intestine than in the large. The reaction grew very faint toward the end of the intestine. The regions which are mostly the seat of fermentative processes failed to receive any benefit from the lactic acid bacilli. The latest contribution, that of A. H. Raehe, added evidence that the Bulgarian bacillus cannot adapt itself to the lower intestine of the human being. These investigations are important from the fact that not only sour milk of all kinds, but bacterial cultures, are used extensively by the American public with or without the advice of physicians. It seemed probable that the marvelous results attributed to sour milk in a wide variety of intestinal ailments might be due more to a change of diet and a partial deprivation from injurious foods, than to any specific action on the part of the bacillus itself. See also APPENDICITIS; HYGIENE; SURGERY; and TYPHOID FEVER.

BAHAMAS. The most northerly of the British West Indian colonies; a chain of about 20 inhabited islands and numerous islets and rocks. Total area, 44032 square miles; population (1911), 55,944 (of whom 13,554 in the island of New Providence). Nassau, or New Providence, is the capital. Sponges are the principal export (£110,740 in 1910, £148,319 in 1913). The other products for export include preserved fruits (£9219 in 1910, £6208 in 1913), pineapples, oranges, and grapefruit. Area planted to sisal in 1913, over 20,000 acres; export, 7,249,496 pounds, valued at £69,950.

Imports Exports

1909 1910 1912 1913 £343,489 £329,014 £358,111 £403,529 165,116 188,286 276,115 263 954 77,578 84,386 97,574 100,753 92,858 85,315 88,077 96,496

BANK CLEARING. See FINANCIAL RE

VIEW.

BANKS AND BANKING. The most striking feature of the banking history of 1915 was the marvelous strength shown by the banks of the United States. The fall of 1914 had been one of great uncertainty with possibilities of a banking panic. The obligations of America to various European countries for trade balances aggregated several hundred million dollars and envoys were sent to America to enforce collection. During the last seven months of the year gold exports exceeded $175,000,000; but American banks, mainly those at New York, formed a gold pool of $100,000,000 to meet immediately maturing obligations abroad and a cotton pool of $100,000,000 to assist southern farmers in carrying an enormous cotton crop. By combining resources a basis for $215,000,000 of clearing house certificates was secured, and before the completed organization of the Federal reserve system $384,000,000 of emergency The banks thus entered currency was put out. 1915 with the most critical demands already met. Early in the year clearing house certificates were retired and emergency circulation withdrawn. Gradually the improvement of trade resulted in an expansion of deposits and loans; confidence returned and banks in general experienced a profitable year. See AGRICULTURAL CREDIT; AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATION; BLUE SKY LAWS; FINANCIAL REVIEW; NATIONAL BANKS; STATE BANKS; SAVINGS BANKS.

was

According to reports of the Comptroller of the Currency there were on June 23, 1915, 27,064 banks in the United States of which 7605 were national, 14,598 State banks, 630 mutual

Revenue

Expenditure..

BALKAN STATES. See ALBANIA; GARIA; GREECE; MONTENEGRO; RUMANIA; SERBIA; and TURKEY.

ice as

BALLOONS. See AERONAUTICS. BANCROFT, WILLIAM H. American railroad official, died April 22, 1915. He was born in 1840 at Newberg, Ohio; was educated in the public schools there; entered the railroad serva telegraph operator on the Michigan Southern; and was afterwards employed in other capacities on other roads. Rising rapily, in 1862 he was appointed assistant superintendent of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fé Road; served as superintendent of other roads; and in 1890 was appointed general superintendent of the Mountain Division of the Union Pacific. From 1897 until his death he was vice-president and general manager of the Oregon Short Line. At different periods he served as general manager of the Union Pacific and the Southern Pacific railroads.

BANDBOX THEATRE. See DRAMA, AMERICAN AND ENGLISH.

loan and trust companies, and 1036 private banks. The aggregate resources of all of these institutions were $28,275,000,000, an increase of over $1,100,000,000 over June 30, 1914. Aggregate loans were $15,850,000,000.

laws LEGISLATION. Numerous regulating banking were enacted in the various States. State banks were authorized to join the Federal reserve system by various States. Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, and other States raised the requirements and increased the regulation of trust companies. Kansas enacted a law preventing a bank engaged in trade or commerce from investing in the stock of other banks or corporations, or dealing in their own shares unless to prevent loss on debts previously contracted. The guarantee of bank deposits was provided for in Indiana and South Dakota, thus evidencing the gradual growth of favor for this principle in Middle Western States. A general codification of banking laws was carried through in South Dakota; and general laws for the regulation of banks and the creation of a State Banking Department were enacted in Montana. In Indiana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Washington general laws regarding the incorporation of various kinds of banks and their regulation were enacted.

