The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1917-02-15
WORST
MAY BEIN MARCH
British Naval Men Say Lull
Was Expected-Suspect
Base i'm Cuba.

special cable Despatch 10 THE sUN.
LONDON, Feb. 14.-It is the confident
belief here that the German submarines
will not reach their highest efficiency
until the first week in March. British
naval officers do not think that the lull
Of the last few days marks the passing
Of the crisis. They believe it is only a
period during which the submarines have
been unable TO reach efficiency through
the lack of a field for operations
So far the blockade" has proved a
failure in cutting of Great Britain's food
supply. In fact, it has served to en-
phasize the extent TO which Great
Britain controls the seas. All reports
indicate that Germany has been unable
so far to extend the campaign beyond
a reasonable distance.
Naval officers exhibit the utmost con-
fidence in the ability OF the navy to cope
with the latest campaign with approx
mately the same success as the CAM
paign against the U-bodts in 1915.
-Four of I4O sunk.
An Admiralty official showed figures
Of arrivals and departures for yesterday
at English ports. proving that a larger
number OF vessels entered and departed
than on any day during the last six
months. Taking a day at random dur
ing the period since the latest war zone
was declared. out of 1i0 British ar
rivals and departures only four vessels
were sunk. and these figures according
to the official. give an excellent idea OF
the percentage OF loss to vessels taking
the risks.
In the English Channel, where British
! mi inf1G n ra A H-
miralty official says the losses have been
extraordinarily small at a time when
more ships than usual are being routed.
British officials are greatly interested
in the news of the revolutionary out
break in Cuba, where, they assert, they
have reason to suspect German agents
have been at work for a long time Only
few weeks ago Capt. Hans Boehm. a
German army officer. was taken from the
Dutch steamer Zeelandia at Falmouth
He had In his possession a chart OF
Santa Lucia Bay, Cuba, where, accord
| ing to other papers seized at the same
| time, German agents had secured an oil
| concession 1t is the belief here that the
Santa Lucia project was being developed
by means of money sent from New Yorl,
TO Havana.
Suspect Place Is . Blind.
The British naval authorities, while
they have failed to discover any German
submarne base In tho West Indies, de.
clare that they have long had reason tc
suspect the intention of the Germans &c
establish one there, and as consequence
they look with suspicion on the Cubar
oil project as possibly a blind TO hide
the establishment OF refuge from
which submarines could operate. Boehn
was not n leader in these projects bu
had only been carrying out the orders oi
n superior. whose name Is known to tn,
British authorities. although 1t has no
been disclosed
The theory of competent authorities Il
that Germany knew the submarines couls
not take the risk of returning to Belgian
or German bases through the British
blockade. Therefore II was highl,
necessary to establish bases for lubri
eating oil on the coast OF South Americi
or In Cuba.
Detailed reports gathered from numer
Gus sources make plain the fact tina
Germany hoped to have point wher
submarines could provision on the othe
side of the Atlantic. and that this plai
failed mostly because of the vigilance o
the American authorities who cooper
ated with the British naval officials.