New-York tribune., 1917-12-14
,,;,huiIding and Destruc-
,ion of Submarines
Both Increasing
Great Undersea
Offensive Fails
, ,nOcbing of Tonnage
s,ould Soon Exceed Sink
inss, Says Expert

\ LONDON. Dee A'.
!, being held. but is not yet
..-,S Sir Eric Gcddes. First Lord
-, .smirslty, told the House OF
-, to-day. Although British
.srading was not yet replacing all
~, Sir Eric said, "the upward curve
.,;nbuilding and the upward curve
! 5.,,,yetion Of enemy submarines
h.,n as satisfactory as the down
,-erd Of mercantile marine
~,s'
=. Firs. Lord described three great
r,,iOnal sh.pyardssnOw being built
-, river Severn. and declared that
/ -, economy in the use OF tonnage
4 "a y, concentration Of all efforts
-. IRE submarine would bring VIC
N, 10 the Allies.
p the last few weeks Germany mas
-. ,ttsmp.ing submarine offensive
n ,se grestest possible magnitude 10
...-so-rs her offensive on land and m
..,s Britain toward peace, hlgh naval
.-.ss-i,y -, told The Associated Press to-
=. his coun. which has accounted
-. high rate Of sinkings in the last
..,.s weeks. has failed signally. and At
l,-y cost. the informant declared.
l,unehings May Exceed Sinkings
~ sbip5uilding efforts can be prop
.,r spurred Oh IN England and Amer
!. said this authority. the AIlies
IN h, able 10 say within measurable
80, that tonnage is being launched at
~, exceeding the snkings; and also.
The naval measures continue 10 m
rroye. as Il is reasonable 70 expect, they
~1l be able 10 say that J-5oats are
,sr- sunk faster than the Germans are
N, 70 build them and that the Ger
~,r U-boat feet Is steadily dwindllnS
way.
alucA s,llI depends on American
apbuilding. bu; as encouragement 10
hose vho are putting their efforts into
~, vork. 70 may be said with conf
s,sce that the Allied navies are able TO
ss,dls the U-bo-t.'
"A vast extension Of our shipbuild-
RI facilities is necessary if we are
.veeessfully 70 counter the enemy's
submarine depreds;ions,' said Sir Erie
10 Commons.
After giving figures Of the prog
tss already made. showing that the
rnsiruc.ion Of merchantmen for this
var would be as great as that Of the
e e.vI - all glaegoe
shipping IS per cent higher than
1918, If the October and Novem-
rr records were kept uD. he said that
'iis programme would be greatly in
gssscd mex; year Private yards had
,s,n authorized TO increase their ac-
ionmodsion by forty-five berths.
vails the new national Shipyards on
ne terycn would provide thirly-four
erihs.
U-Bost Not Vet Mastered
TIE demands on our merchant
'iippue.' continued the First Lord,
sr, greater than thcy have ever been.
iht submarine menace is. in my
opiaiof, held. but not yet mastered.
Oar shipbulding is not yet replacing
ffNANNH Wv N'A Z NH " a M 90 = hNANN
hols from the experience Of one week
Or month. be it good or bad. 1t is the
general curve which we must watch.
Il have studied the general curve
since November ], when | made my
iisi statement and the downward trend
o. the mercantile losses. both Of our
selves and our Allies. continues salts
iie'orily. The upward curve Of mer-
sasni ship building has also continued
satisfactorily. and will undoubtedly be
maintained. The upward curve OF the
obstruction OF enemy submarines has
eonllnutd equally satisfactorily, and :
nave no reason 90 doubt that those
gres vlll continue gradually TO i'm
prove.
But 7 reiteratc that good or a
ese month Of sinkings. either Of mer-
sfantmen or submarines, ought not TO
,. taken b. itself Casualties in ships
WI fuciuate just as casualties in man
poytr huctuatc IN land war, and II IS
oaiy BY taking tho general trend Of
'agc'ss or loss that a true picture can
eeiaincd.
Economy will Win
~ tho country will only economic
"a unit consult ption 20 a to restrict
,as uss Of tonnage and set the ships
y" ior more urgent uses I'm connec-
.0h With the military necessities and
.ae maintenance OF the civil popula-
eess Of ourselves and our allies; II.
lo'iosing the tradition OF our race, We
I.l iorth al or power and relax no
sleu 10 defeat the submarine, then
.as war can only end in victory. But
~, ~ must have ships, more ships and
!. wi more ships, and now ! want men
% build them.
Our plsnS arc laid. We have got
i's s'eel, and ! want the men. Unless
a .1le entirely mistaken the spirit of
=. =. country, We will have a response
ses VIII demonstrate TO the world
- our grip tightens as the great
'Jsggle continues"
respite the fairly large number of
S-Alogs reported this week. there is no
n,ease In optimism among those who
a. me submarine war situation. who
1. no reason for modifying or alter
~ IIemier Lloyd Georges statement
"a. NVNemoer 20 that there is no longer
e,.,.@r is@r OF the submarine proving a
N's'slse Ssse factor IN the war.
II, "OVemoer was 4 red letter month in
~. O-boat war. for three reasons.
~; The loss Of tonnage during the
,l,;..l a was the lowest since the unrc-
s,,ssSa submarine campaign began.
,'s., ,'.ao, the Sinkings Of enemy subma-
!, we're the greatest ever recorded
h. shgie month. Third, the launch
Va" /" new merchantmen from British
i,,.ss came within measurable dis
y ~, o. eequslling the loss Of tonnage
margin between the sinkings and
sps. ---------------