Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-07-22
BY ISAAC F. MARCoSsoN,

f,p,bo- o. The War After the War" The
Rebrth Of Russia" etc.
HoRTLY after the outbreak of
the war some men sat talking
~ in London club One OF them.
W who had quite a reputation as
a wag. remarked:
Il have a new definition for Eng
land"
What is it," asked a companion.
"A body Of land entirely surrounded
by the British navy" replied the first
speaker
Today that definition might be slight
II modified SO as to read:
"a body of land almost entirely EUR
rounded by submarines"
A year ago the so-called danger
zone" comprised the waters about the
British Isles. Now It is extending to
the whole OF the north Atlantic and
before many months pass 1t may en-
brace all the seven seas.
The biggest surprise Of the war has
become the biggest problem. More
than this. the submarine provided the
concrete reason why America is active
" lined Up in this great conflict. and
II will doubtless AFFORD, through some
act of frtghtfulness. the one supreme
provocation that will arouse America
to an acute realization Of what her
war responsibilities are and the kind
of foe she must meet on land and sea
After an absence of five months fr
the warning countries I find an impress
sion IN America that England seems
TO be unable TO cope successfully witt
the submarine. People read In the
newspapers that each week a huge ton
mage has gone to the bottom. Since
the inauguration Of the unrestricted
submarine warfare on February l TIT
loss Of British shipping alone aggre
gates more than 100000 tons. Yet, q
Offset this. is the fact that every sevei
DAYS nearly 5000 vessels arrive AM
depart from British ports. havinl
braved the hazards of the forbidden
areas The freedom of the seas !
more than a phrase.
What are the real facts with regar
to the submarine situation. how lon
can British tonnage stand up unoe
the merciless drain: what is Englan
doing to combat the anarchist of II
sea; can America solve the myster
which, IL must be frankly admitted. hs
baffied inventor and naval strategy
throughout the whole allied domain?
p One reason why the submarine hui
has been slow and difficult and appa
entity unsatisfactory is that IT dea
with an absolutely ne" FORM Oh 81
warfare. Before this war. naval nigh
ing was literally above board. 1t W;
case of standing up and giving
taking the medicine. Along came Il
submarine like an undersea snake, vi
latfng every tradition OF honorab
naval warfare and preyins on bellige
ent and innocent bystander alike. 1t fe
lowed that, at the outset OF the VT
England had completely to revolutio
tze her procedure of sea fighting, and
has been difficult and costly Job. s
has had to learn by her own experten'
Armament was soon shown to be OF
avail against the submarine. Speed a
vigilance became tho chief elements
The anti-submarine formula. Thor
Pore, one OF Ensland's first and me
efficient weapons against the C-boat
a mighty but little known fleet of SIN
and swift vessels.
Technically. II is known as the patl
feet j can give you no better idea
the extraordinary development of Il
phase of Great Britain's naval ca
paign than TO say that from one hu
dred and fifty small ships on patrol a
scout duty at the beginning of the W
the 9.sx las grown to more than thu
Thousand vessels that now range
water highways from the North Z
down to the Mediterranean.
These boats include every concsival