New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-01-22
BERESF0RD ASKS
FULL BLOCKADE
Cork Up All Ports, He
Says-Hits Policy of
Wait and See"
BY GORDON GORDON-SMITH.

.
By cable to The Tribune.l
London, Jan. Commenting on
the blockade situation, Lord Beresford
said to-day:
81 am absolutely in favor of declar
ing a blockade Of all enemy ports. The
policy adopted up TO now has been
complete failure. The system Of sing
ling out number Of articles as con-
traband of war opens the door at once
TO all sorts of abuses The system so
far has been a farce. OF ninety ships
taken recently into Kirkwall, eighty
were released without even being ex-
amined. As IL is enforced at present
the quasi-blockade only irritates neu-
trails without effectively deprivlng the
Central Powers OF supplies.
Britain should come out fairly and
squarely and declare a complete block
ade Of Germany. Nothing must be al
LEVIED TO come out. I am convinced
that the British navy is in a position
70 make such a blockade effective. Dur
ing the American CIVIL War We re-
spected the blockade proclaimed BY the
Northern States, and that despite the
fact that it was practically only a
paper blockade and never really efec-
tive. But while IL was in existence
the Lancashire cotton spinners were
starving.
Hits At Coalition.
"The great source Of weakness OF
the coalition government has been its
irresolution. It's policy Of wait and
see has been disastrous. One result
has been that the decisions OF the Al
lies are always outdistanced by the
march Of events and everything they
have undertaken has been done TOO
late. l. is time now for resolute,
virie policy which will not leave all
the initiative in the conduct Of the war
to the enemy"
Lord Beresford considers the crea-
tion Of the coalition q fatal mistake,
rs the union of elements usually OPP
posing leads only TO system OF com
promise, tending TO move along the
line of least resistance, which is fatai
70 an energetic prosecution Of the
war. But while recognizing the weak
ness OF the coalition he sees no pros
poets Of getting rid Of it. There is
no man commanding enough influence
20 lead the assault. The only hope is
such an outburst of public opinion as
10 render further tenure OF office I'M
noSsible But Of this there is no sign.
Such a movement would presuppose
nonular leader and there is no one at
present in public life who could NJ!
the role.
10000 Men for Navy.
Tho House of Commons passed with
out discussion to-day the supplemeh'
arv navy estimates authorizing an ad-
ditjou Of 10000 men TO the personnel
of the navy. This increase Is construed
as indicating large increase III
Britain's warships and as step to"Aru
enforcing a real blockade.
British naval experts decline 20 De
alarmed by the scare about uerha"
seventeen-inch naval guns. II mas oeeh
frequently whispered that the reason
vhv the German feet has not yentured
n trv conclusions with the British navy
was because it has not yet been htted
out with guns of bigger calibre than
the fifteen-inchers OF Jellicoe's battle
ships. The story is revived By an arti-
Gle written BY James Douglas in The
Daily News
Douglas has no claim 70 write author
itatively on naval matters, and his fear
that the British ifteen-inchers may be
outranged is based on the assumption
that Il was a German seventeen-lnch
naval our that shelled Dunkirk.
Authorities ike 4. II. Pollen and
Conan Doyle consider the evidence on
this point unsatisfactory. Pollen rid
icules the Douglas arguments. A. 20
Douglass contention. III Won Specs
hagship had been armed with seven
teon-inchers IL would nave sunk the
lnyincible." he says, "lf seventeen
inchers were put into Won Specs flag
snip, IL would have turned turtle and
sunk "a the bottom"