The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-10-02
BY }. w. t. MASON.

New York. oct 2.-GermanyJs sub
marine menace is now being coneen-
trated against American military sup
ply ships A German submarine base
has probably been established off the
French coast in the American trans
port lane There is no real decrease
in total allied submarine s1nklngs
America can only fulfill her gigantic
army requirements in France by de-
pending on her own shipping and
making the issue with Germany per
sonal.
This is the Interpretation of the sub
marine situation today a s expressed in
an exclusive interview with the United
Press by Lord Northcliffe, head of the
British war mission and the most con-
scientious war worker any belligerent
nation has produced
THE most important news that has
crossed the Atlantic since l arrived in
this country at the beginning of
June" Lord Northcliffe said, lis the
official statement of Sir Joseph
Maclary, the British controller of ship
ping 1t is to the effect that unless
the United States facesa the shipping
needs annually, the military efforts of
the United States will be crippled
from the start"
Sounds Solemn Warming.
This is the solemn warning of Sir
Joseph himself 1t has passed the
censor, and is the first real note OF
alarm of the seriousness of the sub
marine sinkings. Set aside all Ger
man boastings; put away from you
the idea that Great Britain, who IS
increasing her own food production,
can be starved out. The writing on
the wall should arouse every thinking
American to the greatest problem the
world has ever faced-the transport
across 5000 miles of water of the new
A ,ar~fr4e iR6 frps4 n Y
amounts to more than a million of
men: its cannon, shells. locomotives,
railway track, munition plants, aero
planes, observation balloons, hos
pitfalls; ambulance conveys, doctors,
nurses, machine guns butchers,
bakers, shoemakers, men of every
trade, railroad engineers, interpreters,
organizers and distributors of stores,
clothing, horses, mules, fodder, book
keepers. complete telephone and tele-
graph equipments, with operators run
ming into the thousands. Now Sir
Joseph Maclay, as British shipping
controller, plainly says that unless SIX
millions of tons of shipping is built
in the United States yearly, you will
not be able to transport those vital
needs.
You ask me if l agree with Sir
Joseph. I do not profess to have any
of the technical knowledge of shipping
OF the haEd-headed ScOtchman who
was chosen by Premier Lloyd George
for a task that is much more difficult
than even that of food controller
the control of a shipping that is being
sunk more rapidly than it is being
constructed, and that. mark you, at
a time when the demand for ship
ping, owing to the transport needs of
the United States army, is increasing
daily. But l maintain that nothing
that has happened alters my convic-
ton that the combined shipyards of
the allies and their combined navies
must make a superhuman effort to
overcome the losses and growing de-
mand as to Atlantic transport today
C-Boat Figures Deceptive.
"rhe whole system of publishing the
figures of submarine sinkings by the
allies is misleading, and l have pro-
tested against it ever since it was
adopted. l do not believe that any
substantial progress has been made in
stopping submarine depredations, Last
week. We were told officially that the
slbmarine sinkings of British ships
We're the lightest since the policy of
ruthlessness commenced. Within
few hours. cables flashed the news
that the sinking of French ships over
the same period were the heaviest yet