Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1918-11-07
BY SIR ERIC GEDDEs.

Oy DIN GnlS 1GCG6Ss
First Lord of the British Admiralty.
In speaking of the United States
naval forces, do so with the great
advantage of having seen most of them
personally in the course Of the last IL
months, and can assure the public
that the morale and efficiency are alb
solutely on the top line. Not only
is the keenness, technical skill and
organization of the personnel truly re-
markable, but, further, the material
of all ships and their equipment are
of the highest efficiency and latest de
sign. What applies to your fighting
ships applies also to your depot and
parent ships, and think l may say,
without giving offense to the great
naval services of the two countries,
that the intermingling and co-operat-
i've working is giving opportunities,
which both services are taking, of
picking out examples of the best for
adoption in and by the other service.
l am, of course, unable to disclose
any details of the numbers of your YES
sells operating abroad, but with the
may say that they comprise some of
! the largest capital ships as we'll as
cruisers, destroyers, submarines, chas-
ers. and many types of aircraft.
Taking these various classes in turn,
would like first of all to show you
that your b9ttleships are working with
our own grand fleet with the most
off
and had the very great pleasure of
witnessing their arrival when they
| first joined up with our own grand
fleet, and was able to make signal
of welcome to them on that occa-
4 sion.
Convoy Balks Germany.
AS regards your cruisers, they are
working with us in the White sea,
North sea, Atlantic and Mediterranean,
/ and / have seen them and admired
their efficiency in all these places. 1t
4 is to them, as well as to the gallant
little destroyers, working with the cor
responding forces of all the allies, that
1 the success of the convoy system is
due 1t is the convoy system which
4 baked Germany when she adopted
ayowedly the inhuman and ruthless
method of submarine warfare, consid-
cred inconceivabie and contrary to all
noble traditions of the sea before the
war, but which we now accept as one
of the outward signs of the devil
/ which has to be exercised before Ger
many is fit to take her place as an
honorable member of the League of
Nations, in whatever form that Oft
discussed organization may finally
shape itself.
Germany reckoned to end the war
last year by cutting the sea commu-
nications Of the alliance and by the
reduction in tonnage; the dissatisfac-
ton of the German nation with the
result of their criminal effort is due
in very great measure to the convoy
system, but it is due also to the al
lied efforts to trap and hunt the sub
marine on passage and to harass it or
station, and those two functions in sub
marine warfare must not be confused
Efficient Naval Protection.
The ocean convoy is primarily de
IenSe OTSdHlZdlIOu, anu SecoHudFllS
only, an offensive organization. TT
complement in this new form of nava
warfare is the hunting flotilla and tn,
mine field. These two measures mus
be carefully balanced and the rela
tive urgency of the demands of one o.
the other must receive, and does re
ceive, the most urgent consideration
and ceaseless care and adjustment O
5 the great naval officers who ar
charged with that responsibility. A
5 the present moment the United State
, and Great Britain have become tn
main bases Of supply for the armie
in Europe, and in order to insur
, these lines of communication bein
) safeguarded and kept open, every eff
cient naval protection is required. TIL
1 large proportion of merchant ship
ping which brings these supplies mus
: necessarily be American and British
j and consequently the Anglo-America
zone of naval Experimentation ma