The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-03-22
WAR ECHOES

I
 gulls has confirmed the value of the aero
 plane in a new role, that of submarine
 detective A sailor in John Bulls navy
 has written of the escape of his warship from submarine destruction through a
 warning afforded by seagulls. A flock oi them which had been following the Brit | ish ship suddenly deserted her to hover over point in the water some hundred yards distant. Careful observation of this spot disclosed a submarine periscope. The Britisher put on her best speed and survives.
 It seems reasonable to suppose that, as fthe London dispatch says, German sub
 marines have found the seagulls nuis-
 ance, since these hardy foragers follow everything afioat in their search for food, and from their point of vantage above the | water can detect much smaller fish than submarine beneath the waters sur face Navy f1iers have already remarked on the ease with which in their hydro aeroplanes they can discover submerged submarines when flying above them Even the comparatively tiny submarine mines are distinctly visible at an altitude of 7oo feet unless the water is excessively muddy.
 The explanation lies, of course, in the absence of the light reflection on the waves which is always present when the angle of vision Is less than 90 degrees. It accounts for the acuteness of bird fishers in locating their prey. It makes the aero- plane the natural enemy of the subma- rine.
 New York Tribune The sinking of the Dresden leaves unaccounted for only one of the German warships which were cut off from home ports when the war be- gar. The Gneisenau, Scharnhorst, Lelp- zig and Nuremberg were destroyed in the naval battle off the Falkland Islands. The Dresden escaped their fate by fleeing to the Pacific, but gained only brief respite. The Emden, after a highly de-
 structive cruise in East Indian waters, was sunk off Cocos Island by an Aus
 tralan cruiser. The Goeben and the Bres- lau, trapped in the Mediterranean, took refuge in the Dardanelles and were put under the Turkish flag. One light cruiser is blockaded in an East African inlet and
 a couple of gunboats have been interned
 in American insular ports. Only the
 Karlsruhe remains at large of the reg
 ular war vessels. Of the auxiliaries used
 as commerce destroyers but one, the
 Kronprinz Wilhelm, is still active. The German raiding fleet did consider able damage. It destroyed the British cruisers Monmouth and Good Hope and sank one small Russian warship. It cap tured probably 50 allied merchantmen, and in an excess of zeal sank one Amer ican sailing ship. much to the embarrass- ment of the Berlin government. Yet the effect of its exploits on the prosecution of the war has been very slight. It has not interfered with communications De- tween Great Britain and her oversea col onies It has not prevented the trans portation of troops from Canada, Aus trala, New Zealand and India to Egypt France and Great Britain. It has not In a single instance hindered the transpor- tation from neutral countries of munitions
 of war intended for the allies.
 Germanys ships kept the seas from four to seven months without q base of supplies or any of the refittinS advan- tages of 2 home port. Yet they accom- plished together far less than the Con- federate cruiser Alabama accomplished single handed. Modern conditions have greatly diminished the freedom of action of the sea rover The wireless telegraph is the deadly enemy of the commerce raider It leaves him little chance of safety if he continues to haunt the trav- eled ocean lanes Sooner or later he must be cornered by a superior enemy