The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1918-1920, 1918-09-13
THE WAR ON THE SEA.


the Persc fortunately failed destroy any of the $500
men on board and the vessel itself will probably be sal
vaged The Missanabie returning to America has been
sunk off the British coast These and other submarine
activities notably the attack the Mount Vernon are
proof that the German is doing its best to
destroy American life by foul play at the very moment
when German and Austrian statesmen put forth sugges
tions for an exchange of views in the hope of making
a peace bargain.
The transport torpedoed last Friday was one of a
large number under convoy Doubtless the hotila was
under great speed could be obtained The infor
nation gained during the last few months indicates that
enemy submarines operate in packs and send torpedoes
practically in voeys against passing groups Of trans
ports The submarines particularly active in pursuit
lof German-bult vessels in the American service.
The Germans evidently anxious to sink of these
fine vessels preferably the former Vaterand with heavy
toll of life in order to the to stimulate the
respondent German people, The tide of battle having
turned against the Germans and their dreams Of rich
plumber having been rudely disturbed it is incum-
bent upon the to revive their spirits by
some peculiarly atrocous achievement The boche men
tally requires assurance that the allies are subjected
to wrong and torture in form or other news of
victory in open and fair battle not satisfactory now
if indeed it ever was
Over $50 submarines have been destroyed, half of
them in the last year. The list of commanders of these
destroyed murderboats was published in England and
the German government virtually admitted that the list
correct The Cologne Gazette, however comforted
the Germans by stating that the building of new subma
rines more than made up for the losses.
In spite of all that the allies have been able to do
the destruction of shipping goes at very costly rate
The tonnage loss greater than Engands consruc
ton. Only the tonnage turned out by the United
States saves the situation But while the new shipping
enables the allies to escape dangerous shortages of food
munitions it does not make up for the loss of fine large
troopships which fall victims of submarines.
Early last month"; Mr. Lloyd George, speaking in par
lament of the British navy said that the fight the
the decisive struggle of the upon its issue the
fate Of the depends" he said 'If the allies are
defeated there, the war would be over until they are
beaten there, Germany can never triumph" He stated
that in the month of June the ships of the British navy
steamed 100000 miles. His picture of the activity of
the navy was quite vivid
Take the blockade alone. From Shetland to
Greenland, from Greenland to Iceland from Ice
land to the coast of Norway, the most savage
waters in the world, always angry resenting the
intrusion of man by every device known to ma
ture, for four years these seas have been inces-
sanity patroled by the British navy, and they
have set up an impenetrable barrier to Germany.
Elsewhere British ships are conveying, pa
trolling, mine laying, mine sweeping, escortng,
chasing submarines over vast and trackless areas
They have destroyed at least $50 of these ocean
pests, the submarines, more than half in the course
of last year.
The reference to the coast of Norway is interesting
The allied anti-submarne patrol cannot do than
cruise along the Norwegian coast we'll outside the ter
ritoral waters. But the German submarines go inside
northward until they find an opportunity to strike sea-
ward Norway attempted to stop this practice and was
forced to desist under Germany's savage threats.
The allies, including the United States are compelled
to fight unequal battle against the submarines be-
they respect Norway's territory while the Ger
mans do not This situation was pointed out by The
Post many months ago, and was suggested that some
method should be found to induce Norway Denmark
and Holland to treat the belgerents ake either by
throwing open their territorial waters the allied patrol
or by making it impossible for submarines to those
waters.
In view of the forthcoming conference of the Sean
dnavian kings at Copenhagen, it might be well for the
allies to find means of mpressng upon those neutral gov
ernments the fact that injurious abuse of their
neutrality by Germany may compel the allies to take de-
fensve before the submarine ravages become
Observation-Disclosures Post.
British troops in northern Russia assisted by allied
fora