The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-11-01
DISCUSS MERITS
OF SUBMARINES
Navy Officials Authorize State
ment Based on Results of
Present War.
WRONG IMPRESSION EXISTS
Disastrous to Abandon Other
Naval Construction for These
Little Boats.

WASHINGTON. October 3l.-Ever
since the sinking Of the British cruiser
Hawke by the German submarine T-9
IN the North Sea. the Navy Department
has hcen dclugcd with letters con-
tanning suggestions from individuals
all over the country for the improve
mcnt OF the submarine. and for a great
extension of it's usefulness. Satisfied
that most OF tho writer's of the COM
munications had acquired an eNag-
gcratcd idea OF the lighting abilities of
The submarine ana that there waa very
present danger of serious interference
with the naval building program and
perhaps an almost total suspension Of
the construction OF additional battle
ships if erroneous ideas obtain common
credence, the naval officials have been
trying to correct this fmprc ssicr They
have made ii a point to reply to each
of the letter writers. setting out. lin de-
tail the reasons whi. I'm the judgment
Of the department officials. IL would be
disastrous to abandon other naval con-
struction entirely I'm favor of tho sub
marine. and pointing the limitations
which surround these little boats
These arguments have been reduced
to form In the following statement.
which 1t may be said accurately repre-
sents tho views of the technical officers
or the navy In regard to the merits OF
the submarine.
The land operations of the war have
been so overwhelming: and the naval
conttctS so comparatively few that me
Importance OF the sea operations Of
the various nations is apt TO he los,
sight OF. 1t liz the brilliant feats which
strike the exc, the dash Of the British
against Helroland. the destruction Of
three cruisers by II German submarine.
rather than the slow bearing down by
sheer weight OF the allied fleet against
the whole German coast line.
CARRIES OFF HONORS.
but Is DISAPPOINTING
so far the submarine has carried
on the honors, and at the same time
has greatly disappointed it's admirers
in that II has not done more 1t was
freely predicted before the war that
the day OF the Drcadnought was
passed. that the submarine would drive
IL from the seas.
The destruction of the three British
cruisers. Hoguc, Greasy and Aboukir.
by the German submarine TO. ~and
later the sinking of the Hawke by the
same Submarine, was taken as proof
of the impotence OF surface craft.
Nevertbeless. the advocates OF sub
marines are beginning to evidence
signs of impaticnce at the paucity of
results. They realize chat there are
over 200 submarines In the navies of
the warning nations, and so far only
one has done anything. Not a Dread
nought has even been menaced The
cruisers which were struck were old,
hastily commissioned with naval re-
serve crews, two Of them were engaged
IN lowering boats ana picking up the
survivors OF the first when thv, 100
were torpedocd.
The loss OF these vessels has had
no more effect on the result of the war
than the reported capture OF a Ger
HpTOnlDna IRri cI,
NO one would seriously advocate sub
marines MS a proper We: .on to use
against aeroplanes. but 1t nevcrthe-
less. reported that an aerol lane which
had alighted on the water was cap
tured by n submarine which emerged
close at hand.
The ideal conditions for SUBJ
marine attack consist In finding the
enemy motionless i'm the water: then
and only then can the submarine hone
for success.
But even so the odds are against
the submarine II proper precautions are
taken, as shown by the actions of the
allied sea forces which have been she'll
ing the German flank for several days.
These vessels have been operating in
very restricted area for some time.
certainly sufficiently long for n group
OF submarines to proceed against them
from any German port. Their position
mas been known to everybody, and il
would appear an ideal chance for a few
submarines to either destroy them or
to drive them off. But nothing of the
sort has happened. These ships have
man flank, TO prevent their approach
to the coast and to enflade their
trenches for several miles inland. They
nre small vessels. of such low speed
that they could not escape from
submarine if attacked
BRITISH FLEET ABLE
TO PROTECT ITSELF
IF the submarine is all that it's adj
mirers believe. IL is Uncomfortable why
these vessels have been left to inter
fere SO seriously with the major OPERA
lions of the German army. The fact
that they have been so unmolested on
an open coast, testifes to the power OF
against all forms OF attack.
The war IS only at Its beginning yet,
and many lessons may be learned be
fore its finish, but so far nothing has
occurred to encourage the belief that
The submarine is supreme; on the con-
traIy 1t IS losing prestige daily. Many
factors tend to make the submarine
popular as means of defense-the
silence and mystery of it's movements.
the tremendous power of it's blows,
the almost limited field for imagination
among those who know least Of it's
powers and shortcomings. the always
human sympathy for the little fellow"
The David against Cioliath-all touch
chord in the popular fancy But the
hard facts demonstrated by three
months of war show that out of zoo
submarines operating in waters of very
restricted extent, the results accom-
Dlishcd have been practically nil. II
well behoovcs our Navy Department to
go slow about deciding to increase the
number of submarines ut the expense
of n reduced number of battlcships. The
possibility of finding n cheap means
II making war has strong fascina-
ton. but the teaching of history show
that the pursuit of such ideas have al
wa?s resulted in increased expense in
:he end