BERLIN IN WAR-TIMB.
A BLIND CONFIDENCE.
[BY A NEUTRAL COLLESPONDENT-]
The Best quistions you are asked after your arrival in Berlin are: "Well, doesn't this look different from what you exproted to find? Are you not surprised to everything in such perfect order, so ablutely normal ? "
RUSSIA STRONGER
THAN EVER.
FAILURE OF GERMANS IN POLAND,
AN UP-TO-DATE ARMY.
[FROM "IHE TIMES" SPECIAL, CORRESPONDENT WITH TBÈ AUSSIAN FORCES.}
WARSAW, April 23rd. There is an optimism prevailing here such an has wot heen seen since the retire ment of the Germans in October. It is engendered by the lull existing on this front, and the general realization, even At first you may be inclined to agree; among the common soldiers, that the grent and if you left Berlin after, say, a week's Hindenburg movement, which was gear siny, or if you should happen not to be ally believed to be the greatest effort pos- able to speak the language, you would sible for the Germans to make on this carry away with you a totally wrong idea front, has been an utter failure at all of what the conditiona ronily are First points. From conversations with an ex impression have lost all significance inpert constantly on this front, I am in Germany. The whole nation is so knit-up clined to accept as approximately correct with the one institution for which they tis statement that the Germans in the work and live-the army-that whatever total movement which began on the Bauva sacrific's, whatever changes are demand last January and early in February and cd are carried out naturally, systemati terminated in the Suwalki zone, lost cally, like the changing of the gear of a 200,000 wiem, It is estimated that of these motor-car. Life, to all outward observa fully 100,000 were lost in the ter tion, seems to continue much the same. rifie demonstration on the Warsaw front, And the balanco in East Prussia and the I forget who it was that said, The army is not for Germany, but Germany subsequent aporations. Estimates of the is for the army." That hits the nail on Russian losses in East Prussia, complied, the head; one se's the proof of it to-day.
sine the shattered formations were re- Amongst the people of the lower and
inforced by stragglers drifting in, plàce middle classes the confidence in the
thess as low as 25,000. strength of their army and the ability of its leaders is absolute, And war has lashed their feelings towards the Kaiser into a state of unreasoning fanaticism,
THE HONGKONG DAILY PRESS, THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 1015.
THE SHIPPING BOOM IN
THE FAR EAST. Wa take the following items from the Manchurian, Daily News, published at Dairen (Dalny):
SUB-CHARTER IN CHARTER MARKET.
SHIPBUILDING BOOM IN JAPAN.
The shipbuilding industry of Japan is booming in Japan. More than a dozesi vessels have been contracted to be built stuce last reported,
The total number of vessels se far order- ed from various shipbuilding yards of Japan is put at 13 with aggregate gross tonnage of 185,000. We may reitorate below the respective number of vessels now The recent animation in the charter under construction or to be constructed at money market of Japan is the liveliest Japaneso yards:-- lenown during the past ten years.
MITSUBISHI
The highest charter rate for the pres-nt year was Y. 35,000 per month for the str Heikokis Mars, 5,169 tons gross (owned Dairen), and the lowest Y:6,500 per month by the South Manchuria 5.3. Co for the str. Kinka Maru, 2,500 tons. The str. Yasukuns Haru, 5,118 tons, owned by the above Company), which was taken up on time-charter by Messrs. Suzuki & Co, Kobe, at Y. 13,300 per month, has been suh chartered by a foreigner at Y.30,000. The M.B.K, has also cleared a large profit by sub-chartering the str. Shimpo Maru, 4,632 tons (chartered last April by the Company only at Y.4,000) to a foreign merchant at Y20,000 per month,
The at Aikuku Alury, 3,332 chartered by the Yurensbita S.S. Co., Kobe, has also been sub-chartered by the Hokkaido Colliery Steamship Co. at T.11,000 per mouth, which amount gives the first charterers L sung sum of 1.3.000 per month for a margin of profit.
JAPANESE VESSELS FOR HONG. KONG SERVICE.
A demand for Japanese vessels at Hong. kong markets till continuda brisk.
just found a new charterer at 814,000 per month for one year.
To the order of Tons class ILDING YARD. NAGASAKI- 4. N.Y.K. (3) Suzuki & Co. (!). 8,700 2 N.Y.K.
MITSUBISHI SKIVUILDING YAND, ROBE. 1,800
5.300
7,300
1 Mitsubishi (i. K.
INTIMATIONS
LANE
CRAWFORD&Co.
(ESTABLISHED 1850).
(TRLEPHONE 1741).