FEDERAL RESERVE SVSTEM. The first year of the Federal reserve system was completed Nov. 16, 1915. It should, however, be noted that the opening of reserve banks had been expedited on account of a temporary money stringency due to the war. The result was that the final details

of regulation for the conduct of the reserve banks were not issued until several months later. Moreover, so effective were the measures taken to prevent a collapse of credit and so phenomenal was the growth of business during 1915 that throughout nearly all of the year the money market was easy and there was a gradual retirement of emergency currency and clearing house certificates. Nevertheless the first year's operations produced numerous significant results and brought forward various plans for the extension of the services of the system. Among the accomplishments may be mentioned the following: there was considerable progress in the standardization of commercial paper, and along with that a standardization of discount rates by city banks owing to the rediscount rates published weekly by the reserve banks; new regulations regarding exercise of trustee and executor powers by banks placed a premium upon sound banking; a system of bankers acceptance business was begun; the first steps in the develop ment of a national system of clearances and check collection was inaugurated; and there was a considerable education of bankers and business men in essential principles of sound banking and credit. There was discussion, too, of the proposal to establish foreign branches, but at a session of the Federal Reserve Board on October 12th it was decided that the best policy was not to compete with member banks in the establishment of foreign branches, but to merely coöperate with and encourage member banks in such a policy. The National City Bank of New York had undertaken in 1914 and 1915 the establishment of branches in Latin America, and it was deemed unwise for the Federal reserve system to enter into competition in the same field. It was, however, deemed desirable to ask Congress for an amendment to the Federal Reserve Act which would enable American member banks to cooperate in establishing joint foreign agencies. This position of the Federal Reserve Board would not prevent them from establishing a joint agency for member banks in any foreign city where member banks had not themselves already established branches. In the fall Secretary of the Treasury McAdoo announced that the government would deposit $30,000,000 in gold in the Federal reserve banks of Atlanta, Dallas, and Richmond for the relief of cotton growers. The plan permitted Southern banks to draw upon this fund without interest for whatever amount planters would borrow on their cotton warehouse receipts, it being understood that the planters would be charged not more than 2 per cent in terest. This action was due in part to the placing of cotton on the contraband list by Great Britain. On November 24th Attorney-General Gregory rendered an opinion at the request of the Federal Reserve Board that under the Reserve Act the Board was given no authority to remove a reserve bank from the city in which it was ordinarily placed by the Organization Committee to another city of the district. Thus, for example, the Board could not remove the reserve bank of the Fifth Reserve District from Richmond to Baltimore.

FEDERAL RESERVE CLEARING SYSTEM. The Federal Reserve Act gave the Board authority to develop a system of clearances among member institutions. The first step in this direction was the inauguration of a plan of intra-district clearing. By this plan each reserve bank under

took to serve as a clearing house for all member institutions, thus greatly facilitating settlements between banks within each district. The second step was the establishment of the Gold Settlement Fund, the completion of preliminary arrangements for which was announced on April 7th. This fund was to be created by deposits in gold by the 12 reserve banks to be held at Washington and used in liquidating balances among themselves. The deposit of each bank would be counted as part of its reserve. Thus the Federal Reserve Board at Washington would serve as a clearing house for the 12 reserve banks. Two other steps in the development of a completed system of national clearances were contemplated. If the plan for intra-district settlements should prove successful there would be developed a plan for inter-district settlements whereby the member banks of one district could settle claims against those of other districts. The final step taken was the creation of a "par list," or a list of banks, checks upon which would be collectible without exchange. While enrollment on such a list would be voluntary, it was believed that the competitive advantage of such enrollment would induce banks to join in the plan. It was believed, too, by many that these steps in the development of a clearance system would virtually introduce the fundamental principles of a central bank.

