Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-10-05
Formidable" is Word Used in
Published Letter Issued BY
~~'," Arthur ]. -Baifour

following letter to a correspondents"
recently made public by the British
| censors:
Dear Sir: Much has been written
about Germany's military methods and
! aims on land, not so much about her
methods and aims at sea. Yet in
] nected that neither can be under
] stood apart from the other.
II was in 1900 that Germany first
| proclaimed the policy Of building a
1 fleet against Britain, and from the
point of view Of her ewn ambitions
/ the policy was a perfectly sound one.
4 She aimed at world domination, and
against world domination the British
fleet from the time Of Queen Eliza.
/ beth to the present day has always
been found the surest and most ef-
! fectual protection.
| The Germans have every reason to
be aware of the fact, for without the
British fleet Frederick the Great must
1 have succumbed to his enemies, and
without the British fleet Prussia
would scarcely have shaken off the
Napoleonic tyranny Whatever may
seas" in any Of it's various meanings
the freedom of the land is due in no
small measure to British ships and
British sailors.
Takes Time and Money.
It takes time, however, time as well
as money to create a grand fleet, and
German statesmen were too wise to
suppose that they could at once call
into existence a navy able to contend
on equal terms with the power which.
as they saw clearly enough was the
most formidable obstacle to their az
gressfve projects But they did not
on that account doubt the Immediate
advantage which their maritime pol.
Icy conferred upon them. They calcn-
lated that a powerful fleet, even
though it were numerically inferior to
that of Britain, would nevertheless
render the latter impotent since no
British government would dare to risk
a conflict which, however successful,
might leave them in the end with ma
val forces inferior to those of some
third power
This is the policy clearly, though
cautiously, expressed In the famous
preamble of the Navy Bill. 1t is UNI.
necessary to add that the German
Navy League entertained much more.
ambitious designs. So far, however,
neither the designs OF the German
government nor those Of the German
Navy League have met with any mea-
sure of success. p. :. .
German Policy Breaks Down.
The British fighting fleet has be-.
come relatively stronger than it was
13 months ago, and there is no rea-l
son to suppose that during the future
course of the war this process Is like
~ TO be arrested. 1t it indeed plain
that after six months of hostilities
Admiral Tirpitz and the government
which he serves arrived at the same
conclusion. They saw that the old
policy had broken down, and that a
new policy must be devised. Subma
rines, they thought, might succeed
where dreadnonghts and cruisers had
failed. 49,. -. Il. ... --s-.~ 81 4
The change no doubt was adopted
with extreme reluctance and many
screenings OF heart The admission
of failure is in itself unpleasant, and
though we cannot regard the govern
ment responsible for the Belgian afro
cities as either scrupulous or humane
even the most reckless of governments
do not desire to perpetrate' unneces.
sary crimes. AS to what the German
navy must have felt about the new
policy we can only conjecture. But
German sailors are gallant men,, and
gallant men do not like being put on
towards job.
Disgrace 10 PriVateersmen.
They know well enough that in the
old days which We are pleased to re-
gard as less humane than our own,
there was not a privateersmans but
would have thought himself disgrace
ed had he sent to the bottom unre-
sisting merchant ships with all hands /
on board; and it can have been no
very agreeable reflection, even to the
German navy league. that the first
notable performance Of the German |
fleet should resemble piracy rather
than privateering. -.
We may therefore safely assume
that nothing but the hopes Of deci-
sive success would have induced the
German ministers to fnf1ict this new
stain upon the honor of their country.
Yet a decisive success has not been
attained, and does not seem to be in
sight.
claim no gifts of prophecy. I make
no boast about the future but of the
past can speak with assurance, and
it may interest you to know that while
the losses inflicted upon German sub
marines have been formidable, British
mercantile tonnage is at this moment
greater than when the war began.
Change of Front Explained.
1t is true that by this method Of
warfare many inoHensive persons, wo-
men and children as we'll as men, neu-
trails as we'll as belligerents, have
been robbed and killed
But it is not only the innocent who
have suffered; the criminals also have |
paid a heavy toll Some have been |
rescued and are prisoners of war, but |
from the very nature of submarines
it must often happen that they drag /
their crews with them to destruction,