New York Times Current History: The European War from the Beginning to March 1915, Vol 1, No. 2 | Page 8

character of our
naval programme which," said the Chancellor, "cannot be emphasized
too frequently."
The German Foreign Office officially announced that "in his letter the
Emperor merely corrected certain erroneous views prevalent in
England regarding the development of the German fleet."
Readers are now in a position to judge for themselves the accuracy of
these statements. It should be remembered that the reduced navy
estimates of 1908-9 were followed by national alarm and the

publication of Admiral Lord Charles Beresford's shipbuilding
programme and large increase in estimates of the following year. Here
is the letter:
The Kaiser's Letter.
Berlin, 14th-2, 1908.
My Dear Lord Tweedmouth--May I intrude on your precious time and
ask for a few moments' attention to these lines I venture to submit to
you? I see by the daily papers and reviews that a battle royal is being
fought about the needs of the navy. I therefore venture to furnish you
with some information anent the German naval programme, which it
seems is being quoted by all parties to further their ends by trying to
frighten peaceable British taxpayers with it as a bogy.
During my last pleasant visit to your hospitable shores I tried to make
your authorities understand what the drift of German naval policy is,
but I am afraid that my explanations have been either misunderstood or
not believed, because I see "German danger" and "German challenge to
British naval supremacy" constantly quoted in different articles. This
phrase, if not repudiated or corrected, sown broadcast over the country
and daily dinned into British ears, might in the end create the most
deplorable results.
I therefore deem it advisable, as Admiral of the Fleet, to lay some facts
before you to enable you to see clearly that it is absolutely nonsensical
and untrue that the German naval bill is to provide a navy meant as a
challenge to British naval supremacy. The German fleet is built against
nobody at all; it is solely built for Germany's needs in relation with that
country's rapidly growing trade. The German naval bill was sanctioned
by the Imperial Parliament and published ten years ago, and may be
had at any large bookseller's. There is nothing surprising, secret, or
underhand in it, and every reader may study the whole course mapped
out for the development of the German Navy with the greatest ease.
Thirty to Forty Battleships in 1920.

The law is being adhered to, and provides for about thirty to forty ships
of the line in 1920. The number of ships fixed by the bill included the
fleet then actually in commission, notwithstanding its material being
already old and far surpassed by contemporary types. In 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