Calvin Goveia Professor Dr Doug Flamming Newspaper Project#1 Spring 2012 The major headline that caught my attention

was the sinking of the German cruiser Dresden on the 29th of March 1915.The Dresden was part of the Kaisers East Asia Squadron based in Tsingtao. Within just two months of patrol duty, this entire German overseas squadron with a crew of 2,200 men was sunk. Only two cruisers escaped the demise of their fleet, the Dresden and the Emden. Churchill ,who was then the First Lord of the Admiralty set a bounty on them, making them the most hunted ships on the Seven Seas. The German government after the sinking of the cruiser a week earlier, gave out an official statement to the Kaisers subjects that the German cruiser had sank off the Chilean Island of Juan Fernandez in an area which the German High Seas Fleet claimed to be International waters. According to official statements by the British Grand Fleet, the two cruizers responsible for sinking the Dresden was the Glasgow ,Kent as well as the auxiliary cruiser Orama. After the first shot was fired, the German Officer protested against the British actions as contrary to war protocol. The German Government cried foul over this issue since the Dresden was in a neutral Port with her engines disabled, without coal and ammunition and practically unable to defend herself. The Chilean government voiced its contempt against the actions of the British Admiralty, for violating the sovereign rights of neutral states. The actions of the British they said are against Great Britains claimed principles of standing up for the weak nations and selfishly protecting the sea-trade routes all around the world. The paper towards the end of the article highlighted the fact that the United States was not pleased with the whole incident as it occurred in an area the United States considers its own backyard. During the time of its sinking the Dresden had become something of a legend ,successfully evading multiple British patrols .Therefore, it was imperative the Churchill make every effort to achieve the ships sinking.

The historical significance of the sinking of the Dresden marked the end of Imperial Germanys dreams of trying to be a world power with colonies in Asia and Africa.More importantly however,the

destruction of the East Asia squadron marked a significant turning point in the course of world war one.For Germany it was vital that she kept the sea lanes open since it was a land power with enemies on all sides on the continent of Europe. The German High Seas fleet which was stationed in the North Sea German ports was effectively bottled up in its bases by the British Grand fleet anchored off Scapa Flow. The German Navy was not able to protect its merchant fleet from Allied Naval attacks. Only the East Asia squadron consisting of armored and light cruisers could effectively protect german merchant ships in the form of a convoy system. The destruction of the East Asia Squadron at the battle of the Falklands on December 8th 1914 put an end to Germanys ability to engage in commerce with neutral nations most noticeably The United States. Since the early 18th century, trade blockades had been a vital coercive element that the empire of Great Britain used to subdue its enemies on the European during periods of war. This policy was again used to starve Germany into capitulation and the strategy was working. The 'hunger blockade', was a war of attrition that lasted until Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919.To counter this crippling blockade the German Navy used U-boats to combat British shipping.However, Germanys desparate action of unrestricted submarine warfare resulted in world opinion particular in the U.S. turning against them. With the loss of surface vessels like the Dresden Germanys merchant fleet could not engage in trading with other nations that had large German immigrants like the U.S. and Chile resulting in thousands of Germans going hungry as early as 1915

There is a plethora of fascinating facts in the newspaper.One of them being an advertisement of a product called Dr Bells Pine-Tar Honey.The advertisement insisted that the mixture of pine,tar and honey will bring an instant relieve to all sore-throat ailments. It can be said that during the time when there were no government regulatory organizations like the FDA or regulatory laws and regulations people all over the United States concocted a huge number of chemical portions to cure the gambit of ailments during that time period.Many of these products were scams which no Government seemed to prevent during the period reflecting the attitude that small government with a near minimum of regulatory policies was the best way to govern the country.