RESERVE SYSTEM AND THE TRUST COMPANIES. The Federal Reserve Act gave the Reserve Board authority to grant national banks the privilege of transacting a trust business or exercising the functions of trustee, executor, administrator, and registrar of stocks and bonds, when such action was not in violation of State law. The object of this provision was to maintain an equality of banking privileges between national and State banks, the latter being admitted to the reserve system on the same conditions as national banks. On February 15th the Board issued a statement of conditions under which national banks would be given trust company privileges, and numerous applications were soon filed. In some States the State banks and trust companies fearing the competition of national banks at once sought to induce State authorities to prevent the exercise of the new privileges. Several State Legislatures were persuaded to prohibit trust functions to national banks; while several others in the West and Middle West expressly authorized national banks to exercise the new functions. The trust companies further sought judicial opinion to sustain their view and arranged to bring to test the constitutionality of this provision of the Reserve

Act.

STATE BANKS AND THE RESERVE SYSTEM. Early in the summer the Reserve Board issued a statement of the regulations under which State banks might enter the system. These permitted the withdrawal of State banks that had become members; and permitted State banks becoming members to continue to exercise their statutory and charter rights. Thus they could continue to make loans on real estate, a privilege not permitted national banks. Admission is at the discretion of the Reserve Board, and only strong institutions are to be taken in. Reliance as to their condition will be very largely placed in State examinations so as to avoid unnecessary expense and duplicate examiners.

STATISTICS. The resources of the 12 Federal

Reserve Banks on Dec. 24, 1915, aggregated $490,808,000. In this were included gold reserves of $347,381,000, and bills discounted and bought $54,421,000. The liabilities included capital paid in amounting to $54,901,000, reserve deposits of $398,603,000; government deposits of $15,000,000; and reserve notes in circulation of $14,670,000.

BAPTISTS. Statistics of the Baptists in the United States in 1915, according to the American Baptist Year Book for that year, give the total number of 5,932,364, as compared with 5,799,253 for 1914. The total number in the world, according to the same authority, was 7,003,737 in 1915, as compared with 6.846,286 in 1914. There were in the United States in 1915, 2000 Baptist associations, 52,410 churches, and 37,371 ordained ministers. The Baptists in the United States are divided into two main, and a number of smaller branches. The two main branches are known as the regular Baptists, and include the Northern and Southern Baptists. The Northern Baptists had in 1914, 1,291,668 communicants, 9534 churches, and 8250 ministers. The Southern Baptists had in 1914, 2,522,623 communicants, 24,288 churches, and 14,909 ministers. The larger of the smaller subdivisions are the Primitive Baptists, with about 100,000 communicants; the Free Baptists (see below); the Free Will Baptists, with about 60,000 communicants; and the General Baptists, with about 34, 000 communicants. The denomination has a large colored membership in the South. There were, in 1915, about 2,000,000 communicants in the regular colored Baptist denomination. There are in addition several smaller divisions of the colored Baptists. The general work of the larger denominations is in the hands of the Northern Baptists' Convention, and the Southern Baptists' Convention. The meeting of the Northern Baptists' Convention was held at Los Angeles, Cal., in May. The Southern Baptists' Convention was also held in May. The missionary work of the denomination is conducted by the American Baptist Foreign Missionary Society and the American Baptist Home Missionary Society. Missions are maintained in practically all quarters of the globe. For foreign missions there were contributed in 1915, $1,231,664, as compared with $1,206,202 in 1914; for home missions, $965,698, as compared with $959,557 in 1914; and for State missions, $1,059,914, as compared with $993,893 in 1914. The total contributions for all purposes in 1915 amounted to $29,043,181, as compared with $27,549,711 in 1914. The Baptists maintain 14 theological seminaries and have under their control 100 academies, colleges, and universities. There were, in 1915, 42,769 Sunday schools, with 325,475 officers and teachers, and 3,288,992 scholars. The Sunday school work and the publication work is done through the Sunday school board. For an account of the movement to unite the Baptists and Free Baptists, see BAPTISTS, FREE. BAPTISTS, FREE. The union between this denomination and the regular Baptist denomination is for practical purposes completed. The union of State organizations has been almost entirely accomplished in most of the States. In some cases the designation United Baptist is made. The union between the denominations was inaugurated in October, 1911, by the transference on the part of the Free Baptists of their missionary and denominational activities to the

three national mission organizations of the Baptists, the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, the American Baptist Home Mission Society, and the American Baptist Publishing Society. No statistics of the present membership of the denomination are available.

