The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-05-09
GERMAN TORPEDO
WARFARE COSTLY
Expense of Kaiser's Block
ade'' on English Coast
Is $l2,000,00O
PROJECTILES BIG ITEM
Smaller Types of Submarines Cost
from 100000 to 100000.
Larger Up to $S50.00O.
BY HERBERT TEMPLE.

London May S.-Somehody recently
figured out that if the Germans con-
tinue their submarine blockade Of this
country and succeed in sinking ships 1t
the rate they have hitherto succeeded.
it will take them twenty-eight years 10
destroy the British commercial marine
even if England does not build any new
vessels in the meantime.
As n matter of fact. we do not feel the
effects OF this blockade at all. There
is not a single article of luxury that YOU
cannot have in London. in most cases
even cheaper than before the war. be-
cause the demand for Injuries has de-
Creased while the supply has remained
normal. We are also well supplied with
all the neceSsar ies of life.
Evidently the agreement OF the three
Scandinavian countries to act in unison
has impressed Germany. for although she
has officially sworn to starve us into
submission. our supplies of bacon. eggs
and butter from Denmark reach us resu-
larry every day and not single Danish
foodship has been as much as hailed by
Ia German submarine
Torpedoing Expensive.
In the meantime ''bIockadinG' nv sub
marine Is proving a very expensive en-
pertinent to the ''biockader." having cost
her so far nearly s12.OCnOOo. The price Of
German submarine varies from S3"pN"' to
500 CcO for the older and smaller ones
and up to $50 OGO for those OF the type of
the L - The average cost Of those par
ticipating in blockading our coasts Is
probably s7Joooo.
What the British soldiers in the trench
es think of the wOrkinCmen who have
been striking Al home is evident from
the following letter written by a private
in the ROYAL Field Artillery:
On strike: think of it-whilst this ter
rible lot is going on, | think it is no
exaggeration to say that every man out
here on the firing line is indignant at our
fellowmen at home. Surely they can
let il rest until the war is over. But
We feel sure the men will be men. and
help us by keeping at work turning out
necessities. Ii they don't they will hinder
us. There are heaps of men out here who
were working in civilian life before this
war and belonged to a union-1 for one.
Indignant Mt Strikers.
IF some of those men had seen the
terrible sights that We have seen they
would not want that farthing. They
would want to be out here and at the
Germans. Now that the weather is bet
ter we laugh at the rough times we have
mad, Just as we lduRn dl tns peIHldi
shells-as long as they don't drop among
us The fighting now is nothing to what
We had from August to December. but
let us have all the men we can out here.
so that We can get home sooner to our
women folk. who will be getting a bit
downhearted at our being away so long"
Photos of German shells which have
fallen near the British lines. but failed
to explode have become very common
here but few people realize that these
furnish the best proof possible of the lack
of copper in Germany. At the beginning
OF the war the German shells We're mag
nificently painted cylinders with beau
tiful concal point of brightly polished
copper which Is the case of their ordi-
nary field guns. the - weighed about
800 grams or approximately two pounds.
These shells always exploded.
German Shells Ineffective.
Little by little. however. the metallic
composition of the percussion point
changed and deteriorated first into one
composed partly of aluminium with a
smaller copper point, weighing barely
80 grams.
! These transformations have been very
/ disa strous to the Germans. The hrSt
named shells had fiat trajectory. which
! hit the point they were aimed at with
great precisive and exploded. The last
ones turn somersaults in the air. max"
n noise like motor and strike on their
/ fat base instead of point and accordingly
nearly always fail 10 explode.
]