The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1918-01-10
OLD ARTICLE,TELLS
OF HELIGOLAND

Last week while engaged in some
packing at his Paradise farm home,
Leon lie FRANC was turning the leaves
OF the Sunday magazine section Of the
Los Angeles Herald, dated November
9, 1910. Mr.. lie Franq was attracted
TO an article telling of the kaiser's
transaction in securing Heligoland, the
great German fortifcation.
The article, because of its interest
today. is given here:
Twenty years ago Germany and
England made an exchange of Zanzi-
bar and HeligolaHd. Lord Salisbury
thought he had done very we'll in get
ting rid of the little island in the North
Sea. At the time, the kaiser was
,, laughed at. Heligoland was splitting
up bodily. Great scientists agreed that
its doom was certain, and that it was
not structurally strong. enough to stand
the strain of being fortified.
But the German emperor saw further
than the British statesmen.
1.-The island is destined to be bull
wark toward the sea-" he declared, "to
offer protection to German fisheries, or
support for German warships, a strong
place in the German sea against every
enemy who may show himself there"
So the kaiser began on a scheme of
rebuilding the little island. Since 1890
he has practically reconstructed the
island. He has spent, on an average,
81 $50, 600 year in providing Heligo-
land with granite buttresses on all
sides, l6 feet thick and eighty yards
and a half high. The numberless
cracks and assures, caused by each
winters frost in the higher parts of
the wasting cliffs, he has filled up and
bound together with thousands of tons
of ferroconerete.
Tirelessly, by day and night, this
work has been going on for 20 years.
At the present day the island is wholly
incased with cemented belt of armOr
three miles in circumference, which
has cost $50, 900, 000 Thus strength
ened, the island has been fortified, at a
further cost of S7.50O.000, during the
last three years.
Heligoland is only 26 miles from the
mouths of the Elder, the Elbe and the
Weser, and it is defense for all three
rivers, and the kaiser has also fortified
the chain of islands which lie to the
north and south of Heligoland. This
chain of forts has made it possible for
the kaiser to transfer his naval base
from the Baltic to the open sea. Un-
der pretense of erecting breakwaters
to protect Heligoland from erosion, he
has spent So, 500, 900 on harbor con-
struction on the north and south sides
of the island; in addition, the east
coast has a roadstead with AZ fathoms
of water. Here can be accommodated
the entire German fleet, which is thus
brought 100 miles nearer England
The kaiser has spent the cost of five
or six superdreadnoughts on Heligo-
land alone. 1t is the key to a maneuv-
ering base 100 miles in length, from
any point on which a mosquito craft
can dart between the island fortresses.
In naval circles it is agreed that this
long base doubles the fighting value of
the German fleet. The German Glib
raltar" has been described as an ad-
vanced spearhead of menace to the
English coast. Its magazines contain
millions of rounds of every class of
ammunition, as well as mines, torpe-
does and submarines. In addition, its
large garrison is always fully provis-
ioned to stand seige.
Until this year Heligoland remained
the Mecca of lovesick swains, the
Gretna Green to which all German
runaway couples fled, by steamer,
yacht or lugger. Its quaint old church
has been the scene of thousands of
marriages without previous banns or
license. Last year 280 couples availed
themselves of the privilege of getting
married there. Alas there will be
no more of that in future. The kaiser
has put his foot down!
From the armored easements on the
summit of the island peep Krupp's
finest and heaviest guns, which can
sweep the sea within a radius of ten
miles. All the navies in the world
would probably fail to subdue Heligo-
land. This is something to which En-
glish people have at last awakened,
and they now realize that Germany
has again outwitted them in a. war
game