'TWENTY-FIVE years ago any. who hal ventured to pr friction between the United States and Germ sul have been looked upon much as the: inhabitants of Tyre and Silon must have looked on the prophet of the Testament. Even ten years ago there was little sign of antagonism. To-day it is by jn} means an encommon thing for jmewspapers in both the countries most interested to hint at, and sometimes even to discuss, the possibility of the two Powers coming to actual In England, the German and American fle-ts are' a'readly engaged in deadly conflier, fortunately only on the rubles ut Me. Fred Jane's I... is an interesting conflict, this mimic marine war, Everything: i done to mal auditions us like "the real thing" as possible, The players are experts of high standing in the British Navy, men whose skill in such a contest may not be without some influence on their future emer, Szcreey in naval affairs being.almost an impossibility, so fur as general strength, armament,.and disposition, of ships are concerned, we have; detailed lists of the forces I arrayed on either side. The theatre jof war is the world's sea surface. Wherever two ships may go, there possibly may be the scene of a conflict.
expected that Germany, profiting some slight superiority in strength twill act on the offensive, and that America, for atime at any rate, must portores content herself with a defensive role. The lists of vessels given brar..out this assumption, for, though in the higher classes battleships, cruisers, &., there is but one in favour of the European Power, her 54s anding against the Am n 53, th-re is a greater cliff-rence in the subordinate classes, nus Germany has 20 boats. of sorts against 17 for the States; she has 46 torpedo boats 24, and to offset the 8 royers, a type of vessel unknown in the American navy, The cause of the "War" is supposed to have been Germn action in Central America and the Philippines, a fact h shows that the game has been in operation some time, otherwise we might have expected Venezuela to be the bone of contention. 'I'he attitude of Great Britain and-Japan is: held to have resulted in the neutrality of all other. Powers, American inferiority in numbers is apparently counterbalanced to some extent by the greater radius which x superior oval capacity.gives her ships, and as things stand on paper the war ought to be of the most "sporting " contests ever entered upon.
To us in the Fur East the squadrons assigned to these waters, have a double interest, They are as fol-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.