The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-10-20
"The Silent Watchers"
By w. B. MCCORMICK.

he Silent Watchers
BY w. B. MCCORMICK.
THE titles of some books are pitifuily
L inept and Bennett Copplestone's
The Silent Watchers is striking illustra-
ton Of this regrettable Tact. What this
British writer on naval topics does in his
book-and it is this his title does not reveal
is to give series of sketches Of the work
of the British navy since August, 1914, In
50 far as the spirit Of the officers and men
is concerned and Of the chief naval battles,
such as Jutland, Coronel, the Falkland
Islands, the destruction Of the Emden by
the Sydney, the cruise of the Glasgow and
the escape of the German ships Goeben
and Breslau into Turkish waters.
The chapters in the book appeared In
the CornhiH Magazine for the most part
between June, 1915, and February, 1918,
but they have been rewritten to the extent
that they now practically appear for the
first time.
Mr.. Copplestone has the confidence both
Of the British navy and Admiralty and
thus has access TO information about the
technical aspect Of naval work not easy
to come by: He says that "the navy" dep
recates the praise lavished on it by the
civilian press Of Great Britain, yet his
adulation SURPRISES anything we ever read
in English newspapers. In fact we should
imagine that the average British officer
would blush on reading this. text.
Another of Mr.. Coppiestone's weak
nesses in his superlative praise Of the
Hgallantry' of German naval officers, a
quality with the hideousness of their sub
marine warfare ever In our memories)
which few readers will feel inclined to
grant them. He might be considered
singular in this estimation if it were not
for the story he tells Of the commander of
the Sydney and his prisoner, the com
mander of the EInden, sitting down TO-
gether at table on board the Sydney and
working out between them a map of the
fight between the two ships! Surely after
what the German submarine commanders
have done TO British merchantmen and
passengers. that is carrying courtesy to
the straining point.
1t cannot be said Mr. Copplestone adds
anything of great importance to our
knowledge of the battles he describes tno
writer yet has surpassed the British Ad-
miralty's official report of the Jutland
battle) except that in the case Of the Falk-
land fight ne makes it plain that the shoot
ing of the British feet was rather inefec-
tive and wasteful" point that Is pressed
in on another occasion IN the text by q
lame explanation of bad British gunnery.
This is that "battle practice and battle
itself are two very different things. =
The leisureliness Of Sturdee's long range
fighting tactics in the Falkland fight shows
how tradition survives in the British navy.
At the Dardanelles the Turkish and Ger
man officers always declared the British
feet in the straits knocked off" its
bombardment of the Turkish forts at four
thirty every afternoon for tea. And it will
be remembered that on "the glorious first
of June" after Howe had his fleet formed
for action the crews went to breakfast.
In Mahan's words "Thcre was a long
summer day ahead for fighting and no
need for hurry"
THE SILENT WATCHERS. By BENNETT