New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-06-16
For Offensive Measures at Sea

In an instructive ana remarkably frank
discourse reported in "The Evening Post"
the brilliant naval correspondent of Land
and Water" Mr. Arthur Pollen, speaks out
boldly for stalking all on aggressive war
fare against the submarine. "If had my
way" he says, II should stop shipbuilding
to replace lost merchant tonnage in all ship
yards in the Allied countries and concen-
pate efforts on putting out anti-submarine
craft. That is the way to stop the sub
marine. Don't try to replace continuing
losses. First, make the losses impossible.
Then you can begin building to replace
sunken tonnage"
Il is hardly to be doubted that the need
of more offensive measures is now gener-
ally recognized. There arc signs of in
creased activity in the recent repeated at
tacks on Zeebrugge and other submarine
bases on the Belgian coast, and though we
have no way Of telling exactly how much
damage was done in the recent lombard
ments, there is some reason to believe that
such attacks persisted in without ceasing
must tell in the long run.
But Mr.. Pollen demands much more.
Quite reasonably he attaches little i'm
portance to the weekly ups and downs
shown in the lists of sinkings in the last
three months, declining to draw any def
mite conclusion except the manifest con-
clusion that the submarine has not been
defeated. Until we are assured that a
large proportion Of the vessels can be de-
stroyed before they reach the open sea- or
at least before they return into port; until
we know that the Germans are losing
| them faster than they can replace them, it
is idle to speak Of the menace as declining,
though for week or two the returns may
show a falling off in the number of VIC
tins. And so Mr.. Pollen holds that all
efforts ought to be concentrated not on re-
pairing the damage done, not on replacing
lost tonnage, but on putting stop to the
losses by overcoming the cause.
An opinion prevails in some quarters
that the British naval policy in this war
has hitherto been too defensive. A not
able controversy on this point, in which
Mr.. Pollen and many other students Of
strategy have taken part, has been carried
on lately in "The Times" Of London. One
distinguished correspondent, Admiral Sir
Reginald Custance, went so far as to at
/ tribute it to modern heresy which gained
currency not more than ten or twelve years
ago, the doctrine, namely, that success can
be won at sea without battle and that
the maintenance Of communications should
be accepted as the main function Of
| the fleet.
AS in many similar controversies, it
seemed that some of the oponents on this
occasion were really arguing merely about
modes of expression rather than policies.
The doctrine traced by Sir Reginald Gus
stance to 1906 was certainly current many
years earlier, though perhaps not ex-
pressed in quite the same terms. Colomb
formulated principles not dissimilar forty
years ago, and they were eventually ac-
copied in the main by most reasoners on
the naval policy of Britain. That does not
mean, however, that they regarded the de-
struction of the enemy's armed ships as a
superfluous enterprise, and it is very doubt
full whether any of those criticised by Sir
Reginald Custance to-day would accept
that as a Just or reasonable summary of
their teachings.