New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-05-05
American Naval Strategists
Urge British to Adopt
Offensive Policy
Futility of Seeking
Submarines at Large
Must Be Either Destroyed
at Their Source or Con-
fined in Area
By c. w. Gilbert

Washington, May Am American
plan for bottling up the German SUBJ
marines in the North Sea is being
urged by the ablest naval strategists
here. The plan has been presented 10
the naval experts OF the British COM
mission.
II is pointed out that what the Brit
ish navy is doing in pursuing the SUBJ
marine in the waters where the de-
struction of shipping is most severe
violates every recognized principle Of
naval strategy. The rule of naval
strategy is that you must either seek
out the enemy feet ana destroy it, or,
failing that, contain it within soms
limited area, some port or sea whoss
mouth or mouths Can he closed
This is what the English feet has
done with respect to the -urtace feet
Of Germany. The oattleships, cruisers
and destroyers of the enemy are locked
fast in German ports or in the Baltic
Sea. They do not venture forth. The
difficulty OF pursuing an cncmv vessel
upon the nigh seas has been illustrated
in the case Of the occasional German
raider that has got through the Gordon
of British vessels. An utterly dispro-
portionate amount OF energy is re-
quired before the fugitive is finally
run to death. IL it does not in the end
escape back 20 some home port
British Policy Purely Defensive
But with regard to submarines the
British are not even fulfilling the Grst
requirement Of naval strategy. to seek
out the enemy feet and destroy il. II
is true that the British are destroying
submarines. but that is largely incl
dental to the protection of merchant
shipping In word, the British poll
icy toward the submarine is purely de-
fensive instead Of offensive.
The immediate necessity Of getting
after n submarine tha. has just sunk
merchant ship has engaged the at
tention of the Admiralty TO the exclu-
sion of big general policy of prevent
ing submarine activity. And it is more
or less natural that it should. The
necessity of reducing submarine raw.
ages is of vital Importance. for Eng
land must be fed and supplied and as
much shipping must be saved and kept
afioat as possible. Moreover, it is no
secret that the British, like almost
everybody else who has had to do with
this war. have miscalculated its dura-
tion and its difficulties.
Last summer the British naval au-
thorities we're confident that the war
was being won on the land-on the
West front. They were overimpressed
with the evidences of German exhaus-
tion and depression which they thought
they had. Moreover, they seem to have
had no idea that the Germans could so
multiply, as they have. the destructive
effects of the U-boat campaign, or they
believed that for political reasons the
! Germans would not resort to ruthless
sinkings, in utter violation of the law
and OF their engagements with this
country. At any rate, when the ruth
less campaign began the Admiralty had
no effective plan OF meeting it and set
to work chasing submarines precisely
as they chase raiders.
The American Plan
In brief, the American plan is to do
az the north end Of the North Sea pre-
cisely what has been done in the south
end. The English Channel is so guard
ed with nets, mines and armed patrol
boats, with hydroplanes and "blimps."
that German submarines practically
never make their way from Germany
TO the Atlantic Ocean by the southern
route.
believe that there is only ono
known recent instance Of submarines
making their way out by the Channel,
and that was after a severe storm or
during one which interfered with the
work of patrol and perhaps loosened
mines and nets. The British were
forced TO close the Channel to U-bosts
early in the war in order to keep open
passage TO France. This was vitality
necessary in order that armies could be
transported to the West front and
maintained there. The job was done so
thoroughly that the Channel is prsc-
tically as safe to cross- as any water
in the world.
Closing of the northward exit from
the North Sea is a much greater task
than closing the Channel to U-boats,
but in the opinion Of naval strategists
here il is entirely feasible. II the
money and material spent on chasing
u-boats could be concentrated on clos-