The Republican journal., 1916-11-09
Cape Cod Canal.
How it MAY be Used to Avoid Submarine
Menace. Shipping Men Enthusiastic
Over Idea of Government Improvement
Co. Jnl,rd N,>,ioafiOu


Over Idea of Government Improvement
for Inland Navigation.
New York Commercial
Charts and maps of the North Atlantic
are being examined in shipping circles OF
New York with extraordinary interest
Considerable enthusiasm over the idea OF
Governmental improvement of the inland
waterways along the eastern coast has
followed the New York Commercially
story on the subject.
The enthusiasm IS directed especially
to the availability of the Cape Cod Canal
as a means for solving the U-Doat prob
lem as it may affect Allied shipping in
the steamship lanes off the Massachu-
setts coast; for Notwithstanding the fact
that there has been no report of the So
since her RAID of three weeks ago, ship
ping circles do not accept the lack OF in
formation about her movements with
anything like confidence that the Ger
man government will make no further
attempt to bring the war to these doors.
On the contrary, though not express
ing it openly, shipping men generally are
profoundly suspicious that the recent
work of the U-53 was merely try -out,
presaging formidable submarine cam
paign SON against Allied commerce ON
this side of the Atlantic. Their opinion,
which supports the original theory of the
U-53' visit, is that the Germans are al
ready prepared to strike heavy blow
against Allied ships in the lanes off Nan
tucket and that they are only waiting
for foggy weather conditions along Cape
Col. After mid November it was said
there is a heavy increase of fog along
the Massachusetts coast.
Some of the shipping men who are
urging shipowners and shipmasters to
take every precaution against the sub
marine menace have consulted the rec
ords of the Custom House and the State
Pilot Commissioners to determine to
what extent the Cape Cod Canal can be
made factor in the minimizing of the
disastrous effect Of sudden raid. These
records, they declared, show that more
than half of the nearly 300 foreign flag
ships that entered the port Of New York
from north Atlantic lanes by way of
Sandy Hook in the last month were of a
draught of less than Is feet. About Is
vessels bound for the north Atlantic
lanes In the same period they declared
were of less than 10 feet draught. All
OF these outgoing and incoming boats,
so-called cramps, they further de-
clared would have been able to make
easy and quick passage through the Cape
Cod Canal.
Most of the incoming ooaJs from Euro
pean ports, they declared, are OF light
draught because of lack of cargo, and
most of them. of course, belong to the
Allied countries.
But since German submarines would
doubtless make no distinction between
empty and loaded boats OF the Allies,
this merely emphasized the Importance of
Cape Cod Canal as safety factor, ship
ping men contented. Indeed, the ship
ping men who are enthusiastic advocates
of system of inland waterways from
Maine to the Gulf went SO far as to say
that the Germans might be enterprlslng
enough to try to prevent the allied ship,
from getting into New York for cargos
that the incoming ships from the north
may be their special prey. On
this theory it was argued the Cape Cod
Canal may become an effective solution
of the submarine problem on the side.
Shipping men, however, are not alone
in their advocacy of precautionary meas
ures. Sentiment along this line, is strong
among local consuls of the Allied coun-
tries and among the consuls of neutral
countries whose shipping has suffered
from indiscriminate attacks by German
None of the consuls would
talk yesterday for publication because
of the eml-diplomatic nature of their
positions, but it was learned that all of
them have definite views on the sub
ject of ship owners and shipmasters TAX
ing advantage Of every available means
for preventing destruction of their boats.
The sentiment Of these foreign consuls
goes so far as to argue that the iengthen
ing of ships journey few miles to
oring 1t within the three-mile safety
limit along the northern coast of the At
iantc and the utilization of the Cape
Cod Canal to assure avoidance of enemy
submarines off Cape Cod are negligible
considerations in the light of what the
U SO raid cost. In other words, Safety
First" should be the ruling thought, say
the consus.
1t was learned that the Allied consuls,
moreover, are hopeful that the lesson
taught by the U-53 will bear fruit and
that the ''hind slgnt" admitted by many
shipoWners, who, after the disaster OF
three weeks ago, recognized that the
Cape Cod Canal would have been splen-
did safety trench, will become foresight
in view of what dispatches from Amster-
dam say about the German Government s
submarine plans.
A point was made by experienced navi-
gators yesterday of the severity of
storms along the Nova Scotia coast from
Dec. 1st. These storms, they said, move
across Ontario in an east-northeast di-
rectior and "kick up around Nova Scotia
seas that submarines could not effective
ly operate in. These navigators made a
point also of the severity of northeast
storms alo:g the Massachusetts coast
and to the reputation of Cape Cod as a
graveyard for sailors. Both points were
made to show that incoming ships coulC
we'll hug the coast from Nova Scotia
down and by using the Cape Cod Canal
completely avoid the serious danger OF
shoals around Pollock Rip at the south.
ern end of Cape Cod which danger woulC
be encountered in an attempt to escape
submarines by running within the three.
mile limit along that stretch of the coast.
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