T HIGH-CLASS BRIAR PIPES
2 Tatsuma & Co.
KAWASAKI DOCKYARD CO., ROEK..
3. N.Y.K.
4,000
2 0.S.K.
3,000
1 NYK.
1,700
1 Mitsubishi G. K.
0
OSAKA IRON WORKS.
7,300
8 O.S.K.
5,000
31 B.K.
3,200
12 Tatsuma (3), MB.K. (2),
B
and ten others (each).
1,109
Chinglice Co.
GRAGA DOCK co.
4 Hokkaido Colliery S.S. Co
(1) and
three others
A
C
C
2,200
2,000
(each 1):
NAGATA SHIPAVILDING CO.
1 Matsuda (Hakodate). ARISIA SHIPREILDING YARD. 1.1001 Unknown. Moreover, the M.B.K. is contemplating to build two more cargo-boats of 6,000 tous class shortly. However, minor ship- owners and companies hesitate to order new vessels built, owing to a rise of the gust conséquent upon dearth of shipbuild.
from Great Britain.
The general lesson, should be under- stood in the West as it has been in Russia and Poland-namely, that Russian re
In addition to half a dozen of Japanese tirements before suddenly massed Ger- vessels recently chartored in that dfree man advanor at given points have little tion, the str. Nichiren Maru, 3,000 tons, far-reaching significance, as the enemyowned by Mr. K. Usui, of Dairen, hasing materials, which are chiefly imported gains are almost invariably made up a for weeks later by Russian resiliency. It is believed hero that, in their heart of At the same time, Kyushu coal between arts, the Germans know that they are Muji and Hongkong has been contracted already on the defensive, even if the as to be transported by the steamer at 13.15 pect of military operations would sug-per ton, which means an increase of
Y.1.05 per ton quoted last winter. gest a different view,
JAPAN-AUSTRALIAN SERVICE.
RUSSIANS RACER FOR BATTLË. ·
The German-perhaps I should say the Trussian-is a hard psychological nut to crack. When you are alone with him he is by no means aggressive; in fact, be. Impresses you as rather the contrary; ho seems simple, truthful as far as his knowledge go. But lot the moment he forms part of an organisation, however small-a gathering of perhaps four or five compatricts-his whole demeanour, bis entiro character. changes. Then it is The condition of the Russians on this Deutschland, Deutschland über Alles front has never been so good in every r Collectively, they are all men, women,
spect. Their moral is the highest I have and children-certain of victory. In-personally seen since the war started, and „dividualip-ke, among the educated they are engely waiting for fresh aeti
classes, and if you have been able to make vities. The troops are high-spirited and it clear that what Americans call "hot confident of surging forward with an ar air is unacceptable currency the Ger- donr to engage the en my which is almost - man will admit that perhaps the landing incredible when one considers that the of a German army carpis or two in Great war is in its ninth month. Every branch Britain" "might, owing to unforeseen of the Russian Bervice seems to hat ditheulties, have to be femporarily post proved steadily since August, and I am poned; but," he will invariably add, in a position to know, and to state with- "they can never throw us out of Belgiura. sut reservation, that on all this front Rus And with the present swift development sin to-day is infinitely stronger in all re of aircraft England is becoming less and spects than she has been at any time sinéc less un island."..
tile war began. In spite of the coming of spring and warm weather, the health of the Army has improved materially, and the sanitary conditions are far better than they were earlier. The authorities ara proving themselves quick to adopt modern methods in everything, and with- in the past month a general plean-up and improvement of conditions has been en- forced on this entire front. Probably it ik safo by assert that the soldiers here are An confident of ultimate victory as the Germans wore at the beginning of the cam paign, though this statement is naturally not capable of proof.
"HINDENBURG THE DĖLIVERER.' Another argument used in demonstrat- ing that Gormany quot lose is: We have one seventh of France-the best part --and practically all of Belgium What more do we need? We can sit tight there. Every yard of ground is strongly forti- fel, stronger than it ever was before. Trt the Allies try to turn us out! They cannot do it."
Hindenburg is a demi-god in Germany today. He is hailed as the deliverer of East Prussia, and every man has the fullest confidence in his genius and his ability to cope with the Russiane. It is believed in usually well-informed quar ters that the Russian offensive agzipst Germany is practically broken. Many are clamouring for Hindenburg to bi sent to the West, that the position there may be improved by the employment of the real "Hindenburg tactics.
