Arizona republican., 1917-08-31
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 WAS dINGTON, Aug. 30.-American naval forces are conveying merchant craft across the Atlantic it was dis close officially today at the navy de- lartment and examination of the records show that the loss of conveyed ships by submarine averaged less than one-half of one per cent. Details of the convoy system are withheld. IL was stated. however, that American war vessels are regularly esc0rting fleets of British, French or other allieG merchantmen the protection being sup Illemented when the danger zone is reached.
 American naval officials believe that an effective system for checking the submarine menace is being built up gradually, but certainly.
 Many devices and many methods en- ter into the task Among other things depth bombs are proving effective. Official reports indicate that Ameri- can destroyers have accounted for sev- eral U-boats with these weapons No announcement of such incidents will be made, however, unless absolute proof of the fact is available.
 No Uboat has been captured by the Americans. It is the best judgment of high officials, however, that several have been sunk by Admiral Sims de- stroyers and they are confident that the submarine menace will be substan- tially abated as the number of de- stroyers and other craft available for the work is increased.
 Reports from London that the sub- marines are working farther at sea than formerly were confirmed by the navy department. It may be that new boats of greater size and better sea keeping qualities leno to this extension of the zone of activities, but it is re- garded as more probable that the in- creased vigilence of the anti-submarine forces is mainly responsible.
 The effect of the increasing patrol of the employment of airplanes and of the addition of new devices to the anti submarine weapons has been to force the Uboats under water to a greater d. gree. Their effectiveness is limited in proportion. They cannot run down a merchandising of average speed if kept ui-der water. They can operate only against ships that almost stumble upon th em. And all the time they are under water they are consuming the stored power of thelr storage batteries, de- creasing their range of under water action and compelling them to come ur at night and lie idle on the surface while their oil engines are used to re- charge the batteries.
 The decision of the navy department to spend S350000,000 on new deslroyers and destroyer building facilities, ap- proved yesterday by President Wilson is based on the effectiveness of the swift fighting machines as proved by Admiral Sims forces.
 Every effort to speed the new pro- gram as well as the old will be made and during the next year the American destroyer force in European waters probably can be more than doubled
 Destroyers now under construction are being rushed to completion and reports on progress are satisfactory American experts have developed a depth bomb for use against submarines that is deadly at considerable range The bomb, containing high explosive is dropped from a destroyer over a spot where the presence of sub- marine is indicated. It is timed to ex- plode at certain depth. If the ex- plosion occurs below the U-boat and within a reasonable distance, the hui of the underwater craft cannot with stand the pressure, but is crushed like an eggshell
 Signs of the destruction in this way appear on the surface in the shape of oil from fuel tanks, bits of floating wreckage and the like It is difficult to be certain of hit as the German on more than one occasion have re-
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