New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-08-10
Tons
Of British Ships
Lost in 6 Months
By Arthur S. Draper

By Arthur >. Draper
LONDON, Aug. s.-During the last
twenty-four weeks 473 British ships Of
over 1900 tons and 169 under that
tonnage have been sunk by mines or
torpedoes. Allowing 5000 as the av-
ersge tonnage for the first class. and
1000 for the second, these 642 vessels
represent a total tonnage Of approx
mately 100000, or an average of 6o0,-
900 tons loss monthly.
If the present rate Of sinking con-
tinues British shipping in year will
be decreased by 100000 tons.
With the entrance of America into
the war the need of transatlantic
shipping has increased immensely. The
greater the number of troops sent to
this side the greater the amount Of
tonnage required.
Transports Heavy Drain
Says "The Westminster Gazette:
cAlSd CHbAy iHLO IHc wal AuuSb
make fresh demands upon the shipping
of the world. and the plain fact Is
that build as we may, there is not, and
cannot be for long time yet, sufficient
ships to do all the business Of the Al.
lies. The only remedy for the eondi-
tion is continuous self.denisl Of the ci-
william population"
Some months back. during debate In
Parliament. it was stated authoritative
ly that three tons of shipping are re-
quired for every British soldier lesv-
ing these shores. Suppose this were
the basis for million Americans land
ed in Europe. It would mean 100000
tons of shipping deducted from the to-
tai tonnage or January, 1917. Add this
to the losses of the last six months and
the seriousness of the shipping prob
lem become strikingly apparent,
But it does not end there. France,
Italy, Sweden, Norway and Holland
have all suffered heavily in the last
six months. Against these losses must
be put the new tonnage seized and built
by the Allies, but, at the best, IL cam
not exceed 100000, leaving a heavy
deficit.
Tonnage Demands Greater
AS the war is prolonged the demands
for tonnage multiply rather than de-
crease. IL grows clearer every day
that America must provide all the ton
mage she requires for the movement Of
troops, and must build franticslly to
supply the needs of her European
Allies.
The only newspapers demanding fig.
ures on the tonnage loss this week are
those of the Northcliffe press. Says
"The Times's" naval correspondent:
The popular appeal for the figures
Of tonnage destroyed shows no falling
off, in spite Of the official refusal to
supply such information. 1t may, how
ever, be pointed out that merely to
have the tonnage figures would not
provide sufficient facts on which to
base conclusions which would be the
most useful for the enlightenment of
the British public. What is really
wanted is a statement of the number
Of British ships within the danger
zone during the week, the number OF
attempts on these ships by subma-
rines and the number of escapes.
"The figures of entrances and clear
ances to and from United Kingdom
ports already given afford no real
ground Of comparison with any other
figures in return. They relate to ves-
sells Of all nationalities, but the totals
Of losses only concern British ships,
and merely TO give the tonnage Of the
latter would, it may be feared, carry
little more weight with the uniniti-
ated."
Returns Misleading
"The Daily Mail" comments editori-
ally:
"The British returns are 80 drawn
up as 10 be entirely misleading, if
they also are quite accurate. They do
not disclose the tonnage sunk--a CAPT.
tai mistake. They do not include
damaged ships. They do not include
losses of our allies or OF neutrals.
These, however, must be taken into
account, for the Allies are making
considerable use of neutral tonnage,
which is suffering cruelty at the hands
Of the enemy. Last month, for ex-
ample, Norway lost no fewer than
thirty-three vessels Of $4,000 tonnage.
Again the ships entered and cleared
give the impression of an enormous
trafic on which the Germans take a
quite insignificant toll. Yet ships
which enter with transoceanic cargo
and which are most vital for our sup
ply Of food and raw material have al
ways been relatively few, and probably
now are greatly reduced in number.
Could we learn what percentage of
them are sunk the figures might be
surprising.
"The submarine campaign will not be
overcome until we have a war staff on
modern lines. Such a staff will not
take any risks which will endanger the
safety Of the country. The system
which rendered the Dardanelles gamble
possible has not yet been swept away
30 far as the public knows. Until IL 10
swept away the navy and the nation are
not secure. Meanwhile the present
policy Of passiIty, while our merchant
feet is being destroyed at the rate Of
some million tons a year faster than
new ships can be built, spells certain
defeat II II is continued"