GERMANY. 



253 



have been made with motor wagons for the trans- 

 port of food and ammunition and with balloons 

 tilled with hydrogen gas for use in fortresses. The 

 increase of the army on a peace footing for 1901 

 is 295 officers, 25 surgeons, 3,125 rank and file, 

 and 1,556 horses. 



The Navy. The naval programme sanctioned 

 by the Reichstag in 1898 provided for a fleet of 

 17 battle ships, besides 2 in reserve; 8 smaller 

 battle ships, already existing; 9 large and 26 small 

 cruisers, besides 3 large and 4 small ones as a 

 reserve. This was exclusive of the 8 torpedo gun- 

 boats, 19 gunboats, 35 first-class torpedo boats, 

 103 smaller torpedo boats, and various training 

 s.hips and vessels for special service that were in 

 existence. To complete the programme it was 

 necessary to build 7 new battle ships and 2 large 

 and 7 small cruisers before 1906, and the total 

 cost was estimated at 1,000,000,000 marks. There 

 were afloat at the beginning of 1900, of second- 

 class battle ships 8, and 6 were building; ,8 third- 

 class battle ships; 19 coast-defense vessels; 8 sec- 

 ond-class cruisers, and 2 were building; and 5 

 third-class cruisers. The programme of 1898 was 

 regarded at the time as fixing the final strength 

 of the navy, and no new vessels were to be built 

 excepting as they were required to replace the old 

 ones, which would, at the end of a certain period 

 determined for each class, be relegated to the re- 

 serve. The battle ships of the class of Kaiser 

 Friedrich der Dritte, launched in 1896, have a dis- 

 placement of 11,180 tons, llf inches of armor at 

 the water line, engines of 13,000 horse power, giv- 

 ing a speed of 18 knots, and an armament of 4 

 9.4-inch guns and 18 6-inch, 12 3.4-inch, and 18 

 small quick firers. Of this type are Kaiser Wilhelm 

 II, launched in 1897: Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, 

 launched in 1899; and the Kaiser and Deutsch- 

 land, yet to be built. A new ship has been built 

 on the plan of the Fiirst Bismarck, launched in 

 1897, of 10,650 tons, with 8-inch armor, 14,000 

 horse engines, a speed of 19 knots, and a battery 

 of 4 9.4-inch, 12 6-inch quick-firing, 10 3.4-inch 

 quick-firing, and 18 machine guns. Three new 

 ships of the larger class will have a displacement 

 of 12,000 tons, 12 inches of armor, the same steam- 

 ing capacity as the Deutschland, and the same 

 armament. A new type of cruiser is the Hertha 

 class, comprising also the Freya, Victoria Luise, 

 Vineta, Hansa, and two others not yet completed, 

 having a displacement of 5,650 tons, 4 inches of 

 deck armor, and an armament of quick-firing guns 

 2 8.2-inch, 8 6-inch, and 10 3.4-inch protected 

 by armor, with water-tube boilers, 10,000 horse 

 power, giving a speed of 18-1 knots. The German 

 cruisers have no woodwork, and guns are mounted 

 in every available part of the superstructure, 

 giving a remarkably heavy total energy of fire. 

 The small deck-protected cruisers Gazelle, Niobe, 

 and Nymphe, of 2,850 tons, with engines of 6.000 

 horse power making 19 knots, are armed with 

 10 4-inch quick-firers. 



A new naval programme practically doubling 

 the strength of the navy as previously fixed was 

 the chief subject of debate in the Reichstag session 

 of 1900. It proposed to increase the number of 

 battle ships from 19 to 38, the number of large 

 cruisers from 12 to 20, and the number of small 

 cruisers from 30 to 45. In the next sixteen years 

 3 large and 3 small ships are to be annually 

 placed on the stocks. In order to bring the fleet 

 intended for active service up to its full strength 

 as soon as possible the new vessels intended for 

 two new squadrons will be completed before the 

 ships in tlie reserve fleet are replaced by new 

 constructions. Each of the new squadrons will 

 consist of a flagship, 8 battle ships, 2 large and 



8 small cruisers for scouting purposes with* the 

 fleet when stationed in home waters, and 5 large 

 and 5 small cruisers for service on foreign sta- 

 tions. The reserve will be increased by 2 battle 

 ships, 1 large and 2 small cruisers. The monitors 

 of the Siegfried class will be replaced by battle 

 ships. The first two squadrons of the new navy 

 will form the fleet on active service and the third 

 and fourth squadrons will form the reserve fleet, 

 half of which, as well as the entire active fleet, 

 is to be kept in constant use. 



