Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1917-03-20

It is Of small consequence noH
which nation takes the initiative fn q
formal declaration eff waf5 whether
the first pr0uouncemeut issues from
Berlin or whether &c comes from WASH
jngtou.
There is no further Disgusting the
fact that Germany and tie United
States virtually passed from the peace
full to the hostile status the day that
the kaiser abandoned all restrictions
ia the conduct Of his submarine cam
paign The arming Of American m9r-
chant vessels was the response Of she
United States government President
Wilson has been slow to recognize in
the various outrages on tHe sea COM
mitted by Germany the overt act that
would bring from Washington the adj
mission that war was on between the
two countries To be sure the overt
act has been committed. but declaring
war would not help the cause of the
United States at this stage gf the pro-
Ceedings.
Sinking of three vessels hying the
American flag Saturday and sunday DT
German submarines was pretty strong
evidence that Berlin does not propose
TO he swerved from her desperate
course with reference TO ruthless sub
marine warfare by the determination
Oh Tie I3EL%& ELr4A%E a -h-zat AS eAf
mount guns on every ship sent through
the blockade zone with orders 10 are
on sight Of a submerstble The three
ships sent down last week by the Ger
mans, IT ought 30 be explained, were
without means OF defense. Even the
usual warning 10 permit those ON
board to take to the life boats was lot
given in one instance, with the result
that between is and 20 men are miss
ing,
Undoubtedly by now American mer-
chant ships armed TO resist the sub
marine are on their way across the
Atlantic The puhlEc has no way Of
knowing what ships these are, OF what
their cargces consist Of, or whether
there are passengers aboard, all 5u-
formation 30 this effect having been
suppressed by the newspapers and
press associations by request of the
navy department
The American gunner is recognized
as the worlds most expert marksuan.
He is In command Of the guns that are
mounted both fore and aft Of every
vessel leaving for European ports
How effectively he Is TO deal with the
undersea menace remains to be dem
onstrated. The unaTmed vessel has no
chance against the submarine. It must
either hguTatively throw up its hands
or adopt the dangerous alternative OF
attempting to escape. The German
submarine commander may or may not
respect the reputation of tbe AmerL-
can gunner. but whether lie does or
not we ought know pretty soon. Sub
marines have been sunk by gunners OF
British and French ships that were not
SO Wen equipped as are those flying the
American flag being sent through the
blockade zone.
Furthermore the American govern
ment is to have built within the next
two months so submarine chasers. An
order for geo more is 10 Immediately
follow. These little war boats are to
be employed in the German zone and
IN protecting the American coasts !
against undersea raiders IT viii be re-
called that 500 Of these little terrors
were made n the United States for
the British government The chaser lis T
immune against the submarine tor
pedo, riding TOO high IN the water TO
make & possible for the sub torpedo. F..
fired at a certain depth. TO ger within /
ats range.