New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-10-29

Nc Last article, on the many-sided WORK OF
.r,iser. very naturally leads to subject
closely connected with what there spoke OIL
II. co,.ro, of the seas by either side in
war is SO important that from inc eA''.''
aavs il was sought to be obtained ana MAJ"
famed Even the Delphic Oracle ADVISED IN.
rs. NJ Wooden Walls, and their use resuiteo
in III, defeat Of the Persisns Mt Saiamls aho
=. orea. a change In the history OF the EAST
orn Mediterranean as Dewey's victory a
u,r;l. .wenty-four centuries later, meant 10
the Western Pacific. To-day tho military c''
troll OF the high seas has even more i"p0'
lance than 1t ever had before.
Freedom Of the Sea"
vrcst deal was said during 'he first years
~ IN. war By Germans and German sym
rathizers about Germanys viTtuous de"a"'
for the Freedom Of the Seas. Nut just "hs'
that term meant or was intended to meah
ream, upon reams of ponderods statements
failed TO clearly explain. Commercial iie'
dom OF the seas had, Of course, eMs'ea '"'
ev.rv nation in the world for great many
vaars except as il has been properly restrict
"a hv local statutes similar 10 our own re
,atino 70 coastwise navigation. Ana ~
a. Germany herself is concerned Sne 80
syailed herself Of that UNIVERSAL iteeuo"'
the seas to establish steamship i'heS
world over which were competing 81 ''o1sy
With Englands merchant marine IN the r"'
East, for example, as to cause Engia"' -
seriou. loss OF trade. This rceaon VI w
eeas is not, however, what was meant. %
turn. out Germany was quite AS ahNiouS ~
cain military control Of the stas, so as u
Son,ir ate the worlds trade as she was to gain
. like control on land. If she could get Eng
land out Of the way she felt sure she could
disregard ourselves. She naturally natea
England as a commercial rival; five thought
she had any affection for us We were deludiEa
orrseIves. for we threatened also to be cor"
mercial rival, and she was growing Jeslou@
Of us.
To-day the Allies, being at war with Gel
many. still enjoy the Freedom Of the sea-
I'm, Of quite q different order from what Ter
many conceived. 1t has been maintained, ~
cpite of the war. by England's navy, nc"
backed by our own constantly growing feets'
And because the Allies control the seas they
are slowly but surely winning the war, az |
have said in a previous article. Not even the
submarines can change the course of events
in the long run. What Mahsn said Of the In
huence Of Sea-Power is everlsstingly true.
There are several ways in wiich the mil'-
tary control of the seas is felt. That which
first suggests itself to layman is the pre-
vention of invasion of a country which is pro-
,ected by it's feet. Again, the control OF the
seas affects the course OF a war very seri-
ously if the dominating fleets can materially
interfere with an enemy's trade, where that
enemy is dependent on the outside world for
necessary military supplies or food for It's
civilian population. The most striking eX
ample in the worlds history of rhe first case
is Englsnd's protection of her coasts against
an invasion by Napoleon. Napoleon, in 1905,
collected gigantic army at Bcdlogne and d
vast quantity of barges, ETC., for the purpose
of invading England; but England's fleets
were SO threatening, in spite OF Frances
efforts TO overcome them, :nat Napoleon
dared not attempt to cross the twenty-five
miles of water that separated lis army from
the shores of Kent. The Grapde Armee in
1905 left the shores of the Channel and
marched southesstwsrd to the glorious vic
tories of Ulm and Austerli.s. while the
French feet was defeated dec,sively at Ira
fagnr. 1t is true that a few years before the
French endeavored to throw forces into IRE
land. but the expeditions, although they
reached ireland, resulted in failures. Eng
lands feet saved England
Conditions During Our Civil War
As Tor the second case of control of the
seas, 10 which / refer, our own Civil War is
the greatest example of n successful blockade
that was disastrous to the enemy. Imme-
diately upon the outbreak of the war the
Federal government declared blockade
against ali the Southern oorts. and this block
sde was never relaxed; on the contrary, il