The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1922-10-14

classes. contributed in full measure to-
ward this achievement
Consultations, conferences, reports
to me, service trips to all shipbuilding
yards, were the daily bread of the in
defatigable Tirpitz. But the tremen-
dous trouble and work were richly re-
warded. The people woke up. began
to have a thought for the value of the
colonies (raw materials provided by
ourselves without foreign middlemen!)
and for commercial relations, and to
feel interest in commerce, navigation,
Shipping, etc.
And. at last, the derisive opposition
stopped cracking its jokes. Tirpitz,
always ready for battle, welded a
sharp blade in fighting, never joked
and allowed nobody to joke with him,
so that his opponents no longer felt
like laughing. Things went particul-
arly badly with Deputy Richter when
Tirpitz brilliantly snubbed and silenced
him by quoting patriotic saying, dat
ing from the 40s, of old Harkort-
whose district Richter represented
concerning the need for a German
fleet. Now it was the turn of the other
side OF the Reichstag to laugh.
And SO the great day dawned. The
law was passed, after much fighting
and talking, by great majority. The
strength of the German navy was as
sured; naval construction was to be ac-
complished.
By means of construction and keep
ing an increased number of ships in
service a fleet soon sprang into being.
In order to manoeuvre, lead and train
its personnel a new book of regula-
! tons and signal code were needed
at the beginning of my reign these
mad been worked out merely for one
dlvlsion-four ships-since at that
time a larger number of units never
navigated together in the German
navy. e., larger number were not
kept in service. And even these were
out OF service in the autumn, so that,
in winter, there was with the excep
ton OF cruisers in foreign waters) alb
solutely no German navy. All the care
expended during the summer season on
training OF crews, officers, non-com-
mlssloned officers, engine room crews
and stokerS, as well as on rigging and
upkeep of ships, was as good as vast
ed when the ships were retired from
service in the autumn; and when
spring came and they were put back
into commission things had to be start
ed at the beginning again The result
was that any degree of continuity in
training and of conference among the
crews with relation to each other and
their ships-of ship spirit in short
could not be maintained. This was
maintained only on board the ships sta
toned in foreign waters Therefore
atter the necessary heating equipment
etc, had been put in, l offered that
shlps be kept in service also through
the winter, which was veritable boon
to the development of the fleet.
In order to obtain the necessary
number of units needed by the new
regulations, Admiral Won Tirpitz, in
view of the shortage of ships-of-the-
line, had already formed into divisions
all the sorts of vessels available. in
Guiding gunboats and dispatch boats,
and carried out evolutions with them,
SO that when the replacement of line
SHIPS began to take place the founda-
tons for the new regulations had al
ready been laid. The latter were then
constantly developed with the greatest
energy by all the officials concerned
and kept pace with the growth of the
| fleet.
| Hard work was done on the develop
ment of that important weapon, the
! torpedo boat. At that time we were
filled with joyful pride that German
/ torpedo boat division was the first
united torpedo squadron ever to cross
the North Sea. 1t sailed, under the
command OF my brother, Prince Hen
ry, to take part in the celebration of
queen Vlctoria's Golden Jubilee (188O.
! Colonel GoehaIs's Visit.
The development of Heligoland and
/ It's Notifications as a point of support
tor small cruisers and torpedo boats
also, later on, for U-bats-wass also
| taken in hand, after the necessary pro-
tectlve work for preserving the island
had been constructed by the state-in
connection with which work the en-
pire and Prussia fought like cat and
| dog.
On account of the growth of the
fleet 1t became necessary to widen
the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal. After a.
! hard struggle we caused the new locks
to be built of the largest possible size
capable Of meeting the DEVELOPMENT of
dreadnoughts for long time to come
There the far-sighted policy of the ad-
miral was brilliantly vindicated.
! Th1s found unexpected corrobora-
| ton by foreigner Colonel GoethaIs.
the builder of the Panama Canal, re-
quested through the United States gov
eminent permission to inspect the
Kaiser Wilhelm Canal and it's new
locks. Permission was most willingly
granted. After a meal with me. at
which Admiral Won Tirpitz was pres
ent, the admiral questioned the Amer
4 lean engineer (who was enthusiastic
over our construction work. concern
| ing the measurements of the Panama
locks, whereupon it transpired that the
measurements of the locks of the Pan
anna Canal were much smaller than
those of the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal. To
my astonished question as to how that
could be possible, Goethals replied
that the navy department, upon inquiry
by him, had given those measurements
| for ps-of-the-line. Admiral Won Tir.
/ pitz then remarked that this size
would be far from adequate for the
future, and that the newer type of
dreadnoughts and super-dreadnought
would not be able to go through the
locks, consequently the canal would
soon be useless for American and
other big battleships The colonel
agreed. and remarked that this was
already true of the newest ships under
: