New-York tribune., 1918-03-22
Belittling the Submarine Losses

made public definite figures as to the
havoc wrought by the submarine.
On Wednesday Sir Eric Geddes still
thought it against public interest that
such information should be published. On
Thursday the complete statement is
given out
It is a matter of real encouragement
that the whole tone and tenor of the
statement is to belittle the losses and to
reassure the public. And in the same
breath there is an urgent appeal to the
ship workers in England to speed up pro-
duction there.
And we know the situation here.
We think the impression the average
man will carry away is that the net loss
in nearly four years of war-from all
causes-is only about two and a half
million tons. This is not very alarming.
But if you would have q significant and
relative measure it is expressed in the
fact that the total of sinkings by the
submarine has been equal very nearly, if
not quite, to the whole tonnage normally
serving in the transatlantic ferry.
And this is only about one-half of the
story. The rest of it is this:
Disregarding any ship it has sunk, the
submarine has to all intents reduced the
carrying capacity of Atlantic tonnage by
nearly one-half, simply by forcing the
convoy system and other protective meas
ures, with all the delays both in port and
on the Atlantic which they necessitate
That is, the efficiency of ship has been
much reduced.
To complete the picture we must add
that the actual vital need of transat-
lantic shipping is to-day perhaps double
what it is in peace times. And with our
entry in the war this need is month by
month becoming greater
1t is hopelessly misleading to leave in
the public mind the impression that net
loss of two and half million tons is a
measure of the damage that the subma-
rine has done. And yet with this goes
a still more misleading statement accred
tied to Sir Eric Geddes which must have
been an error in cable transmission.
This was that the total of Allied and
neutral shipping is now 42,0OO,OOo tons.
The inference, then, is that the suhma-
rine has reduced this tonnage only by
matter of something like per cent A
more unfortunate misrepresentation of
the facts could not be made.
1t is the whole worlds shipping that
was given by Lloyds at a little more than
100000 tons. But this includes every
variety of small craft
The total of seagong tonnage avail
able to the Allies could scarce have
preh wv o-1iiiiuS VI tltiS, Or something IN
the neighborhood Of 25,O00,O00 tons. And
the statement has repeatedly been made
that of British and Allied shipping from
40 to 60 per cent has been Communicated
for military purposes.
Repeated estimates have been made
that the total of seagoing Atlantic tom
mage available remaining could not have
been over 100000 or Is, 900 900 tons at
\ the outside; so that even on the British
figures the submarine has this year alone
actually sunk the equivalent of somewhere
around half this tonnage. 1t has rc-
duced the efficiency Of what remains bv
nearly another half
This is the reality Of what submarine
warfare has meant. If any one doubts
the reality, let him consider one sim
pie fact:
Scagoing tonr age now sells al eight or
ten times its normal price.
As TO the figures now given out by the
British Admiralty, there is less variance
from the German figures than the public
had been led to suppose.
The German claim for the total Of all
1oaSes 70 February 2 was about l4,0G0,-
900 tons. The British Admiralty figures
are for little less than i2.00O.OO0 tons.