Cruiser "A"

Seldom has a more terrific tempest been brewed in any teapot than that which perturbed all Germany last week, when the Reichstag convened for its Winter Session. The question at issue transcended Cabinet lines. The chancellor, Socialist Hermann Mueller, would have to vote "Nein!" while his Defense Minister, Nationalist General Wilhelm Groener, would vote "Ja!" Portentously an awful rumor spread that President von Hindenburg was threatening to resign if the Reichstag went "Nein!" Old Paul von Hindenburg wanted a hearty "Ja!" because that would mean the appropriation of 85,000,000 gold marks ($20,000,000) to complete Cruiser A, the first warboat of 10,000 tons maximum size which Germany is permitted to build under the Treaty of Versailles. Fierce opposition to the measure came from the largest German party, Socialist, which is unalterably Pacifist. Therefore the chancellor of Germany, Socialist Mueller, dared not vote for Cruiser A.

Replying to Socialist arguments that no warboats would be as good as only one, Defense Minister Groener said, addressing the Reichstag dramatically in the present tense: "The armored Cruiser A is probably the most effective of its tonnage in the world.

"The vessel's guns reach twelve kilometers farther than those of our old first-line ships and fire thrice as fast per minute. The risk of its sinking has been materially reduced through a new kind of armor and a new division of bulkheads below the waterline. Its structural advantages are manifold Chief among them are, first, a great saving of weight through the use of light metals in all possible parts; second, weight saving through use of electrical method of welding its plates, doing away with all rivets. Through this alone we saved 550 tons.

"Cruiser A is capable of developing high speed which will enable it to avoid conflict with a superior force. It is vastly superior to the ordinary 10,000-ton cruisers and would be a dangerous adversary of a full-sized battleship. Its armament surpasses that of our old ships of the line."

Probably because Cruiser A is already in course of construction, the Reichstag voted 255 to 203 to complete the job. Instantly it began to seem incredible and silly that anyone had ever taken this teapot-tempest seriously or believed that Old Paul von Hindenburg might resign.

Defeated, as the Reichstag settled to business last week, was a freak bill presented by Deputies of the extreme and reckless Right. Its essence: "Germany shall discontinue Dawes Plan payments and use the money to build an Army and Navy adequate for the Fatherland's defense."