The Detroit times., 1917-11-13
Answering NJ. Kerensky's
Very nl-Advised Inquiry
Concerning Britain's Fleet


isb fleet failed to come to the aid OF the
Russians in the recent Riga offensive has
been eagerly seized upon by pro-German
propaqandists in the United states and
in Detroit.
"see,p they exclaim, England Is put
ting the burden Of war on her Allies Are
we not foolish to fight Engiaad's bait
tles?"
And so on, to the same effect ad in6ni-
tum
Because this bit of enemy propaganda
seems to be raising honest doubts in the
minds of few Americans, leu us try.
LAYING aside for the moment all tail twist
ing ircinations. to give an honest an
swer to Mr.. Kerensky's question:
Where is the British fleet, now that
the Germans are out in the Baltic?
The British feet is Just where il has
been since the beginning Of the war
hunting submarines, chasing German
raiders. and otherwise active in making
the seas safe for democracy.
The owners Of the German transatlan-
tic ships now ro5ting at their docks in the
great German ports could quite easily
tell Mr. Kerensky what the British feet
is doing.
Aside from the obvious retort that, II
the Russian soldiers intrusted with the
defense of Riga and other Baltic ports
had fought as the French did at Verdun.
there would be no need Of the British
fleet, there are a number Of intensely
practical reasons why England's sea pow
er could not 90 to the aid Of her Rus
sian ally.
In the first place, the narrow passages
which give entrance to the Baltic he
largely within the territorial waters of
the neutral Scandinavian countries, which
have forbidden them to warships Of both
belligerents.
To lend force to their ban they have
strewn the forbidden waters with mines.
Then, again, there are the German
raiders, which would not neglect the op-
portunity offered by the absence of the I
British watchdogs from the North sea
to slip thru the weakened Gordon and
harry Allied shipping in the four corners
of the globe.
But most potent of all is the Kiel canal. /
This waterway, entirely under German /
control, connects the Baltic and North /
seas across the narrow neck Of land to
the south of Denmark.
Were a large portion of the British /
feet detached for service in the Baltic, 1
the entire German sea power, taking ad- I
vantage of this inland route, might de-
scend upon the weakened British squad
rons in the North sea and destroy them /
Then they could return by the same
route and, reinforced by submarines.
meet the remainder Of the English dread I
naughts and in all probability destroy /
them
The attack on the North sea feet and I
the return could be accomplished while (
the British attacking squadron was MAX
ing the long detour necessary to reach /
the Baltic by the open sea route.
Tnen the United States navy alone
would stand in the way Of the driving
Of Allied commerce from the sea.
The British fleet is right where il is !
doing the most good
And, in any event, criticism Of Britain 4
comes with i'll grace from the man whose
country allowed the splendid British |
guns, sent to it for defense against the
Germans, to rust to piece in the snows /
around Archangel, and left heaps of mu-
nitions from the same source to the
mercy Of the elements, while its leaders
sat in Petrograd and argued about
Utopia
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