The Washington herald., 1917-02-06

FIRE, and if merchant ships permitted to carry guns
the only chance the submarine commander had to
prevent the contraband on the vessel reaching the
enemy to stop her by the only available, the
torpedo. and while not justfyng the action OF sinking
passenger ships, if they carrying contraband
u put up to my readers patriotic citizens OF Amer
ica and ask them what they would do if they were
sailors to give their lives in the defense of their
country and they on submarine and through
their periscope vessel which they knew carrying
large quantity of potential destructive energy, its
way to destroy the lives of their brother and sister
citizens of their country and would at the same
time give aid and sustenance to their countys enemy2
If you were of those sailors and had only few
moments in your lifetime TO act in to stop that cargo
what would you do?
In a recent discussion submarines before the
Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers,
said
Il do not believe there will ever be another mari
time after this l think the submarine will
prove that no country can longer claim to be mis-
tress OF the that the is highway that every
nation shall have the privilege TO send their ships over
and TO transport commerce on equal terms with every
other nation
The submarine is peculiar in the fact that it is
able to prevent the carrying OF commerce. ii neces-
sary, but it is useless for invading purposes as the
comes vulnerable. 1t is peaeemaking weapon for
that ou build guns to meet guns, aero
planes to meet aerop anes and you can destroy life
and property with various other instruments and this
has always been done from the time when human
beings made their weapons of stones and pounded
each other death but up to the present time the
submarine is the first weapon that has been in
vented that has the peculiar capacity IN the prosecu-
ton OF maritime vars to defend coast lines OF TO at
cannot be used to invade country because the mo-
ment a submarine shows her coming tower above
the surface she is vulnerable but long the sub
marine remains below the surface she is invisible and
when get noseless machinery, which is the next
step neither hear them them, and they
have the ability to discharge torpedo or to plant
mine which will destroy any fabric which can be
made to float upon the surface OF the water think
our experiments in our own Navy Department,
if they made public would prove that assertion
on mi ght armor shin or make her with many differ
decks and of cellular construction as many engI-
neers have tried to do and yet the explosion OF a
thousand pounds of trintr ro-toluol, or some
similar explosive would blow the fabric up into the
air Il is absolutely impossible in my jud gment to
build any fabric that will float the surface that
cannot be destroyed by means available to the sub
marine.
What does this mean? 1t means that all maritime
peoples have got get together and make equita
r nd fs T5y2SS yS r
Assume that some one or more nations refuse to
get together Will she send submarine me out and de-.
will be possible for all the other nations to ostracze
her; It will not pay for her to do it In addition to
own surface ships as the submarines Of the other
countries would lie of her ports and prevent her
ports in my judgment, unless the present war
ring nations make peace. have not any inside in
formation or anything Of that kind, but that is the
logical thing to do: therefore believe it will come 10
pass believe the fact Of the U-53 coming to New
port was simply an object lesson and in articles which
have written have pleaded for the United States
not to become angry over injuries by dened
people as to put Us in 4 position where could not
send out any commerce of own because a half
dozen vessels of the L type could srop sending
foodsuf and the necessities of life to those innocent
people on the other side who are suffering for the
aggrandizement of dynasty, or in the interest of
the world TO hold ourselves neutral absolutely neutral
that when they get to the point of starvation
there, as | believe they are in many places now. We
will still be able send foodstus and hold the
of all of these nations OF tho world. including those
now involved in war, until agreement may be
made whereby they themselves prevent the star
vation of their women and children
Our President in one of his notes to Germany.
has said we will hold them to strict accountability.
He has not defined what he meart by that term, far
as am aware. The question interesting peope
today s does it mean we declare war upon them-kill