Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1921-12-23
TOTAL AND FINAL
ADJUSTMENT Is
ONLY gu RE FOR
.|MHUMAN ACTION
Lee Declares Effect of U-Boat
on Naval Warfare Is
Insignificant
SUBMARINE DEFENSIVE
French, Italian and Japanese
Favor Retention For
Coast Protection

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22.-(By the
Associated Press).-An eight thou
sand word communique by the arma-
1nent committee after today's meeting,
was in the form of a paraphrase of
the statement made for the delega-
tion of each power with respect to
the British proposal that submarines
be abolished as naval weapon. The
argument of Lord Lee o. rne British
admiralty stated the view of the Brit
ish government to be "that what was
required was not merely restrictions
on submarines, but their total and
final adjustment
He presented the following esti-
mates of existing submarine tonnage:
United States, S3,500: Great Britain
S0,500: Japan, $4,000; France, 2S,36O,
and Italy 1880.
He pointed out that under the
American proposals of 10000 tons
each for Great Britain and the United
States. and $4,000 for Japan, the
United States could build 5000 tons,
Great Britain $500 ana Japan 21,SO0,
with the other countries in proper
ton.
HE felt bound to say" the para
phrase continued, that it seemed to
him very strange to put before the
conference on the limitation of naval
armament proposals designed to fos-
ter and increase the type of war ves-
sells, which, according to the British
view, was open to more objection
than surface capital ships
He said friends of the submarine
hot ffy,,o 20
weapon of weaker powers and an ef-
fective and economical means or de-
tense for coast lines and maritime
communications. Both contentious
could be challenged on technical
grounds and were clearly disproved
by recent history" the purapnrase
said.
He declared that methods of loca-
ton, detection and destruction OF sub
marines had proceeded much further
than the developments of submarines
and greatly reduced the value of the
submersibles against modern war
craft. He said he believed that Ger
many he'd used 375 U-boats in the
war, of which 203 had been sunk,
and that the accomplishment of the
U-boats in Legitimate naval warfare"
had been almost insignificant"
mo Hess, than 15,000O00 British
troops had crossed and he-crossed
the English channel and not one man
had been lost from the aclion or sub
marines, except on beard hospital
ships" the parephrase said.
Later, some 100000 United
States troops had b en- brought across
the Atlentic, and the submarine had
proved equally poweI:ess in their
case" he added. In fact, the U-boat,
whether considered as an offensive or
a defensive weapon against any sort
OF organized naval force, had proved
almost contemplate"
Taking up the argument as to coast
lines, Lord Lee pointed out that Great
Britain alone had almost as much
coast to defend as all of the other
powers at the conference combined.
In addition, he said, Great Britain
had the longest trade route to pro-
tect.
1T was partly because our expert
ence had shown that they were not
effective that we were ready to aban-
don submarines" he said. "The war
had made 1t obun0antly clear that
the greatest peril to maritime COM
munication waG the submarine and
that peril was especially great to a
country which did not possess COM
mand of the sea on the surface.
Hence. 1t was to the interest of any
such power to get rid of this terrible
menace"
ITO show the earnestness of the
British government" he pointed out,
the parapErase said. Great Britain
possessed the largest and probably
the most efficient submarine navy,
composed of 100 vessels of 10000
tons. She was prepared to scrap the
whole of this grear fleet and to dis
band the personnel provided that the
other powers would do the same.
/ That was the British offer to the