Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1915-08-18

yet It Is but the story of the silent
force' of sea power. when fifty han
died. In all ages.
First, while a Franco-English sea
force has made the Mediterranean a n
allied lake. the British battle fleet a
Kept not only England. but the north
ern coast Of France from invasion. In
deed, from the beginning, those silent
ships have been the dominating factor.
strateRically. IT, the western theater CT
war. The London Times says, with full
| warrant:
In 1904. the positions Of the British
battle squadrons and the nature of the
duties they were carrying on were al
most unknown to the public. Yet, as
Admiral Mahan has pointed out. while
bodily present before Brest, Rochefort,
and Toulon, s~trategically the British
squadron lay In the Straits of Dover.
barring the way against the army OF
INVASION If 1t (the British
fleet) in this war had not existed, or
mad been overwhelmed. the seaboard of
rance would have been at the mercy
or the enemy. Large forces might a
beer landed. which would have gravely
embarrassed the French armies. No
British troops would have been avail
able to stem the first German onset and
steadily reinforced-to have cooperat-
ed powerfully in hurting back the in
vaders and holding them fast at a long
distance from their objective-Paris.
England would hav been daily expect
ing invasion. with an unemployed pop
ulation clamoring for food"
The few German ava raids which
have apparently disputed this domi-
n have been farces. militarily. 1T
Is easier to get out of a blockaded port
than into it," a Mahan-especially
when submarines keep the %blockading
battleships at a distance and the raid
ers are swift battle cruisers. steaming
at utmost speed through the mists Of
a dark and stormy night.
Again. the British navy set free the
whole military forces of the empire
From England. through the submarine
and mr. infested waters of the chan
almost daily. bearing a total of not
less than SOC, 900 troops to France-and
without the loss of a ship or a man.
This Is true also Of the overseas trans
p%ortation Of British reinforcements
which. when the number and distances
are considered. has no parallel in his
tory. Lord Brassey, in his NAVAL An
nual." tells of the Australian convoy of
60 ships crossing the Pacific and of
the great Canadian convoy Of 40 ships.
with Its protecting ~squadross. and the
regular flow of large Indian onvoy
OF 40 and 50 ships sailing in company
Germany's Commerce, Colonies Conc.
Again. h cruisers Of the allies have
swept German and Austrian commerce
from the seas. Hamburg and Bremen
are. commercially. but cities of the
dead. although Lubbock, the great Baltic
port OF Germany. seems to be enjoying
a boom trade in foodstuffs and war
supplies with Denmark and Sweden.
The total of Germany's commercial
losses Is s%tupendous. Up to May Is. the
tonnage of German merchant shipping.
sunk or captured by the British navy.
was 314.465. and this total does not in
clude the German ships lying in Brit
tsh ports when war began. There are
now 21S German merchantmen impros-
oned In French harbors, and recently
the italian government confiscated 81
Austrian and German steamers, having
of more than $4,000, 900. In 1912, the
aggregate export and import trade of
Germany was 81 15, 900. 0O0-much Of it
sea borne n all Of 1t now lost. Her
two great steamship companies cleared.
during their last fiscal year Of peace,
x27:O00.OOO above operating expenses.
This huge profit a now been replaced
by a large deficit caused by the care
and maintenance OF mammoth liners.
rusting at home or interned abroad.
warning against superior sea power
seems to be the most costly business
on. earth, for. not only does the nation.
Inferior In its battle fleet. lose all of
Its sea borne trade. but, as in this
war. 1t must perforce leave the mar
kets of the world open to its enemy.
whose ships can go and come as they
please. The latter feature Of this on
flict IL. In the present ammunition cri-
sis. a vital asset Of the allies.
A dramatic sequence Of allied COM
mand of the sea has been the dissipa-
ttOn OF ormQnv' dpoa~ NJ a rita.
flung colonial empire. Three times,
each at the risk OF war, the ENABLED
fist" has been raised to obtain over
seas possessions-for that commercial
and military stronghold, Kiao Chou. in
China. Tor the Carolin and Marshall
Samoa. Now they. the colony in South
west Africa. and probably that in East
Africa as we'll, are gone. Germany's
colonial expansion has vanished.
lH-Naval Lessons Of the War.
While there have been q plumber OF
minor clashes. only three important
naval engagements have occurred dur
Ing this war-that on November 1 Off
Coronei. Chile. when the British ar
tons). ana Monmouth. (9.s0o tonsJ.
were destroyed: the action Off n.y.
Falkland tslands on December 8. when
the armored cruisers Scharnhorst and
0neleenau. .(otStef ships Of 11,eoo tons).
the protested cruiser Leipzig. (3.260
tonsl. and the scout cruiser Nurnbere.
(3.460 t0ns). were sunk by 8 Britisk
squadron: and. finally, the runnine
fight of1 the Dogger Bank In the North
yea on January -. when the German
armored cruiser Blrecher. (16.6o0 tons).
Waa destroyed.
n III of these engasements. superior
speed q heavy. Ions range gnne were
the dominating factors. This % true
especially Of the performances OF the
bAftlo cruiser, Q droadnauGht which