New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-12-17
Increasing Success OF
GermanSubmarine
Attacks Places Ex-
hausting Burden
on Britain.
Copyright 1916
The Tribune Ass n.

lery and German officers, with few picked
troops for stifcning, would suffice.
We have heard very great deal about
the blockade, and it has had material
effect upon the progress of the war. But
it is equally true that the German subma-
rine campaign is increasingly successful,
that the losses of Allied shipping are In
creasing and, what is far more important
and far less generally recognized, the
strain upon British shipping incident to
the maintenance Of enormous armies on
the Continent, as we'll as in Africa, has
had serious consequences, disclosed in the
food conditions of Britain and even Of
France.
Danger to British Shipping
Remember the history Of the Napoleonic
War; recall how Napoleon, seeking TO
strike at British commerce, steadily ex-
tended his hold upon the seaboard OF Eu-
rope until he was the master of the sea
front of the Continent from Danzig TO
,Cattaro. and an interesting parallel will
come to mind. Napoleon was seeking to
close Europe to British commerce and thus
bring to terms a foe he could not reach
with his armies. Germany is endeayoring to
bring Britain TO terms under conditions far
from dissimilar. But she is seeking TO &C
complish this by putting upon British ship
ping burdens it cannot bear, and not By
closing European ports to British COM
merce, as Napoleon did.
do not pelieve that the occupation OF
Egypt by the Germans would bring Britain
to terms Just as all Napoleon's efforts
failed. such German venture might fail;
but its effect upon the world and upon the
Allied spirit would be unmistakable, and
lit is at the Allied spirit that Germany
must strike. She can hardly expect to
conquer peace now in Paris or Petrograd
by physical occupation. Rather she must
look for the victorious peace which she de-
sires by convincing her foes that they can
not win the war and that they must con-
sent to discuss peace on the basis Of Ger
man accomplishment.
The Great Rumanian Disaster
The disaster of Rumania was one Of the
greatest in the whole history of the present
war. It will have consequences more vast
than have yet been realized by most COM
mentators upon the conflict, It may lead
to new German attack upon Russia, and
IAN effort by this attack to put Russia out
of the war; that is, TO succeed in doing
now what was not achieved in the sum-
mer of 1915, following the victory OF the
Dunaiec. In this case we shall see q cam
paign with Kiev and Odessa as the imme
date detectives.
Personally, do not think this will hap
pen because do not believe Germany will
care to run the risks in cost of men that
lit would entail. Germany's position now
recalls that of Napoleon after Wagram,
although She has no such domination Of the
Continent as he had and has not sue
ceeded in oxtorting a separate peace from
any one of her foes, as Napoleon did. But
= with victorious armies she holds vas.
areas Of Europe, and there is no present
indication that she can be driven from
her conquests in any time that is even ap-
: proximately near. Napoleon threw SINH
lar and even greater advantages away
: when he undertook his campaign for Mos
COW. This campaign put strain upon
French man power which it could not bear,
and at one time destroyed French prestige
and French loyalty to the Emperor who
9 imposed such terrible sacrifices.
r A Second Callipoli7
Germany may throw away her position
as Napoleon did; that is, she may be will
i ing TO risk throwing it away, as Ma
d poleon was, to remove the same Russian
! enemy But my own judgment is that Ger
3 many will seek by much less expensive
. methods to weaken the spirit and strain
u the resources of her foes. To let the Allies
1t in the West and in the East sacrifice hun
y dreds Of thousands of men in sterile at.
' tacks upon German and Austrian trenches,
: while German-ed Turkish forces assail
Suez and possibly reach Cairo-this would
seem the cheaper policy and not impossibly
4 the more profitable.
o AS for the Allies, they must now send
e new hosts to Salonica and tie up more
& thousands of tons of shipping, or else con-
n fess that Salonics has proved a second
o Galipoli and cut their losses by recalling
st Sarrail and abandoning the gallant Serbs
n for the time being, recognizing that the
d fate of Serbia will be decided by the out.
If come Of the war and not by any tenuous
lie occupation Of Macedonian towns or noun.
J. ltsips