The personnel of the German fleet for 1900 con- 

 sisted of 1,118 executive officers, 1,119 warrant 

 officers, 142 surgeons, 5,193 petty officers, 18,079 

 seamen, and 1,000 boys. An increase of 33,746 

 men is calculated for the navy as it will be in 1920. 

 The increase provided for in the budget of 1901 is 

 91 officers, 11 surgeons, and 2,735 men. The vessels 

 to be placed on the stocks during the year are 2 

 battle ships, 1 large cruiser, and 2 small cruisers. 

 The naval estimates show an increase of 49,000.000 

 marks over the estimates of the preceding year. 



Commerce and Production. The production 

 of wheat in 1899 was 3,292,945 metric tons of 

 2,200 pounds; of rye, 7,532,706 tons; of barley, 

 2,514,024 tons; of oats, 5,780,699 tons; of buck- 

 wheat, 99,487 tons; of potatoes, 31,791,683 tons; 

 of hay, 21,971,628 tons; of sugar beets, 11,568,589 

 tons; of fodder beets and turnips, 10,502,608 tons; 

 of hops, 21,867 tons; of wine, 1,406,818 hectolitres. 

 The output of coal in 1898, according to the pro- 

 visional report, was 96,280,000 tons; of lignite, 

 31,648,500 tons; of iron ore, 15,893,200 tons; of zinc 

 ore, 641,700 tons; of lead ore, 151,600 tons; of 

 salt, 702,800 tons; of potassic salt, 2,208,900 tons; 

 of other mine products, 300,200 tons. The value 

 of all the mineral products was 939,000,000 marks. 

 The quantity of pig iron produced in 1897 was 

 6,881,466 tons; of zinc, 150,739 tons; of lead, 

 118,881 tons; of copper, 29,408 tons; of silver, 

 448 tons; of tin, 929 tons; of sulphur and sul- 

 phuric acid, 625,447 tons; of gold, 2,781 kilo- 

 grammes; of nickel, bismuth, vitriol, and other 

 products, 34,776 tons. The total value of foundry 

 products was 531,824,814 tons. The quantity of 

 manufactured iron made was 7,697,683 tons, val- 

 ued at 1,009,899,942 marks. The exports of fresh 

 fish in 1898 were valued at 6,600,000 marks, while 

 the imports were 28,600,000 marks, those of salt 

 herrings 35,700,000 marks, and those of other cured 

 fish 5,100,000 marks in value. There were 402 sugar 

 factories in 1898, which out of 13,697,892 tons of 

 beets produced 1,755,229 tons of raw sugar and 

 344,480 tons of molasses. The production of re- 

 fined sugar was 1,207.350 tons. From starch were 

 obtained 7,527 tons of sugar, 35,413 tons of sirup, 

 and 4,207 tons of coloring matter. The quantity 

 of beer brewed in 1898 was 66,423,000 hectolitres, 

 of which 16,982,000 hectolitres were brewed in 

 Bavaria, which has its own excise laws and for- 

 bids the use of any material but malt, hops, and 

 water. The quantity of alcohol produced in 60,779 

 distilleries was -3,288,000 hectolitres. 



The total value of the special imports in 1898 

 was 5,439.676,000 marks; of the special exports, 

 4,010,565,000 marks. The imports of live animals 

 were 182,169,000 marks in value, including 91,- 

 712,000 marks for horses and 5,961,000 marks for 

 hogs; exports of live animals, 20,872,000 marks; 

 imports of animal products were 150,508,000 marks, 

 and exports 32,622,000 marks; imports of articles 

 of consumption were 1,636,867,000 marks, and ex- 

 ports 483,227,000 marks; imports of seeds and 

 plants were 56,034,000 marks, and exports 34,- 

 080,000 marks; imports of fuel were 137,025,000 

 marks, and exports 209,578,000 marks; imports of 

 fats and oils were 271,140,000 marks, including 