Most people believe that Rusia will soon be ready for peace. Russin eliminated, the two other Allies will be dealt with fually. These ideas are not, as you might think, thore of the "Stammtisch** (club-table) strategist, but of serious minded Gormans, who follow events from day to day with the greatest care,
All eyes are directed towards the West. The hated English must be held in check at any est."? Thera is not a General Staff officer who does not admit that Germany has greatly underrated the strength and efficiency of the British Army-he usually goes on to insist that she has overrated the strength of the British Navy.
SOUNDING THE DEPTHS-
OF SPACE. MEASURING THE DISTÂNCES
OF THE STARS.
The steamer freights for cargo-boats on Australian servies have markedly risen
Mr. Henry Norris Russell, Professor of of late.
The str. Totoni Marz, which left Jayantime of the must conspicuous movements U
Astronomy, Princeton University, writes:- recently for Bydney, Melbourne, etc., the moment among American astronomers is carried on board matches and cats at the great increase in activity in the micaire- rates of 30 shillings and 60 shillings per ment of the distances of the stars Ten years ton respectively, which meant an increase age only two observatories, with relatively of about 20.50 per cent over the liner modest equipment, were working at this rates.
problem. Now it occupies two-thirds of the as large a part of that of lalf the other largo time of the great Yerkes telescopes and about telescopes in the country. The distances of perhaps two handed of the wearer stars. have already been measured with more or less accuracy. At the present inty, the num The Nippon Yusen Kaisha has notificaber will be raised to a thousand within a
decale. the shippers of the revised Japan-Europe freights for its auxiliary cargo-boats, taking effect from the str. Tokuyama Alar, which is expected to leave Kobe carly in June.
dearth of available cargo-boats and partly This flight of rates is partly due to to the difficulty of scraping up return
cargoes.
N.Y.K. EUROPEAN FREIGHTS FOR
AUXILIARY CARGO-BOATS.
The comparison of the Company's liner rates now in operation with the revised freights follows :—--
Fish oil Rapeseed oil. 50 Bean oil Flour
Revised rate. Liner rates. 50 shillings 32 x.” G d.
36.
50
368.
55-
36. H.
Linseed
70
31. Gd.
Barley
90
40 R.
Lumber
44 8.
50 €...
50s. 40 N
Beans Dat's Wheat.
Є0
All reports, on the other hand, indicate. that the German zenith of power on this. front was reached by the Hindenburg movement, and Warsaw is filled with rumours if the extremely unfavourable The above rates are considered, however, conditions in the German lines. It is by Japanese shippers as extortionate, and stated that rations have been reduced to some shippers Fave opened negotiations 12lb. of bread daily; na fresh meat with the N.Y.I for the reduction of the given, and premiums are offered to solsame, if possible, to the following diers who make their rations extend over
scale :--
To Authorities who are worthy one day.
of credit report that small batches of six and sight Germans are giving themselves up to the Russians, pleading bad food and a discouraging outlook.. Such statements, which should be taken cum grano salis, are mainly significant as circulating here for the first time. While the Germans are bitterly disappointed and dis illusioned hp their failure to secure any results on this front, they are still pre pared to offer a stubborn, courageous. and efficient r sistance which must not mitrimized. The constantly unfavour able conditions of the Austrians are n doubtedly draining the German troops on
Beans
Peas (Green) Floar Fish oil Vegetable oil
Rice Lumber Linseed
63 shillings
60
50
They further hoped that the Company's auxiliary vessels would regularly call at Marseilles, Liverpool, and Glasgow.
MORE VESSELS CHARTERED. A demand for Japanese cargo-boats is heard from Hongkong. As reported pre- viously, the Nietho Maru and kamagata
hearer stars? The answer emphasizes, fis What does the astronomer met by the nothing else can, the appalling emptiness of the ocean of space which surrounds us. If we should attempt to make a map-er rather a modeluf the positions of the nearer stars, on such a scale that the earth was one ch from the sun, the sun would be, representer
a small Esy grain of sand, 1-110 of an inch in flincter, while the earth would be a hundred
0
D
E
P
T
FROM
LOEWE, “MASTA
B. B. B.
PRESENTATION CASES.
CIGAR AND CIGARETTE HOLDERS
TOBACCO POUCHES.
DUTCH AND MANILA CIGARS. SMOKING MIXTURES AND
PLUG TOBACCOS,
EGYPTIAN AND VIRGINIAN CIGARETTES.
ALL WELL-KNOWN AND FOPULAR BRANDS KEPT IN STOCK.
LANE, CRAWFORD & CO.
