn or Jade bay,
which had been formed by foundations
In the thirteenth and sixteenth ccntu-
ricS.
In 1852, however, the naSCcnt spirit
of PrUSSianiSm aw0kc To the fact that
the kingdom did not own single inch
of sea coast on the North sea. In or
der 10 acquire Il foOthold on the west
ern shore of Europe the PruSSian king
purchased from the grand duke of Old
enburg the marsh, four square miles,
upon which now stands Wilhclmsha-
ven. and the purchase price was 5OO,-
600 thalerS (abOut $3j5.0OO).
Seventeen Years Building Town.
For seventeen years Il large body Of
wOrkmen was engaged at great eX-
penSe in building the town. dredging
the bay, and sinking piles In the peaty
soil upon which to erect the docks and
shipyards. 1t was a herculean task
and frequently months of labor would
be wiped out In n single hour by a
high tide or Il violent storm. In the
end, however, the work was COmplet-
ed and the harbOr was formally opened
by King William, afterward Emperor
William |, In the presence of many
British naval officers who little I'm
agined what a m0mentOuS ceremony
they were witnessing. for with the ded
iCatiOn of WilhelmShaven began In
earnest the development of modern
Germany's sea power.
One of the odd difficulties with
which Prussia had 10 contend in The
building of WilhelmShaven was the I'm
friendly attitude Of the kingdom (sOOr
thereafter to become IL PruSSian pro
vince of Hanover which refused To nj
low the construction of Il railroad
across its territory from Prussia int
Oldenburg. so that all the material fol
the harbOr had to be shipped from
Prussia by the long sea route.
WilhelmShavcn is less than 10 mile!
10 an airline northwest of Bremen, an,
is only 60 miles by rail from this great
commercial center.
The new harbor OF WilhelmshayeI
has an area of 40 acres and depth
Of more than twenty-siX feet.
MemeI, Germany's Northern City.
Another of Germany's important sea
ports Is Memel, in East Prussia, which
the Russians partly destroyed early il
the war.
Mcneil Is lands end for the Ger
mans. II Is the most northerly tow
In the empire. lying but a few mile:
from the RussO-German border. Be
fore the war, Mcneil was Il city of con
siderable consequence, a city rushed
with commission business and pOr
whose harbor was always filled Will
sail and smoke columns. The port /:
midway upon the Baltic sea. cOnven
iently placed for trade with Stock
holm, Sweden, to the north with Rigs
and Petrograd, Russia. to the north
enst; with Copenhagen, Denmark, I,
the west, and with the many nortf
German ports. 1t has an excellent
aharbor, well improved, protected by
1.-TWO lighthouses and by forts TOWARD
the open water.
Memel was the center of the Baltic
lumber trade. Great RATS Of logs
hewn in the forests of Russian POLAND
and western Russia. were fiOated dowr
the Nlemen river and the KOenlg VII
helm canal every year. and the lumber
product Of the city's mills was distrit.
uted by the busy Memel fleet to every
Baltic port, much Of 1t going to Rus
sia. Pole Russian. Lett and German
during the years Of peaceful effort
fraternized In Memel'S coffee houses
beer gardens and in the tidy, preten
tious little inn, Nlmmersatt.