The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-10-26
Ambassador Page Pleads.

Ambassador fa9o Fieooes
=, isn't strong enough" he said.
,sf,t, can do better than this my
l."
| " Immediately sat down and wrote
cabegram to Washington which is
| a Il the great documents OF the war.
ppr Mr.. Page and / thought that we
H. not completely done our duty even
H. We were determined that,
.tneyer might happen, we could new
y charged with not having present
IN The Allied situation in its absolute
II rue light. 1t seemed likely that an
8,boritative statement from the Brit
IN government would give added as
Rance that our statements We're not
! result of panic. and with this idea
Il mind, Mr.. Page and / called upon
H. Balfour, Foreign Secretary, who,
II response to our request. sent a de-
batch to washington describing the
ksriousness of the situation.
All these messages made the same
I0int: that the United States should
Immediately assemble all its destroyers
! nd other light craft. and send them
II The vital spot in the submarine
mpaign-Queenstown
All this time that we were seeking
] solution for the submarine problem
Il really had the solution in our
binds. The seas presented two i'm
IEessive spectacles in those terrible
tonths OF April, May, and June. 1911
| be was the comparative ease with
4 hch the German submarines were
hiking merchant vessels; the other
Fa their failure materially to weaken
be Allied fleets. If we wish a counter
kture of that presented by the Irish
a and the English Channel. where
fsrhant shipping was constantly GO
b down, we should look to the NORTH
a. where the British Grand Fleet
|'solutely intact, was defiantly riding
b waves. The uniformed public
fpained this apparent security in
Ey Of it's own; 1t believed that the
Eitish dreadnaughts were anchored
Eaind booms. nets, and mine fields
Frough which the submarines could
b penetrate. Yet the fact of the
|atter was that the Grand Fleet wa:
lsquently cruising in the open sea II
4 waters which were known to b.
psf infested with submarines. Th'
/ rman submarines had been attempt
i to destroy this fleet for two anc
b half years. 1t had been the Ger
|n plan to weaken this great BATH
bee by "attrition." that is. to sinl
hugh battleships to make possible
Eaeral engagement with some chance
success; yet the submarines had no
|s,royed a single dreadnaught. i
bis situation, merchant ships con
|anuy being torpedoed and battleship
Instantly repelling such attack:
ere was certainly much food 70
Bought
Ny the Grand Fleet Was immun'
Yet there was no mystery about tn
Immunity which these great fightin
|Essels enjoyed, for the submarin
Eoblem. so far as II affected tn
fttle-fleet. had already been SOLVED
p explanation was that wheneve
dreadnaughts put to sea the
IRE preceded by a screen of cruiser
p destroyers. These surface Graf
|parently served as a kind of i'm
Inetrable wall, against which tn
-man U-boats We're beating them
YES unavailingly. To the casua
server. however, there seemed to b
reason why the destroyers shoul
We any particular terror for sub
A'ines. Externally they are the leas
7ressive war vessels afloat. Sail
ahead of the battle squadrons, tn
sFoyers were little. ungraceful OBJ
upon the surface of the water
suggested fragility rather tina,
sagth, and the idea that they wer
guardians of the mighty battle
grotesque. Yet these little yes
really possessed the power o
'eoming the submarine. The wa
not progressed far when II he
apparent that the U-boat coul
niger long any where near thi
little surface vessel withou
ing serious risk of destruction.
re Ugly DuekIing of the Navy.
until the reports of submarin
Ins began to find their way int
@pers, 1t was probably the on
warship in which the publ
ae smallest interest. 1t had be
instead. a kind of ugly ducklin
-. Navy. Our Congress had reg
neglected it; year after yea
experts had recommends
,e,. oestroyers be built for ever.
.,p' and annually Congress. ha,
- 4'ed for one or two.
var also found Great Britain
sufficient number of des
~ or the purpose of anti-sub
rid,s "artare. The Admiralty ha.
b. =, enough for screening tn,
'seI IN cruising and in battle