The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-03-26
GERMANY WATCHES
AMERICA PREPARE
Press and Public Take View That Moth
ing Can Prevent This Country
from Joining England.

BERLIN, March 26.-The Berlin
newspapers give absolutely passionless
accounts of President Wilson s prepara-
tions for war and without any comment
Press and public, as well as the gov.
eminent, are watching the situation
resignedly, believing that nothing will
prevent the American president from
joining England as soon as he finds his
casus belli and that, since he is look.
ing for it, he is bound to find it. sooner
or later.
With reference TO the U-boat war
Captain Persius in the Tageblatt how.
ever, calls attention to a novel asnect
that may interest Americans. He ouotes
President Wilson as saying that il was
TO be hoped that the force of armed
power would not have to be applied
But there could not be any donht
says Captain Persius, that any shin
armed with guns would represent the
force of armed power Who TODAY. he
asks, would still differentiate between
warships end merchant vessels armed
with guns? Therefore, he concludes
any American merchant vessel armed
with guns of the United States wonld
attack the moment she entered the Ger
man danger zone and met a U-boat.
Captain Persius then stops to draw
attention to an extraordinary situation
possible under such conditions. ANY
boat emerging from the sea near any
American vessel, he says, would i'm.
mediately be covered with a shower Of
shells. Now, he asks, what if that
U-boat should be French or English
as IN all probability it would be. for
no German U-boat would be foolish
enough to rise near an armed American
vessela
= If German boat should see n
vessel approaching, he says, it would
wisely submerge. From time to time
It might raise its periscope so as Il
catch the victim at the most opporrun
moment. When the deadly torpedo wa
discharged the German U-boat would
disappear. This is exactly as Admiral
Sir Percy Scott. in February, 1914, de-
scribed the way the English navy would
conduct its future U-boat war. Sill
Percy Scott also declared it was quite
sufficient to warn neutrals in genera
way not to enter n certain danger zone
tNhANh NcS OutIlilci StS Il utIu Tor -DOa
operations.
Captain Persius then returns to HI
original arguments and adds that i
would always be immensely difficult t
prove that ship sunk under conditions
described was a Uboat victim. since
mines have exactly the same effect.
If, in American cireles,' he con
tinues, 'the opinion should still prevail
that any vessel flying the Stars and
Stripes would remain unmolested, the,
would be making fatal mistake Il
was said often enough and authorize
lively that there will be no breakin
down concerning our U-boat methods
Any ship, without any exception what
ever, which our U-boats meet in the
danger zone viii be sunk
The American proposition to Pre-
vide merchant vessels with little I
boat hunters cannot be taken seriousle
Even large steamers can carry on
comparatively small motor boats Be
/ sides, IN heavy sea, motor boats can
not be lowered. Even much larger Eng
lish C4boat hunters have proved use
less in heavy sea-
1t may also be supposed that oul
u-boats will not permit themselves t.
be hurt by such motor boats since
swarms of torpedo boats accompanying
English vessels could not save then
from the deadly torpedo.