New-York tribune., 1917-07-26
Anti-Submarine Campaign Dragging
By 4. Fredericks

another passage from the ScheIut U t'ie H"e
lish Channel Because Of Hollands insisteHce
on this the British have not mined IN as
closely as the navy would like, and this
channel has allowed the German submarines
to get out into deep water, submerge and
get away. With mines laid close in TO the
short German coast line and others on the
Belgian coast. which now has to be kept
omen. the destroyers would have little dim
Guilty in keeping the German submarines at
their bases, where eventually they could De
destroyed"
Merchantmen Out of Repair
A shipping man who has made close STUDY
Of the submarine trouble says that one reason
for the success of the Germans is that Few OF
the steamers now crossing the ocean are apie
TO make anything like their normal speed
There has been such a demand for frelgnts
and steamers have made so much money tnaI
their owners have neglected to keep them IN
proper repair. In many instances they nave
been unable to get repairs made, and conse-
ouently bottoms are foul, boilers leaking ana
engines worn. Twenty-knot boats can get
away from all but few OF the submarines
for few can make more than sixteen knots
But the twenty-knot boats have dropped to
eighteen, and then to sixteen and fourteen
ana rev can mdhS HiOiS bH0h
nowadays, and are thus an easy prey for the
submersible.
This country has built or is building ninety
four destroyers OF these about seventy are
in commission Many of these and some OF
the largest and fastest yachts are patrolllns
in European waters. What is wanted more
than ANYTHING else is more destroyers. AT the
outbreak of the war Great Britain had 2se
destroyers and France had eighty-seven
MANY Of these have been lost, but those ios'
have been more than replaced by new ones
which have been turned out in large numbers
in the ship and navy yards. The latest and
best can make forty-three knots. All are be-
ing used for patrol work, together with boo
toats built in Canada.
The destroyers have proved that they can
beat the submarine. They have conveyed the
American transports through the war zone
safely and have sunk German submarines
The British destroyers have kept the lines
omen in the English Channel, and few OF the
thousands of vessels carrying supplies ano
soldiers to France have been lost. Under
standardized methods Of fabrication 1t would
be possible to build destroyers faster than
cargo ships can be built and few destroyers
could safely convoy large fleet Of cargo yes
sells across the Atlantic and so keep furnish
ing supplies to the Allies and TO the Ameri'
can soldiers in France.
Navy Not in First Class Condition
It is not pleasant thing to have to admit
that the United States navy is not in the con-
dition in which it should be. The ships are
of the best, and so are the officers and men
but the boats cannot be fully commissioned
because enlistments have been slow. Last
winter many of the best ships were laid ur
in ordinary, so that each had only sufficient
men on board to keep them ready. Since then
many OF the best gunners have been taken of
the fighting ships and put on the merchant
vessels, and others have been put on the de
stroyers. Each destroyer has a crew OF
eighty-two men, and, with more than seventy
in commission, many men have been taken
from the big ships. The recruits are learning
They are now at the naval training camps
but it will be some time before they know
enough to do active work.