The Washington herald., 1917-03-24
What Leading Newspapers
Say on the War Situation
No Time to Lose.
New Yort Times,

VI Tic country uy 6lTs ihuOs
ana sea there is nothing disparaging to
say. They have been well thought out.
ana while disputes have arisen regarding
types OF guns and Of propeiilng ma
cnlnery Tor battleships. II is fair to as
sumo that the selections have been made
win good Judgment. But. generally
speaklng, we have acquired little In the
way OF oefense except the plans. With
an tne urgent appeals of naval and mil
itary experts, of newspapers and speech
makers, for two years past, we are still
IN state Of unpreparedness. The first
oatch or the new submarine chasers Is
10 De ready in three months. In that
tlme many disasters may occur. And the
building OF those small boats is the slight
est operation the Navy Department has
In view.
supplies and equipment for soldiers are
not ready, in spite of all the warnings.
run equipment can be obtained long be-
1ore the men are trained to use it." Is
the poor consolation we may derive from
the Washington dispatches. The univer-
sal military training bills are to be
brought forward in both Houses Of Con-
gress early in the extra session. That is
as 1t should be, and in both branches
serious attention is to be paid TO the Cen
which should be embodied in whatever
bill is accepted. 80
Action.
| christian Science Monitorl
The President of the United States has,
| by proclamation, set forward the time for
the assembling OF the Sixty-fifth Con-
| April 16 to April 2, one week from next
Monday. Public interests require this
step. his brief announcement of the
| change declares, that grave questions of
national policy may be considered Pub
| lie sentiment might have restrained it.
self even longer. as 1t has checked its
humane. generous. and patriotic impulses
during the last two and a half years. but
at the present stage of unquestionable
drift toward defense and resistance, II
would hardly have been content with less
| than this. At no time since the invasion
of Belgium has public opinion in the
| United States been so completely unified
and determined on matters Of national
and international duty as Il is today. II
President Wilson has waited until all that
Is worthy of being called American in the
Republic should find expression in one
voice, he has not waited in vain.
| This call for an assembling Of Congress
earlier than was deemed necessary by the
| Chief Magistrate two weeks ago does not
mean that the clash, which he has sc
long and so patiently struggled to avoid
Is now inevitable. Considering the rapid
ty with which events are moving, and
the vast and growing significance and
| Importance attaching TO most of them
many things might take place before
April ., which would change the entire
complexion OF the situation. From sur.
| face indications usually reliable, there is
apparently no less activity in diplomatic
| circles. and no more eagerness for solid
ground and safer adjustment in certain
of the foreign Offices than may be found
on certain of the battle fronts. Never
theless, the call for an earlier meeting
OF Congress will have no other meaning
in the thoughts Of millions of people in
the United States than that. in the judg-
ment Of the President, the time for action
has arrived. Assuming that this convic-
tion is well founded, decision fraught
| with possibilities as mcmentous as the
nation has ever been asked to face. is to
| pass from the executive to the legislative
| branch of the government. for Congress
only, reflecdng the sentiment and will OF
the people, can declare war. '''
The End of the Long Drift.
Ths Boston JournAl)
| Drifting into war'-how often that
now hackneyed expression has been used
in the last year and a half to describe
the American course. The government
paredness and engaged itself in a long
discourse Of humanity's ideals-thcrcby
adding to German contempt and sub
tracing from American strength. And
meanwhile We ddfted. drifted; drifted
past the Lusitania, past a dozen lesser
| crises, listening to soothing words, cajol-
ing ourselves into the beautiful hope that
our good intentions rendered US safe from
aggression.
nj.
| in Indignation. but there was always a
soft answer at Washington Time after
time our greatest statesmen warned us
and implored us to arm against the in
levitable. but voices in Congress called
them ''militarists,' "jingoes." war
mad"
The summons to Congress Is a signal
that American patience is exhausted.
Gathered at Washington April will be
a Congress of defense, Americas long
delayed answer to Germany's defiance of
the world and the worlds laws.
New York Evening Post.
British official figures on submarine
sinkings for the week ending March IS
show sixteen ships Of more than 1.600
tons lost as against thirteen ships for
the preceding week, an increase. but not
a particularly striking increase. What
the losses are in actual tonnage we may
calculate somewhat after this fashion:
The official German claim for February
for all nationalities is 3eS ships sunk.
with a total OF 7S1.5Oo tons; this would
give an average tonnage of 2,12o per ship.
Enemy vessels sunk according to Berlin,
were 292. with a total of $4,000 tons: this
would give the average tonnage of 200
per ship. If We assume $500 tons as the
average for the ships dealt with in the
latest admiralty reports-sixteen over
1,600 tons and eight under 800 tons-this
would give for the week Of March IS a
total loss of 5000 tons. with an indicated
monthly rate Of about 10000 tons. It is
a rough approximation. but the conclu-
sion Is inescapable that March has wit
messed a decided falling of from the pace
set by the U-boats in February. This
will be accounted for by the fact that in
the early part Of March the submarines
were back in port reftting. The final
days of the present month may sec a
notable increase. But at best we are