whether
they be the professionals selected by the people or merely amateur
patriots, are forever crying out for greater armaments.

At the time of the Boxer troubles in China, when Germany sent some
ships to demand reparation for the murder of her ambassador in Peking,
she had only two ships left at home to guard her own shores. When all
England was exasperated by the Boer telegram sent by the Kaiser, or,
if the truth is to be told, by his advisers, the late Baron Marshal
von Bieberstein and Prince Hohenlohe, to President Kruger, official
Germany lamented publicly that she lacked a powerful navy. Only a week
after the Boers declared war the Kaiser is reported to have said:
"Bitter is our need of a strong navy." Germany has noticed, too, not
without suspicion, that--

In 1904 England had 202,000 tons of warships in the Mediterranean and
none in the North Sea.

In 1907 England had 135,000 tons of warships in the Mediterranean and
166,000 tons in the North Sea.

In 1909 England had 123,000 tons of warships in the Mediterranean and
427,000 tons in the North Sea.

In 1912 England had 126,000 tons of warships in the Mediterranean and
481,000 tons in the North Sea.

At last accounts England had 50,000 tons of war-ships in the
Mediterranean and 500,000 tons in the North Sea.

There has been a steady increase of the navy in Germany. In 1900 the
tonnage of war-ships and large cruisers over 5,000 tons was 152,000;
in 1911 it was 823,000. The number of heavy guns in 1900 was 52; in
1911 it was 330. The horse-power of engines in 1900 was 160,000; in
1911 it was 1,051,000. The naval crews in 1900 numbered 28,326; in
1911, 57,353; and in 1913 the German naval personnel will consist of
3,394 officers and 69,495 men. Between 1900 and 1911 the tonnage of
the British fleet increased from 215,000 to 1,716,000; of the German
fleet from 152,000 to 829,000.

In ten years British naval expenditure has increased from $172,500,000
to $222,500,000; in Germany the expenditure has jumped from
$47,500,000 to $110,000,000; in America the increase is from
$80,000,000 to $132,500,000. Out of these total sums Great Britain
spends one third, America one fifth, and Germany one half on new
construction.

Germany has a navy league numbering over one million active and
honorary members; a periodical, Die Flotte, published by the league
with a circulation of over 400,000. This league not only educates but
excites the whole nation by a vigorous c