Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-09-19

further on the subject ne Te1eTs tHe
inquirer to his earlier reports on the
subject.
OF course. Admiral Lowe was not the
only American naval officer to appre-
ciate the possibilities in the subma rine
in its earlier days, but research shows
that he was easily the foremost advo-
cate of this new weapon of modern
warfare, the most persistent in his ad-
vocacy and the most earnest in follow
ing ii up. Even year after his retlre-
ment he is found. according to the rec
ord, getting permission to continue his
observations aboard submarines and to
present to the department his reports
thereon.
Another early advocate of the sub
marine was Lieut.. Commander w. W.
Kimball, now also a retired rear admiral
AS early as 1900 Kimball wrote in Har-
per's Magazine:
THE submarine has arrived. The rec
ognition of her capabilities within her linn
tied field of usefulness cannot be much
longer delayed. France has grasped the
idea of the effectiveness of the type in
general and has so far developed it that
she has a dozen submarines on her naval
register, and has provided for thirty-eight,
all told.
when she has employed them for coast
defense sufficiently to make their poten-
tial felt it will be apparent that she will
be able to send her whole cruising fleet
against an enemy's ships, ports or lines
of communication. Other civilized nations
will then be forced to follow her lead, just
as they did in the matter Of surface tor
pedo boats
Germany is yielding to the pressure OF
progress. and is to have competition OF
submarine models at Kiel during the cur
rent year. Russia Is at work on sub
marines, but her results are wisely kept
secret.
England discredits them as much as
possible. for the same reason that she dis
credited surface torpedo boats when they
appeared. Her policy Is quite correct,
since, as the strongest power at sea, she
should in every way try to prevent the ap-
pearance of craft that will so greatly limit
the effectiveness of her present fleet
And later, in the same article, Lieut..
Commander KimbalI wrote:
THE newspapers show that the govern
mental development of the submarine has
been dallied with in this country for a
dozen years or more, generally encouraged
naval officers. many Of whom are inclined
to follow the lead Of England and con-
clude that submarines are death traps
when they are not toys. Last November
the Holland. submarine boat built by
private parties and manned by civilians,
ments that the Navy Department had laid
down. Her sale to the government was
then proposed by her owners, and the
proposition was reported against by the
board on construction OF the navy Final
ly she was accepted, and shortly after
Congress authorized the construction of
five more boats Of the Holland type"
~
All of which indicates under what a
handicap Admiral Lowe conducted his
campaign within the Navy Department
for the recognition Of the submarine.
The trial last November" of the sub
marine. mentioned by Kimbau was in
reality the second trial of the same
boat. the first being in November, 1898.
and the second in November, 1899, on
both OF which Admiral Lowe reported,
he having gone under water with the
craft on both occasions. In his first
report. from which the quotations that
open this article are taken. he dis
cussed the whole subject of torpedo
warfare.
He maintained that England and other
maritime powers had become panic
stricken over the possibilities of the
torpedo and had been constructing at a
remarkable rate torpedo boats of ex-
traordinary speed and fratlty Of con-