The Cordova daily times., 1917-07-31
GERMAN SUPPL ' IF TORPEDOES
 WEAKENING
(By Associated Press)

| Wy A~OShNNNS' T ASo7l WASHINGTON. July 31. = There is reason to believe that the German | torpedo supply is weakening, says a statement issued at the Navy League headquarters today.
 The increasing frequency with which press dispatches report merchant ships as successfully lodging German torpedoes, says the statement, sug. gests to the technically trained mind that the German torpedo is deterior ating in speed. and hence in accuracy of fire at long range.
 At the outset, the statement con tinues, the Germans were extremely careful to conserve their torpedoes Merchant ships were sunk by gunfire wherever possible. But the armine of merchant ships and the constant improvement in the allies system of defense against submarine attack has driven the submarines under water and they are now forced to use tor pedoes in almost every attack. The increase in the number of submarines has further added to the strain upon the German stock of torpedoes.
 An analysis of reports on submarine attacks now indicates that this unpre cedented expenditure of torpedoes is | beginning to tell upon the effective | ness of the U-boat warfare. The Ger | mans are pressing their submarine campaign with all possible vigor and the number of attacks on merchant ships appears to be increasing. Also the zone of submarine operations is constantly widening. Yet this in l creased fury with which the U-boat warfare is being waged has failed tC increase the number of merchant ships sunk. The Germans apparently are being forced to constantly greater eff
 forts to maintain their average oi sinkings, and even so, are slipping back slightly.
 l The explanation of this offered by certain naval experts is that the Ger
 mans are being so pressed for time in
 the construction of torpedoes that
 they can no longer maintain theii
 spceu and theIr accuracy of Ire. Il
 is estimated that the German torpedo
 has lost nearly ten knots in speed
 from the standard torpedo used at the outset of the war.
 It takes normally six months tt
 construct torpedo and costs man,
 thousand dollars. There is also [ chance of Germany running short 1T
 some material essential in their man
 ufacture. Whether this has occurred
 is not known, but the conclusion has
 been reached that the individual Ger
 man torpedo is losing in efficiency.
 The U-boat warfare as now beine waged, it is said, was undoubtedly not thought out and prepared for by Ger many before the war. Therefore the stock of torpedoes was not sufficient | for the purpose. The efficiency has | been made up by increasing the out put of torpedoes. But with the tre mendous land operations she has es- sayed, Germany could not have de voted maximum of labor or mater ials to the making of torpedoes. Had she done this it is not doubted she could have kept up the supply. But l sacrifices iE the torpedo supply were made to satisfy the folly of the crown | prince at Verdun.
 Naval experts are rightly continu ing to stress the vital importance oi attempting to destroy the power oi the submarine by some new develop ment in naval strategy. No Tdegree of deterioration In the effectiveness o
 German torpedo attack would lessor
 these efforts at effective warfare
 against the submarines. Yet the in
 terest of naval experts has been at
 tracted by this recent record of per formance of the German torpedoes They are wondering whether German,
 can stand much longer the strain 0
 this staggering expenditure of tor
 pedoes.