BAR ASSOCIATION, AMERICAN. The annual meeting of the association in 1915 was held in Salt Lake City, August 17th-19th. In connection with the meeting was held a conference of the commissioners on State laws. The American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology held its seventh annual meeting in connection with the association. Several distinguished South American jurists were present, and delivered addresses. The various committees of the association made reports, and the President, W. Meldrim, delivered the annual address, including with it a summary of the most important legislative enactments made in the State Legislature in 1915. Addresses were also made by Hon. Joseph W. Bailey, Hon. Simeon E. Baldwin, Felix Frankfurter, and other well known authorities. The following officers were elected: President, Elihu Root; Secretary, George Whitelock; Treasurer, Frederick Wadhams. The membership of the association in 1915 was about 10,000. BARBADOS. The most easterly of the Caribbean Islands; a British colony. Its area is 166 square miles, and its population (1911), 171,892. The withdrawal of many laborers from the colony to the Canal Zone, together with emigration to Pará (Brazil) and the United States, accounts for the decrease in population since 1891, when it was 182,306. Bridgetown is the capital, with 16,648 inhabitants in 1911. The area under sugar-cane, the island's most important product, is estimated at 64,000 acres. There were in operation 320 sugar works in 1913, producing 9939 tons of sugar and 82,600 puncheons of molasses. The export of cotton to Great Britain in 1913 was 433,099 pounds, valued at £28,460. In the following table, imports, exports, and shipping are for the calendar years named; revenue and expenditure for the fiscal years.

Customs revenue (1913-14), £125,478. Public debt (March 31, 1913), £436,900 (sinking fund, £113,340). Acting Governor in 1914, W. L. C. Phillips.

BARD, THOMAS ROBERT. American public official, former United States Senator to California, died March 5, 1915. He was born in Chambersburg, Pa., in 1848; received an academic education; studied law, but did not practice. He was engaged as transportation agent for the Cumberland Valley Railroad at Hagerstown, Md., in 1861. While in Maryland, he took an active part in a political campaign to prevent the secession of that State. On several occasions he acted as a Union scout. In 1865 Thomas A. Scott, then Assistant Secretary of War, and later president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, sent Bard to Southern California to

take care of his lands there. In California, Bard settled permanently in Hueneme, Ventura County, and in 1867 was elected to the Board of Supervisors. He filled other offices, and was elected to the United States Senate in 1900, serving until 1905.

BARKER, GRANVILLE. See DRAMA, AMERI CAN AND ENGLISH.

BARLEY. Weather conditions of 1915 were generally favorable to the growth of the barley crop, especially in the principal producing countries, and while the area devoted to the crop as indicated by the data available was about the same as in the previous year the total production of the Northern Hemisphere was consider ably higher than in 1914. According to an estimate by the International Institute of Agriculture the total production of the Northern Hemisphere, where, as shown by the average yield of the last five years, over 99 per cent of the world's barley is produced, amounted to 1,580,000,000 bushels. This yield was 13.2 per cent superior to the preceding year's production and 9 per cent above the average production for the last five years. This estimate was based on official data to the extent of 69 per cent, while the production of non-reporting countries was assumed to be the same as the average for the last four or five years. Taking the average of the quantities available during the last five years as a basis, the supply of barley produced in 1915 was regarded as ample to meet the requirements for consumption in 1915-16. The average annual value of barley and malt carried in international trade is estimated at $220,000,000.

North America produced in 1915 about one quarter of the world's barley crop. Canada produced 50,868,000 bushels on 1,509,350 acres, an average per acre of 33.70 bushels. The United States produced 237,009,000 bushels, as estimated by the United States Department of Agriculture, on 7,395,000 acres, the average yield being 32 bushels per acre. Neither the total production nor the average yield per acre had ever been exceeded. The production was over 40,000,000 bushels greater than in 1914 and over 55,000,000 bushels in excess of the average for the five years 1909-13, and the average acre yield was over nine bushels greater than the average acre yield for this same period. The total farm value based on the average price per bushel, December 1st, and estimated at $122,499,000, was exceeded by the value of the crop of 1911, when the price per bushel was 86.9 cents as compared with 51.7 cents on December 1st of the past year. According to an inquiry made by the United States Department of Agriculture, about 7,432,000 tons of barley straw are produced in the United States annually, and of this quantity about 60 per cent is fed to stock, 13.3 per cent is burned, 3.6 per cent sold off the farm, and 11.5 per cent plowed under.

