The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-11-28

receipts TO the tune 81 tCo. OOo 900 francs
$50 90, oO0) q year would be lost 10 the
Government when money WA most
needed. Food would sOon run short,
oil the more 81 ~, the men being in the
field, the country would be thrown more
and moro on oversee sourC,s for its
supply. The final disaster would come
when the German battl'~hips and
cruisers would break through the sub
marine line Of defence and capture some
port. With such base If operations a
second German army would bc launched
on French territory. II might be only
an expedItinnnry force, IA flying col
nmn, but it would spread panic through
the population, and IL would upset all
military plans and calculations by COM
pelling the diversion of troops from tho
main line of defence 20 repel the new
invaders
The alarming picture II accepted in all
lts details Ia n strong enough argument
for command OF the ocean, ut least
Of the German Ocean. bur there is n
clincher 10 the argument. All thus and
more too could we do TO tho enemy il
We had the dominating sea power,
saws tho Nice-Admiral. and We must
get into condition 20 do IT, 10 il tho
surest road to victory Ont of thirteen
Germans, no goes on. only one takes tho
field in case OF war. The twelve others
are engaged IN industry. The raw ma
terial for that industry comes largely
from abroad vast part OF the food
supply for fighters ana workers alike
must also come from without. lmporta-
tions TO the amount of a milliard $780,
600 .oOo> are necessary TO keep the coun-
try active. Millions OF Germans live on
the products Of other lands, and their
number grows ceaselessly. The prod
ucts bought abroad are paid for with
manufactured goods exported.
Here is the opportunity " France.
Russia will not feed the enemy Of her
ally; perhaps she will be at war with
Germany too. Austria will have her
own troubles. She will be at war as well
a Germany and will have no food 20
spare. IL. then. France has control Of
the seas she can strike nj the very vitals
Of her enemy: she can make the trs-
mendous German army relatively in
nocuous by debriving it Of support in
money and material. II is not even i'm
possible that she might land tho expe-
dictionary force. Cities near the sea
might be laid under contribution. Might
there not be even dash for b. rim
OF course the first answer that the
anti-naval faction makes to this line Of
theorizing il that the war W hen il comes
is not likely 10 last long enough for any
of the plans To mature Before France
could establish an undisputed patrol Of
the Baltic and North Sea coasts the
contest would have been settled one
way or the other along the borders Of
AlsaCe-Lorraine. Not 80. say the naval
advocates. Nobody imagiuas that il
the war goes in favor Of France the ad-
vance will be- ANYTHING but slow. Ger
many Will put every man IN IN" field tn
repel invasion. ON the other hand 1t
would Ice absurd 10 look for such dis
asters as thOss of Sedan and Metz 10
break down fTenc resistance suddenly.
The defensive system nf Notifications
between the new frontier and Paris ~
such a. To enable the French army. even
though IFS inferinrifv IN numbers should
prove the determining factor Of IT,"
10 keep M IT." fight and fully
tax the German strength for months il
not wears. while til. aggressive cam
paign was wag.'i ar sea and Germany
gradually forced into n p"so" not nm
favorable 20 France through exhaustion
II not by defeat IN pito he'd battle.