New-York tribune., 1918-06-04
ArrA,pER OF TUE ASSOCIATED PRE-
Will We Wake Up Now?

Will We Wake Up Now?
AS far back as last October we were
definitely informed that the Navy De.
partment had been notified by those In
charge Of developing means of U-boat
detection that devices had been perfected
which would put the submarine out of
business. All that was needed was q
feet of 800 or 400 chasers to be equipped
with these devices to put this programme
into effect. Even by that time the Navy
Department had been vainly urged to
begin the construction of such feet.
AS far back as last February these
devices had been SO much further per-
fected that the fact became generally
known in Washington and outside. This
is June, and the construction of this
feet, in it's entirety, that is to say, in
adequate numbers, has not yet been de-
cided upon by the Navy Department.
1t is true that one man, one firm, has
been given an order for 100 of these
small chasers, and Mr.. Ford now prom
ises to begin to deliver finished boats
next August. But Mr.. Ford has like
wise stated to our correspondent that
he can just as well be building 800 of
these boats as 100, and that if he could
have contracted for these when the order
was first given he could be turning out
three completed boats per day by August,
instead of one boat per day, as will
be the case now.
Our information is further that there
are many other concerns quite ca
pable and well equipped to build these
submarines, without any interference of
other shipwork, besides Mr.. Ford, and
that it would be possible to complete
fleet of 500 or 400 boats almost as
quickly as 100 could be built.
Why orders for 100 boats when the
Navy Department must know that this
number is utterly inadequate? Why the
hesitancy to do a job which would strike
at Germany perhaps the greatest single
blow that we could deliver? What is the
strong source of opposition to this plainly
handicapped task? Only as late as last
Friday we wrote in these columns:
There is a disposition, especially evil
dent in Washington, to think the sub
marine peril is passing.
The submarine has been the deadliest
weapon of the war. All the artillery,
all the infantry, all the battleships, all
the millions of tons of explosives and
projectles the Germans have Shot into
the air have not inflicted the damage,
nor cost the Allies so dear, as two or
three hundred untersee boats.
They have destroyed or crippled or
kept in harbor more than one-half the
ocean going tonnage of the whole world.
BY forcing the convoy system. devious
routes, no lights, they have cut down the
effectiveness of what remains nearly one
half more They have destroyed more
tonnage than all the Allies, including
the United States, can rebuild in the
next two years. They have prevented,
and still prevent, effective aid to Russia
They are still sinking more ocean-go-
ing tonnage than all the yards of the
world were building before the war.
The U-boat menace is still here.
1t seems not enough that the subma-
rine should go on with it's deadly work
in foreign waters, that it should be sink
ing our ships, our transports, sending
our men and our munitions to the bot
tom Of the sea- Germany has had to
send its U-boats to our own coasts and
almost within gunshot of New York
Harbor to make it clear that the sub
marine menace is still definite.
VIII we wake up now?
While our Navy Department was de-
batting possibilities Germany was build
ing the boats that revealed themselves
on Sunday.
Will we wake up now?