PRINTING & BINDING
TOP EVERY DESCRIPTION EXECUTED AT THE OFFICES OF THE
smaller, and hardly bigger than a HONGKONG DAILY PRESS,"
microbe. The stars, too, would appear as
sand, soine as small as the min groins some larger, and a few as big as good sized shot and they would be scattered, through utterly empty space, so sparsely that distance from any one toits nearest neighbours would average about five miles. To describo much vast distances we need a new unit of measurement, and a convenient one is the listance which light, advancing stendily at the rate of 186,000 miles every second, traverses in a year. Such a light year" is almost exactly represented by one mile on the seale of our model,
(
Stars within thirty light years of the sunaro now regarded as our very near acighbours. Greater distances, up to a hundred light| years or so, can be measured with tolerable necuracy by direct observation. But the majority even of the brighter stars are cor- tainly far beyond this limit. We can esti- mate their average distance by means of their apparent chift across the heavens, which arises from the actun? motion of our. system in the opposite direction, and it found that airnost half of the stars visible to the naked eye' are more than 400 light years distant, while the majority of the telescopic stars of the tenth magnitude are over a thousand light years from us, and some of them are three or four times as remote.
WHICH ARE REPLETE WITH ALL THE LATEST AND MOST UP-TO-DATE APPLIANCES FOR THE PROMPT PRODUCTION OFF HIGH-CLASS WORK.
ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUES.
PRICE LISTS.
CIRCULARS.
BALL AND CONCERT PROGRAMMES.
INVITATION CARDS.
VISITING CARDS.
AND
COMMERCIAL
EXECUTED
STATIONERY
OF EVERY DESCRIPTION
WITH NEATNESS, ACCURACY AND
DESPATCH
this front, and there is a growing feeling Murn have been chartered by Hongkong There is clear evidence that at these great UNDER EXPERIENCED EUROPEAN SUPERVISION, AT REASONABLE
of apprehension in Germany on this ac count, as all the Germans sent to Austin
THE GERMAN GOLD FAILURE, are now regarded as dead and a perman-
int loss to this front. Warsaw is nearer to normal conditions than at any time since I first visited it..
merchants.
The following vessels have just found new charterers:-
Steamer Shoka Chejun Tomarhima Buropa 2 Kenkon 11. Takatori Akebono
Ryota
Gross. Tonnage. 2,622 1,7831
1,593
3,131
3,521
3,885 2.500
2,521
2,916
Humanitarians will be interested to know what is being done by the Russian authorities in their hospitals to prevent wounded soldiers from becoming a charge on their families as cripples. Hundrede of expensive artificial limbs costing £10
Kenkon. S each are being issued to all timbless sol
CHARTER MARKET. diers, while even privato soldiers are ro Driving the most up-to-data treatment
There are only a few vessels now left
· regardless of expense. Cases are common where they are receiving at Government exavailable for charter in the shipping pense solid gold for the repair of a broken circles of Japan. jaw and other material for making good shattered parts of bone.
INTERNED
GERMAN
One of the curious pointy in the mone tary position in Germany, says The Times, though it does not seem to be appr:ciated correctly by most of the commentators who have recorded week by week the increases in the Rechsbank's stock of gold, is the complete failure to reach anything like the amount of gold which was confdently expected a few months ngo. On April 18th the return of th Reichsbank showed a holding of under 118 millionė, us against 250 millions motos; whereas on December 24 its return showed 10 millions, as against 221 anillions in notes. In view of the dos- parato efforts made to obtain gold from every quarter, by hook or by crook, this andreass of only 13 millionis is remarkably
"AT" MANILA. small But it is even smaller than it looks, for in December, as we pointed out Plans are being made says a Manila at the time, the Grman Press and contemporary, to transfer the sixteen notably the Frankfurter Zeitung-was German steuners interned and now lying calculating with confidenc the off Malala beach to a safer anchorage a Reichsbank being able to draw in at least as to give thein protection from the storma 50 millions from circulation, and we fully that are to be expected with the approach- anticipated then that its holding would ing typhoon season. Unless other arrange Kumagate rise to 150 millions. Further, we have ments are made they will be towed over to Komagata every reason to believe that the Reichs-Cavite, where they will be under the pro- bank has taken gold from the Austro- tection of the naval authorities. Hungarian Bank, which held over; 50 These ships have discharged the most of millions before the war and has made no their crews and in the event of a storm Europa return since. No doubt a certain amount would not be in a position to weather the of gold has bon allowed to go abroad, but bad weather, as they would have to have Shigenoura probably not more than about 15 millions, steam up to keep themselves from being Among the highest banking authorities carried ashore by the strong tides; or London considerable scepticism exists as blown on to the breakwater,
Ca
distances the stars are more thinly sown in space, being two or three times as far apart PRICES. as in the region near the sun,
To sound the depths of space still further, yet another method is being employed. Certain stars which vary in brightness, owing to eclipses by fainter attendants, and others whose light undergoes regalar varia tjons of short period, have been suficiently studied to make it possible to estimate fairly. well their real brightness, which in some
BOOK-BINDING
IN ALL ITS BRANCHES.-
MACHINE-RULING, GOLD-LETTERING, MARBLING, ETO. EXECUTED ON THE PREMISES AT THE SHORTEST NOTICE. LAW WORK A SPECIALITY. LEDGERS AND ACCOUNT BOOKS.;
instances is hundreds of times that of tho son. By comparing this with their apparent brightness in the sky, their distances may bo derived. Studies by Hertzsprung of Potsdam and by the writer agree in showing that, in the plane of the Milky Way, the stars extend in all directions to a distance of at least eight or ten thousand light-years, unless indeed space is imperfectly tran- OFFER ESTABLISHMENT IN THE FAR EAST. sparent, and the faintness of these remote stars does not arise from their distance alone. At right angles to this plane, towards the
AT PRICES WHICH COMPARE FAVOURABLY WITH THOSE OF ANY
ESTIMATES FURNISHED.
