Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-12-20
LODGE IN OPPOSITION
TO SINKING FOE SHIPS
Massachusetts, Senator Calls De.
struction Of Germany's Sur
rendered Boats Childish,
Idle Waste.

Washington. Dec. 2O-Press dspatche
from Paris saying that the American
peace delegates with British support,
would urge the sinking of the surrendered
German warships as the solution of the
problem OF their disposition led To initia-
fion of steps today in the Senate TO obtain
an official statement of the facts and to
wide discussion in naval circles.
At the State and Navy Department
no information was available, Secretary
Daniels repeating his previous statement
that he had never heard the suggestion
officially, while at the State Department
il was said that, so far as known there,
no such project was included In the
American peace program.
The first published suggestion that the
ships be sunk came from London several
DAYS ago, but, even before that, it was
learned this had occurred to some naval
authorities here as one possible way OF
settling a vexlng problem.
Admiral Benson, chief of naval opera
tions and designated as naval adviser TO
the American peace delegation, has been
IN Europe some time. HIs views, worked
out with Vice Admiral Sims and officials
of the British Admiralty and the French
Ministry of Marine, will have great weight
with the American delegates on naval
questions arising at the conference. But
there is nothing here to indicate what
conclusion he may have reached on the
disposition OF surrendered craft
There were many indications yesterday
that q proposal to sink the ships would
meet strong opposition in Congress. The
Paris dispatch prompted Senator Lodge
20 introduce a resolution yesterday CALI
ing on the State Department for informa-
s,x hat bor he Am 6plpp9
were advocating destruction of the enemy
ships, and, il so. by what authority. The
resolution was left on the table without
discussion, and Senator Lodge may touch
upon the subject in an address he an
nounced today he would deliver In the
Senate Saturday.
While the impression has been gwen
that the Navy Department probably
would not look with favor upon sending
the German ships TO the bottom, some
officers pointed TO practical obstacles to
absorption OF the surrendered vessels by
the allied and Americn navies. They
said that, owing to differences IN design
and equipment between the capital craft
OF the German feet and those OF any
other naval power the military value OF
the ships to the victors would be far from
as great as might be thought.
he German SHIPS were Du1lt, III was
explained, on theories that differ funda-
mentally from British, American. French,
or Italian ideas of naval construction
Only In case of the most mos era e. I'm; Il
dreadnoughts or battle cruisers, one officer
said, would the extensive reconstruction
pacessary TO make them part OF homo
0Heous fighting fleets be justified.
AS a peace-time element OF the navleS
e the associated powers some officers
vore inclined TO think that the chief value
q most OF the surrendered capital craft
vould be as trophies OF the victory, to be
ysinted 10 as an object lesson to any other
ps~rer that might become swelled with
.bition for world conquest.
r. was recalled, however, that some OF
~ Spanish ships sunk by the American
6set at Santiago in 1898 we're raised and
used by the American Navy, and that
Japan made similar use OF Russian ships
captured in 1904. after rebuilding them.
At the out tbreak Of the world war Great
britain eommandeered number OF war
ships building IL England and Scotland
for Turkey and other foreign countries,
including some South American republics,
and these were actively engaged with the
Grand Fleet during the war.