Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-08-08


H Ming into the arena. In any discussio
N HAT ever took place In this country o
4 00fside there was no idea that we shoul
Z ,Gxer be able to employ greater fore
t than six divisions. When there was
% 1iecussion in the House about the Brit
tsh expeditionary force the maximum
was the six-division limit. In whateve
arrangement was come TO, 1 think his
y tory would say that we have more thar
n kept faith.
British Navy Playing Big Part
IT should like to say one word abou
redeeming the pledge. do so because
* there is real danger in the more minute
q " and constantly described events or
and to overlook the part which the
British navy is playing in this conflict
y There are two great struggles being car.
ried on. one on land and one on sea
One Is carried on almost before our eyes
Incidents are picturec from day to day
by men who are engaged especially for
the purpose of describing them. Every
turn in events is portrayed. unlike the
other struggle. that takes place on a
vast wilderness of sea over hundreds of
thousands OF square miles. with no one
to witness IL or to describe except those
) who take part in the rlerce struggle.
'It has been prolonged four years
without break. No darkness arrests It,.
4 No weather and no winter stops 1t. The
navy goes into no winter quarters, The
night Is going on without cease
''I do not think that many realize that
that is the decisive struggle of the war.
Upon its issue the fate of the war de-
pends. II the Allies are defeated. the
war would not be over until they are
beaten. These Germans can never tri-
umph tcheers). and in the main TINS
momentous deciding struggle is carried
on by the British navy.
There is disposition over here 10
take the British naN< for granted. eN-
actly as we took the sea for granted. and
in this there Is no real effort to under
stand the gigantic eTort which is m
volved in constructing, in Strengthening,
in increa sing. in repairing, in supplying
in maintaining and manning that great
machine.
$50 U-Boats Destroyed
when the war started the British
navy had a tonnage of 2,5OO,OOo: IL now
has 100000, including the auxiliary
fleet. Every trade route of the world
Is controlled by its ships. Take the
blockade alone. From Shetland to Green
land, from Greenland to Iceland. from
! Iceland to the coast of Norway, the
most savage waters in the world. al
ways angry. For four years these seas
have been necessarily controlled by the
British fleet, who have set up an I'M
penetrable barrier. Elsewhere British
shipping has been engaged in patrolilng,
mine laying, mine sweeping. escortlng,
chasing submarines over vast and track |
less areas. They have destroyed at
least $50 of these ocean submarine pests, |
more than half in the course of the last |
year.
1T will give you a figure which in |
dicates the gigantic character Of the |
work done by the British navy in the |
month of June alone. Ships of the |
British navy steamed 100000 miles. To
this must be added the great efforts of
the mercantile marine which has now
become branch of the British navy.
II faced the same dangers in caring
for the Allies. as well as ourselves.
Most Of the American troops who
have so gallantly acquitted themselves
in France in the recent conflicts were
carried on British ships.
"It Is difficult TO make those who don't
understand ships comprehend what a
gigantic effort 1t means to keep this
Immense machine going. There is
rather a tendency to divide our efforts
into two branches-men for the army.
ships for the navy.
II wonder how many people under
stand the number of men required to
marine. At least l.5OO. .OG0.
Probably eight or nine hundred thou
sand were men of military age. We
have made every attempt to comb out
when there was great pressure. but we
found that ii was impossible to do so
without letting the British feet down.
TO let the British feet down was to let
the Allies down.
Germans Beatep on Iand and Sea
"The Germans during the last two
10 force a decision. one on the sea, the
other on land. They attempted the
and offensive. because the sea offensive |
lailed, but they knew that the sea Of ,
sensive would be the more vital of the {
TWO. The land offensive might have
been disastrous. The other. If it had
succeeded, would have been final. If the (
had succeeded our army in | q
France would have withered away no \
Americans could have come over to as n
sist us, ammunition could not have been C
sent across. nor the necessary coal and G
to enable France and Italy 8
70 manufacture munitions. France and "
England would have been starved. The {
var would have been over before that Il
Itage could have been reached. t
Il am not minimizing the great assist II
nee rendered by the great navies of
america. France. Italy and Japan. but n
he British fleet is so incomparably
reater. and its operations are on a scale
so much greater magnitude, that /
well specially on this in order that the
iainstay of these special efforts should
G realized. II
The American naval mission which
anne over here the other day saw a good ~
cal of the efforts of the British navy
nd were immensely struck with the
astness of the work which was being d
one. They were specially anxious that o.
.eps should be taken to make known b
Of merely here, but in America, the gi- o.
antic character of the task which Is u
eing undertaken. "
Allied Triumph at Sea Complete a
UNLESS the Allies had been completely Ia
'iumphant from the outbreak of the h.
ar at sea no effort on land would have v
wed us. The British fleet was mainly Sc
,sponsible for that complete triumph | ii
ny destruction of our resources which n
ould have impaired in the least this
iumph would have been ruinous to the a,
luse of the Allies. ~
"I will now say a word about our -
fort on land. Our military effort has ~
be subject to our resources in men and ~
IateriaL We had difficulties to con. he
ont us. We were not a military ma h.
on in the sense of the nations of the m
,ntinent We had a small army. What fr
ave we accomplished? h.
Since August, 1914. including those ca
ready with the colors, this country has re
Used for the army and navy in Great in
ritain alone no less than $3.50, 900 men. o,
ost Of these were raised by voluntary be