The Carlisle independent., 1917-05-31


 are at the work of war.
 One of these sea matters which have been subjects of conferences may be written about fully because publicity has been given to suggested scheme for getting after the German subma- rines at their bases. If the destruc- tion of these sea assassins is not pos sible in their building and fitting out ports, it is within the scope of the suggested plan to attempt to prevent their setting forth on their voyages of destruction.
 Offers Possibility of Success.
 Nothing has been revealed concern ing plans for sending ships in to blast the submarines at their moorings, or to mine and net their approaches to the open sea, but the mere suggestion that something of this kind shall be tried by the navies of Great Britain and France is proof that some of the sea captains think the scheme offers a possibility of success. It may also prove that the urging of American naval officers has been met with sue cess, success made easier perhaps because the civilian population of Eng land through the press has been ask ing for months why the British navy did not crush the sea hornets in their | nests.
 Civilian criticism, and there has been lot of it in England, is apt to be based on an entire lack of knowl- edge, or at best only half knowledge, of conditions. Recently there came to the United States from England an American who had lived for years in one of the channel ports of the island. He is a friend of the writer of this article He said that the civilian pop ulation of England seemed to feel that it would be possible for the navy, with out sacrificing anything of strategic value, to wipe out the submarine base al Zeebrugge, Belgium .-.4 - -=a=.
 The English newspapers for long time have been carrying in "the voice of the people" and "old subscriber" columns, letters demanding to know" why the navy does not sail Over and smash the submarine base at the Bel gian port named These letters have been answered occasionally by sailors who naturally did not sign their names, but the answers simply have breathed the word impossible" without giving any real reasons as to why the thing cannot be done.
 Zeebrugge Well Defended.
 Zeebrugge is directly across the wa ter from Margate and Ramsgate Eng land, and the distance is not great. Margate and Ramsgate have been bom- 1 barded several times. It is the close ness of this hornets nest which has 1 brought it to the sharp attention of the English people from time to time. ] The Belgian coast near this submarine base is low and sandy, but the whole sea area of it's front is mined and there are huge land batteries protect ing the approaches.
 The defenses of the place are such as to have made it appear to the Brit ish authorities that if the place and it's contents were destroyed the de- struction would not be worth the losses which must be incurred in the opera tions.
 England Not Yet Hungry.
 Probably every reader of an Ameri- can newspaper noticed that after the statement by Secretary of the Interior Lane that the submarine situation was desperate, the British commissioners, without allowing themselves to be quoted, sought to soften the effect of the cabinet officers words.
 The English people have not. yet gone on a ration basis. Just what is the food condition of the island? This question has been answered fairly full ly by some of the British commission CTS.
 Of course, the submarine menace has a direct connection with the feed | ing of England, France and Italy. Eng | lard today has enough food to supply 1 her people and her armies for some time to come, and 1t is probable that so far as the island is concerned, things will be on two-thirds self sustaining basis when the new crop is gathered.
 England, however, as has been point ed out recently, must look after France and Italy. Therefore, the sit uation in the islands becomes the sit uation in the countries of it's western allies. For long time after the war began the British authorities made no effort to cut down the food consump- tion of it's people. The submarines had not succeeded in cutting off SUD- plies to such an extent that things were getting dangerous. It was only comparatively recently, in fact, that England has felt the necessity of curb ing the appetite of its people.
 The other day King George issued a proclamation urging the English to get along with three-quarters of the food that they were using at that time. It has been figured in England that about one-fifth is waste, and so if the peo- pie, while cutting down one-quarter could save one-fifth, they could go on