n other foreign navies the extraordinary rapidity with which
improvements were introduced in types of battleships, armaments,
and armor made the fleet in commission obsolete before the building
programme providing additions to it was half finished.

The obsolete fleet had to be struck off the list, thus leaving a
gap, lowering the number of ships below the standard prescribed by
the bill. This gap was stopped by using the finished ships to
replace the obsolete ones instead of being added to them as
originally intended. Therefore, instead of steadily increasing the
standing fleet by regular additions it came to a wholesale
rebuilding of the entire German Navy. Our actual programme in
course of execution is practically only the exchange of old
material for new, but not an addition to the number of units
originally laid down by the bill of ten years ago, which is being
adhered to.

It seems to me that the main fault in the discussions going on in
the papers is the permanent ventilating of so-called two to three
or more power standard and then only exemplifying on one power,
which is invariably Germany. It is fair to suppose that each nation
builds and commissions its navy according to its needs and not only
with regard to the programme of other countries. Therefore, it
would be the simplest thing for England to say: "I have a
world-wide empire and the greatest trade of the world, and to
protect them I must have so and so many battleships, cruisers, &c.,
as are necessary to guarantee the supremacy of the sea to me, and
they shall, accordingly, be built and manned."

That is the absolute right of your country, and nobody anywhere
would lose a word about it, and whether it be 60 or 90 or 100
battleships, that would make no difference and certainly no change
in the German naval bill. May the numbers be as you think fit,
everybody here would understand it, but the people would be very
thankful over here if at last Germany was left out of the
discussion, for it is very galling to the Germans to see their
country continually held up as the sole danger and menace to Great
Britain by the whole press of the different contending parties,
considering that other countries are building, too, and there are
even larger fleets than the German.

Fears German R