The Alaska daily empire., 1917-02-27
IS LOOKED FOR WITH THE
 KAISER AT ANY TIME

there is to be an American declara- ton of war against that country.
 American vessels, and foreign reg. isuy ships bearing American pas. sengers, having sailed from Ameri- can ports for the war zone prescrib. ed by Germany and in a few days, Indeed. by the middle of the week, in few instances. they will be in peril i from submarines.
 1 1T they have the good fortune to Islip through the S2rdon of undersea boats, or if they are spared by de- IHberate intent to avoid cause for complaint by this country the crisis will be postponed.
 But if one of them should be sunk without warning, with the loss of | American lives, or, ig an American ship should be sunk unarmed with or without loss Of life, the issue will be at hand. Hostiliues would cer- ,ainly follow.
 1 It is pointed out that these few departures do not constitute a sUfric- llent breaking of the blockade against American commerce incident to the declaration of ruthless submarine warfare. There remain in American ports all up and down the Atlantic coast, scores perhas hundreds Of ships that are entitled to sail. but which are remaining in port, perhaps | with view 10 arming for defensive purposes.
 To all intents and purposes, it is thus seen, the German blockade has caused stoppage of American east bound commerce. and it is this con idition that makes the situation so difficult.
 Where is the Atlantic fleet?" a lhigh naval officer was asked today.
 He replied: "The fleet is where we want tout of the newspapers. Just where it is, the government Twill not say"
 This same officer, discussing the general situation, expressed himself as follows:
 "The navy is in good condition We !are prepared to arm American mer. chant ships on short notice. It would be a matter Of only few days. in the case Of ships constructed with 8 view to their conversion as naval iauxiliaries. In other cases special provision must be made and it would take considerable longer time.
 "The best gun for defense from submarine attack is the navy's three. finch rifle. With one of these guns mounted fore and aft and having an effective range of three miles, the vessel would be adequately armed for defensive purposes.
 Reports from abroad indicate that 200 yards is the fayorite striking distance of German submarine com manders. Seldom is a torpedo shot from a distance as great as 800 yards | Consequently three-inch rifles would furnish ample defense armament for our ships. Submarines usually mount short three-inch rifles, though some of them carry 4.7s and even heavier guns.
 "In no event should armed conveys De sent across the Atlantic with our ships That would increase the size of the target A submarine could easily dive under the defending no. val vessel and get in among the merchantmen. Its commander would work havoc before the conveying fighters could get whacls at him, because some of their own ships would undoubtedly be in the way
 Fig Ships to Stay Here
 "In no event will American capi- tai ships be sent into the war zone. England has all the capital ships required to handle the German navy, with a good second in France. Italy is amply able to take care of the Austrian navy.
 Should the United States actual ly get into the war, the navy could | command the services of some 4,000 gasoline boats of various sizes. Great numbers of these small craft would be available for submarine hunting on this side of the Atlantic and on the Pacific
 "Torpedoes cannot be used on them with effect because of their light draft and because torpedoes are eX- pensive and only few can be car ried in a submarine.
 There are about 1000 yachts of various types and sizes available for patrol work. while another 1000 mer- chantmau, from 1900 to 2,5OO tons, also could be taken over Then We have the coast guard ships, which also are formidable for patrol pur- poses and coast defense work against submarines.
 There is little chance that Ger many would attempt to do much on this side of the Atlantic with her sub. marines. She might send a few over from time to time. to do spectacular stunts like the U-53. This would be temporarily embarrassing, but it would take only a short time to pro. vide safe lanes for incoming and outgoing ships"
 The navy will need about 100000 men to man its ships and the auXil. a. rE ,ff