South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-09-03
BRITAIN PATROLS
ATLANTIC COAST
Cruisers Are Policemen and
Naval Bases Are the Stations
in Carefully Planned SCherie
Now Being Executed.

NEW YORK. Sept. with hostile
warships prowling about. Great
Britain has brought into action a care
fully planned police patrol of the At
lantic ocean. Cruisers are the police
men and the naval bases are the
police stations.
The scheme had been tried out in
maneuvers and now many indications
show it is working almost perfectly.
depending on this the British admiral
t. has announced the Atlantic is safe
TO neutral merchantmen and those
friendly TO Great Britain.
The British plan calls for ten first
class cruisers on the main ocean
routes between ports OF America and
the united kingdom. Nine of these
are reported as on duty the Suffolk.
Berwick. Bristol. Good Hope. drake,
Essex. AbOukir, Euryahus and Lam
caster. 1t is thought the cruiser
Cornwall is the tenth.
Naval men who have studied the re-
ports of sighting British fighting ships
believe the cruisers on patrol are
stretched over a course passing north
from the Bahamas TO Bermuda,
thence to off Cape Hatteras, thence
past New York TO Nantucket Shoals
and thence to the Grand Banks and
finally the Irish coasts.
The naval bases depended upon for
coal and provisions are ST Lucia, and
Barbados in the West Indies. Bermu-
da, Halifax and st. Johns. Newfound-
land.
The cruisers range from 5000 to
$4,000 tons in size and at far speed
can steam two weeks at a stretch.
The British admiralty weighed care
fully advantages Of conveys for mer-
chant craft and a trade route partol
before deciding on the latter.
Place Station Ships.
In recent maneuvers the British
placed so-called station ships on a
trade route at 500 mile intervals.
These ships were directed 10 be on a
specified meridian each day They
changed position daily, but the exact
locality for each day was known to all
other vessels in the patrol by pre-
concert. The station vessels cruised
over regular police beats. In this way.
merchant vessels could be passed from
one station ship to another.
Ii is this scheme which now. ac-
cOrding Othe best information in
shipping circles here. is being carried
out. There were 10 be smaller or
intermediary vessels between the larg-
ish do not appear to have been able
to spare more than the nine cruisers.
which does not allow for any reserve
after assigning for the New York to
Ireland and the Bermuda to West In
dies routes.
1t is a coincidence perhaps, that
during the war of 1912 the first Brit
ish naval fleet on the American coast
consisted of five ships of war. namely,
he no fri 11o
the Guerrero and the Belvidere. II
was this force which attempted to
overhaul the constitution on the New
Jersey coast. The above five British
vessels were patTOlling on the North
American trade route. using Halifax
as a base. and were only brought to-
gether in consequence of Commodore
Rodgers taking the sea With five
American vessels. namely. the Presi-
dent. the United States. the Congress,
the Hornet and the Argus. In self
defense the British cruisers were COM
PEELED TO concentrate. and in one in
stance the British force conveyed a
large feet of English merchantmen
900 miles off the American coast
The presence of the British feet off
New Jersey. when the constitution was
trying to get into New York was oc-
casiOned by Broke. the British flag of
Wireless is Aid.
TIE wireless telegraph renders it un-
necessary for a cruiser TO actually run
down TO a merchant craft SO long
as the latter is in communication with
the station vessel, she has the means
for calling for assistance should the
necessity arise.
The presence Of the Suffolk off New
York is regarded as thoroughly in
keeping with the lessons British cruis-
ers learned i nthe past. namely that
it is more advisable to lie in wait for
the enemy's merchant craft at the
point Of departure than at the sup
posed point of arrival So long as
British cruisers lie off the port OF New
York il will be hazardous work for
German steamship TO attempt a run
out The fact that such patrol ex-
lists practically ties up every German
craft now in this harbor until ;he ces-
satiOn Of the war
OUR FORTY THIRD.