Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1918-02-07
TO CURB u" BOATS
Ssea .itneys" Suggested for At
tack on German Bases.
Canadian Naval AirpIane Fighter,
Home to Recover From shrapneI
Wounds Expresses an Opinion.

Theorizing about war conditions has
grown quite as tiresome, no doubt, to
the people who read spa as it
has to lnost Of The people who write
for them. Yet, now and then, you
meet Il man Who theories from the
facts.of experience and knowledge and
who points something out that gives
food for thought, Such a case, it
seemed to several of us, when Il quiet
little chap, son of Il Canadian million
aire, told us his view Of the war in
It's present stage. Il New York CORE
sponoenL 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 Il naval airplane
some 5''ousands of feet above u town
on us Lllgian coast.
THE outstanding fact, just now"
he said, lis that the German U-boats
are doing pretty nearly as much as
they were expected to do and that we
have no effective defense against them.
The Germans are almost justified in
believing that they are on the way to-
ward starving England into submits
sion. Ii we don't find a new and sue
cessful way to combat the U-boats the
situation in England will soon be very
critical. OF course, l fancy a way will
be found. But it must be something
entirely new in warfare. For my part,
l am convinced mat success can be
obtained only by the apparently des-
operate undertaking of assaults by sea
upon the U-boat bases. 1 say 'appar-
emily desperate.' BY any known or
tried method such assaults would be
simply useless and suicidal.
"Ihe German harbors are mined,
netted from emo 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 |, but l have heard a theoretical
plan OF attack proposed by n of
naval men which made d great impress
sion o. me. He said we must build
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 aud 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 n or two torpe-
does. Nets would lie blown away, mines
exploded, guard ships sunk and such
other disorganization OF the harbor de-
lenses accomplished as to give the big
ships a chance TO complete the work.
Yes, it's true that \ man would hardly
need to worry about his return trip
II he went in on u of these little
boats. 1T would be work for volun-
teers. But the volunteers would be
plentiful enough, That I am sure of.
"If such attacks promised to win
the fight against the U-boats, men
would be willing to go. 1t would be
enough for them to know that they
were striking the sea murderers ut
their home, and that some Of them
might possibly get back"