BAROTSELAND. See RHODESIA. BARREL, STANDARD. See AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATION.

one for the owners in practically every league. Players were drawing exorbitant salaries, the fans were growing luke-warm, and gate receipts all over the country were rapidly decreasing.

The baseball magnates realized that something must be done and done quickly or financial ruin would be their portion. Informal conferences were held in various cities between the representatives of the Federal League, the trouble-maker, and the officials of so-called "organized ball," or the National and American leagues. The "peace treaty" was signed in Cincinnati, in December, although a few minor details were left for future discussion and settlement. By the terms of the agreement the Federal League passed out of existence, but some of the club owners in that organization were permitted to buy franchises in the older leagues.

The sensational feature of the year as far as the sport itself was concerned was furnished by the Philadelphia National League team led by Pat Moran. This club had been disrupted by the desertion of several of its stars to the Federal League, the year before, and in the opinion of the experts at the opening of the season could only be regarded as a tail-end team.

To the surprise of the fans and critics, however, the Phillies got off to a good start and soon built up a lead which the other clubs found it impossible to overcome. The Brooklyn Superbas made a game fight for first honors, but one disappointing Western trip in which they lost two-thirds of their games put them out of the running and the Phillies breezed through to their first pennant.

The excellent showing of the Philadelphia team was chiefly due to the consistent pitching of Alexander, the heavy hitting of Cravath and Luderus, and the sensational playing of young Bancroft at shortstop.

The American League race was the poorest in the history of that organization. At the beginning of the season it was generally conceded that only three teams had a chance for the pennant-Boston, Detroit, and Chicago-and it was in this order that these clubs finished at the top. The White Sox led the way for two months only to be overhauled by the Tigers and Red Sox in the stretch.

The battle between the Tigers and Red Sox for first place furnished little excitement. Detroit had the heavier "artillery," but Boston more than offset this with the strength of its pitching staff.

The contest for the laurels in the Federal League was much closer than in either of the two older bodies. Chicago, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh came down to the last two weeks of play neck and neck, the Whales finally capturing the flag by a one-point margin. The Federal League challenged the American and National league pennant winners to play games for the world's championship, but organized ball turned down the defi.

BARTONELLA. See OROYA FEVER. BASEBALL. The year 1915 saw the end of the baseball war which was started the year previous and which threatened to deal a severe blow to the popularity of the national game. Talk of peace began immediately after the close of the season, which had been a most disastrous

ton for the American League. The Red Sox were the natural favorites, the only hope of the Phillies resting in the batting of Cravath and Luderus and the pitching of the great Alexander. These men, save for Luderus, failed to come up to expectations and the well-balanced Boston team had a walkover, winning four of the five games played.

The scores of these contests follow: Boston, 1, Philadelphia, 3; Boston, 2, Philadelphia, 1; Boston, 2, Philadelphia, 1; Boston, 2, Philadelphia, 1; Boston, 5, Philadelphia, 4.

The composite score of the five games gave Boston a batting average of .264 and a fielding average of 980 as against a batting average of .182 for Philadelphia and a fielding average of .981. The paid attendance was 143,351 and the receipts, $320,361.50. Each winning player's share was $3780.25 and each losing player received $2520.17.

The leading batter in the National League was Larry Doyle of the Giants, who had an average of .320. Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers once again showed the way in the American League with an average of 370. Benny Kauff of the Brooklyn Tip Tops excelled with the stick in the Federal League.

Walter Johnson was the best pitcher in the American League, while in the National League Alexander of the Phillies gained the honors.

The final standing of the clubs in the National League was: Philadelphia won 90, lost 62; Boston won 83, lost 69; Brooklyn won 80, lost 72; Chicago won 73, lost 80; Pittsburgh won 73, lost 81; St. Louis won 72, lost 81; Cincinnati won 71, lost 83; New York won 69, lost 83.

The American League standing was: Boston won 101, lost 50; Detroit won 100, lost 54; Chicago won 93, lost 61; Washington won 85, lost 68; New York won 69, lost 83; St. Louis won 63, lost 91; Cleveland won 57, lost 95; Philadelphia won 43, lost 100.

