The Washington times., 1916-01-11
MORE TROUBLE FROM U-BOATS.

The Secretary of the Treasury has
| been devoting much Of his time lately
to consideration of the shipping prob
| lem. He has gathered n vast amount
Of information from all over the world,
touching OH world conditions as we'll
as American; and his appearance be-
fore the Congressional committees to
discuss the shipping measure Is expect
ed to he the signal for shedding much
| new light on it.
Just at present people concerned
about protecting the foreign market for
American products are watching the
development Of the Suez and Panama
| canal situations. For practical pur-
poses, these two bitches, which are the
! keys to the greatest labor-ssving routes
| of the world, are regarded as almost
out Of business. This, by adding to the
distances the ships must travel; de-
creases vastly the carrying capacity Of
the worlds shipping, already depleted
sadly in tonnage, just at time when
there is abnormally heavy demand on
1t.
But this is not the only difficulty.
| The submarine warfare has been trans
ferred from the zone about the Brit
| ish Islands to the Mediterranean. Naval
authorities declare that the allies are
going to experience far greater diff
Culties coping with submarines there
than in the British waters and the
| German ocean. There is plenty Of deep
| water throughout the Ne1iterranean ;
compared to the region about Britain, "
, Is very deep. In the waters or Britain.
| there are vast shallow areas IN "nlcn
navigation Of undersea craft Is more
difficult and dangerous than IT wonlo
be in deeper waters. Submarines there
have been wont to drop TO the bottom
in shallow places and he on the ocean
he'd. This enables them to conserve
fuel. but the real reason for " Is that
they are compelled to travel far from
base and in shallow water are carer
lying on the bottom than "ruising about
In the Mediterranean they can Keep
moving safely; and moreover. II s
easier to find reasonably secure bases
from which they may operate.
| Suez Canal Useless.
| T.;s adds immensely according to
naval men. to the difficulty Of CAPTURING
them. The submerged nets that have
been so effective in British waters VIII
he comparstively useless in Mediterran-
ear conditions. New methods must be
devised for dealing with them. and 1t Is
! believed they can never be so effective
" banded in these waters as they were
In the British war zone.
| Thousands and thousands OF very fsst
motor boats carrying small guns allo
| directen nv aeroDiane scouts: nave
| served to make summarizing dihicult or
impossible in the British waters. To
ratrol the Mediterranean In the same
| fashion would require another feet o,
| these craft, which cannot be provided
| cxcept through month s of effort and
vast expenditure. Italy. Fame and
| Britain arc understood TO be engaged
with feverish haste in turning out such
boats.
| drcds of thousands of them from the
British waters to the Mediterranean.
II it could be done secretiv: but this -
regarded as impossible; to transfer them
invite the Germans to resume their sub,
ruarins warfare in the unprotected
waters around the tight little island:
So = Is considered cer,aa" ina for mat ,dne inc
time a fruitful field OF submarine con-
quest for the Germanic navies,
While this is going on. the Suez
canal will be as useless as If it were
filled 10 or wrecked by an earthquake.
Tne excessive insurance rates on vessels
taking that route. whether belligeTent
or neutral. havo already compelled
many lines to withdraw their boats ana
send them around the cape. These rates
viii so up everv time a vessel iS sunk.
Consequently little hone - entertained
for an early relaxation of the heavy
pressure for bottoms.
British Rule Hurts.
| Another factor that has developed to
add difficulty in providing ships for
American commerce. lies in the recent
regulations adopted by the British au-
thorities. requiring that every vessel
lplying between Britain and either the
colonies or America shall use a fixed
proportion of its cargo space in carry
ing foodstuffs At present this rule Is
applied especially to wheat; but 1t Is
understood here that it may at any
time be expanded to include various
other foodstuffs.
British receipts of food materials have