Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1918-01-10
TO CURB u" BOATS
"Sea Jitneys" Suggested for At.
tack on German Bases.
Canadian Naval Airplane Fighter,
Home to Recover From shrapnel
Wounds Expresses an Opinion.

Theorizing about war conditions has
grown quite as tiresome, no doubt, to
the people who read newspapers as it
has to most of the people who write
for them. Yet, now and then, you
meet a man who theories from the
facts of experience and knowledge and
who points something out that gives
food for thought. Such a case, 1t
seemed to several Of us, when IL quiet
little chap, son OF a Canadian million
aire, told us his view of the war in
It's present stage. a New York CORE
spondent of the Cincinnati Times-Star
writes. His brother was killed at the
Marine and he himself is home to re-
cover from shrapnel wounds received
when he was flying q naval airplane
some thousands OF feet above Il town
on the Lelgian coast
The outstandiqg fact, just now"
he said, sis thai The German U-boats
are doing pretty nearly as much as
they were expected to do and that we
have no effective aeiense against them.
The Germans are almost justified in
believing that they are Oh the way to-
ward starving England into submis-
sion. If we don't find a new and sue
cessful way to combat the U-boats the
situation in England viii! soon be very
critical. OF course, l fancy a way will
be found. But IL must be something
entirely new in warfare. For my part,
l am convinced that success car be
obtained only by the apparently des-
perate undertaking of assaults by sea
upon the U-boat bases. l say 'appar-
emily Desperate BY any known or
tried method such assaults would be
simply useless ard suicidal.
1.-THE German harbors are mined,
netted from end to end and fortified
with tremendous shore batteries Of
heavy and aircraft guns. How can the
bases be attacked? Well, of course,
that will be settled by some one else
than l, but l have heard q theoretical
| plan of attack proposed by one of our
naval men which made a great impress
thousands of small submarines-Some-
thing like the sea .jitneys' which man.
| ufacturers have talked about-and go
into the German harbors with swarms
of them, at the risk of losing ninety
nine out of every hundred boats and
crews. Barrage fire and bombing have
been the new and successful things in
land fighting.
This officers proposal is for some
thing like an undersea duplication of
this plan of attack. Most of the little
boats would be lost, no doubt, but most
of them would succeed in doing ma
terial damage with one or two torpe-
does. Nets would he blown away, mines
exploded, guard ships sunk and such
other disorganization of the harbor de-
lenses accomplished as to give the big
ships q chance to complete the work.
Yes, it's true that a mar would hardly
need to worry about his return trip
If he went in on one of these little
boats. 1t would be work for volun-
teers. But the volunteers would be
plentiful enough. That I am sure of.
eff such attacks promised to win
the fight against the U-koats, men
would be willing to go. 1t would be
enough for them to know that they
were striking the sea murderers at
their home, and that some of them
| uiUbt noSSihlu ont harlyh