In consequence, re-charter and day charter of vessels are the order of the day, the day charter rate being Y.600-050 per day for a vessel of 3.000 tons class.
Quite a fleet of lumber vessels have been regions of the sky which seem to us to be 10A, DES VŒUX SHIPS chartered for a single trip from Hokkaido much poorer in stars, things are otherwise to Newchwang, Dairen, Shanghai, etc.. The stars seem to thin out considerably at running 10-12 days. The 0.8.. str. 500 light years, and none are found more Kosku Aaru has been chartered at than 1600 light years from the central playe 7.19,000 for one round trip between Hok-which passes about 100 light years
south of kaido and Osaka for carrying lumber, the sun.
We may, The following vessoft have bean time.
therefore, conceive of our stellar chartered
system as a vast flattened layer of stars, with no sharp boundaries, but some two or three Charter Money
thousand light years thick and 6fteen thou Str:
sand or more in diameter-for in this direc tion no investigation seems yet to have
Kenkon
Toyo
to the accuracy of the Reichsbank returas,. The ships that will be transferred will about which German veracity is thought be the Sachen, Andalusia, Sueria, Camille to be no more likely than on other sub- Rickmers, Coblenz, Rajah, Elmshorn, Hudson jects; but the Reichsbank would hardly Carl Diedrichsen, Bochum, Long Thug, understate its actual gold stock, and its yeemoon, Sambia; Mark Tubingen, failure is all the more remarkable. Johanne and Esslingen.
fons. Per mouth. 1,850 Y.10,000 One year 4,140 9. s. per Six months
meas, ton (between Aus
tralia and Java) 5,750 1.23,800 Australian
service 2,000 Y. 5,200 To March,
1916 4,750 11. a. per From May to
mens, ton Juno, 1918. 3,650 Y. 9,000 Six mouths.
from next June 6,160 10 s. 6d. One round
per meas, trip between
Japan and ton
America
ROAD. HONGKONG.
FRENCH LESSONS
G. MOUSSION,
15. Mozrison HILL Boan.
ON SALE
[602
TONGKONG HANBARD REPORTS
of the MEETINGS of the
COUNCIL for
reached its limit. Beyond lies empty space, peopled perhaps by other systems remote from our own. Indeed, Hertzsprung estimates that the Smaller Magellanic Cloud--an iso late patch of ster dust in the southern heavens is at a distance of thirty thousand light years Possibly other remoter galaxies LEGISLATIVE may be visible to us among the still mystori. Sension: 1914,9 ous spiral nebulae. The great star cloud of which our sun is an inconspicanas member would be visible if space is clear-as & con- spicuous nebula, to eyes like ours, a million fight years away. Bat there is no one wha dares say as yet that anything viable in ou heavens is so far away, or even ten times lesi remote
RETIRAD BY THE MUMANOS.
PRICE
35.
DAILY FREES Oriak
Hongkong, 28th February, 1915.
the
ON SALE
TABLE OF THE
BATES OF EXCHANGE AT BOMBAY For Demand Drafta on London on the day of or preceding the departure of the English Mails; also Table of the Yearly Approximate Average for 26 years,
FROM 1874 To 1908.
PRICE
· 12 CABR.
On Sale at the Daily PE Office of Local Booknell.