Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-03-11
DISPOSITION OF GERMAN FLEET
Important Question that has Several
Sides to X.

SIOeS TO lie
Some months ago, when the ques'
ton as to the rinal disposal of the sur
rendered German fleet was much under
discussion, and the widest guesse!
were everywhere being put forward a!
inside information" this paper wa:
able to give the facts Of the case as II
then stood. Briefly, those facts were
that the British ministry had not ever
considered the matter, and that, as
consequence, 1t was impossible fol
President Wilson to have supported
as was confidently asserted he hao
done, "the British view that they ought
to be sunk" 1t was pointed out, how
ever, that certain British admiralty Of
ficials undoubtedly held the view that
to sink the fleet would be the easiest
way of settling the matter"
Now the position Of the question to-
day is greatly altered. No decision has
yet been actually reached, but the
British and American naval authorities
have reported in favor Of the "destruc-
ton of the larger German warships,'
and It is quite evident, to those In
touch with the situation, that the
sinking situation" is gaining ground
Many considerations, some Of them
the result of information not available
two months, tend to favor such a set
tlement. In the first place, 1t Is esti-
mated that it would take nearly three
years to break up the ships, and thai
long before that time the worlds sup
ply of raw material would be so ade-
auate as to render the supply obtained
from this source Of no special impor-
tance. Then it is pointed out that II
the ships were divided between the
Allies on the basis Of losses In the war
or on any other basis, they might prove
themselves an expensive and, ultimate
ly indeed a valueless acquisition. The
question of spare parts alone presents
almost insuperable difficulties. Many
of the ships, moreover, are really OBJ
solete as war vessels, whilst theil
enormous coal consumption and the
difficulty of adapting them for carry
ing cargo, makes 1t almost impossible
to use them as merchant vessels
Even the possibility Of sinking them
/ for breakwater purposes has been de-
finitely proved impracticable by ex-
periments at Scapa Flow.
In the light Of these facts, the sug-
eestion that the vessels shall be taken
out of the high seas and there in
continently sunk" does not appear sc
extravagant as it did at one time, when
the German high seas fleet was
thought to be, what it had often been
described as being, namely, the las
word in invention and efficiency" Such
a solution, moreover, has one other thing
to be said in it's favor. The German fleet
in a. peculiar way, typifled the German
determination to dominate the world
"Our future" declared the former
Kaiser. on a memorable occasion, rs
ON the sea-" The last four and a hall
years, if they have demonstrated any
thing, have demonstrated that the
world was saved by the Allied control
of the seas, and that nowhere was this
more certainly dreaded before the war
and more clearly understood during the
war than in Germany. Germany's
future, as William Hohenzollern un-
derstood it, was on the sea, because
control of the seas by German fleet
meant the German domination OF the
world. To take, therefore, this sorry
collection of fallen greatness SC
typical of the whole German idea, ou'
to sea, and there sink it In a conven-
lent place, would be a valuable op-
iect lesson. 1t would be the curtes'
and most forcible intimation possible
that the world had done with such meth
ods.-Christian Science Monitor.