The Federal League standing was: Chicago won 86, lost 66; St. Louis won 87, lost 67; Pittsburgh won 86, lost 67; Kansas City won 81, lost 72; Newark won 80, lost 72; Buffalo won 74, lost 78; Brooklyn won 70, lost 82; Baltimore won 47, lost 107.

The pennant winners in the more important minor leagues were: International, Buffalo; American Association, Minneapolis; Southern Association, New Orleans; New England, Portland; Western, Des Moines; New York State, Binghamton; Amateur, Englewood.

In college baseball Harvard, West Point, Tufts, and Brown made the best showing. Harvard won its two important series with Yale and Princeton and broke even with Brown. During the entire season Harvard won 19 games and lost only 4. The record of other leading college nines follows: Tufts won 18, lost 2; West Point won 18, lost 3; Syracuse won 18, lost 4; Brown won 17, lost 4; Lehigh won 13, lost 5; Annapolis won 16, lost 7; Columbia won 13, lost 6; Yale won 16, lost 8; Princeton won 18, lost 11; Amherst won 10, lost 9; Cornell won 12, lost 12.

BASKETBALL. The American intercollegiate basketball championship was won by Yale with nine victories and two defeats. The standing of the other teams in the league was: Cornell won 7, lost 3; Princeton won 6, lost 4; Columbia won 6, lost 4; Pennsylvania won 3, lost 7; Dartmouth won 0, lost 10. The Illinois five captured the title in the Middle Western Conference League with 11 victories and no defeats. Chicago finished second with 8 games won and 3 games lost.

The championship of the Amateur Athletic Union went to the Olympic Club team of San Francisco which defeated Whittier College of

California in the final game by a score of 29 to 16.

BATES, LINDON, JR. American engineer, died May 8, 1915. He was born in Portland, Oreg., in 1883, the son of Lindon Wallace Bates, an engineer of wide reputation. Lindon Bates, Jr., was educated at Harrow, England, and at Yale University. He graduated from the latter in 1902, at once entering engineering work as vice-president to the Bates Engineering Company. He was consulting engineer for many important companies in the United States and foreign countries. In 1896 he traveled extensively in Europe, and in 1900 made an exploring expedition to the islands north of Hudson Bay. Panama, Siberia, Mongolia, Venezuela, and Brazil were also known to him as a traveler. He took an active interest in political and economic matters; was responsible for reforms in the civil service; and interested himself in direct nominations and employers' liability bills. Of the four engineers appointed by Mayor McClellan to report on a Catskill Aqueduct tunnel he was one. Two of the engineering works with which he was connected were the Galveston Sea Wall and the New York Barge Canal. His published writings include: The Loss of Water in New York's Distribution System (1909), The Russian Road to China (1910), The Path of the Conquistadores (1912). He also contributed on technical and economic subjects to many magazines.

the

BATTLESHIPS. The operations of great war in progress in 1915 indicated during the year very little as to the requirements of battleships, for there had been no battleship actions. The battle cruiser had been definitely accepted and the armored cruiser as definitely rejected. In 1914 Rear-Admiral Sir Percy Scott of the British navy declared that "Submarines have done away with the utility of surface ships" (see YEAR BOOK for 1914, p. 92). This statement was still far from being proved. The defense against the submarine was improving rapidly-apparently much faster than the submarine itself. One point seemed quite definitely established: if a large vessel is accompanied by an adequate screen of destroyers, she is comparatively safe against the German short-range torpedo. At longer range, the submarine may have a chance, but her torpedo must be larger or carry a smaller explosive charge.

Except in the United States there was certainly a tendency to higher speed in battleships, though France and Austria were in doubt. Elsewhere the speed of the slowest battleship under consideration is 22.5 knots. The size of the heavy gun for the new ships remained as before 15 inches in England, Germany, and Italy, 14 inches in the United States, Austria, and Japan, 13.4 inches in France, and 12 inches in Russia. As Russia had laid down no capital ships for some years, there was no proof that her ideas had not changed. Italy, France, Great Britain, Austria, and the United States laid down new battleships during 1915, the displacement tonnage being given in the YEAR BOOK for 1914. The exact details of these vessels (except the American ships) will not be officially known until after the close of the war as such information is guarded carefully by the belligerents. In Russia, so far as known, no new battleships had been commenced. Since it was unlikely that they could be finished before the end of the war, no battleships not well advanced at the end of the