NEUTRALS SUFFER

Evening Star, Issue 16353, 20 February 1917, Page 6

NEUTRALS SUFFER

BRITAIN BEST OFF. NAPOLEONIC PRECEDENTS. MISDIRECTED TALENTS. GREECE. [By Criticus.] Paris admits that the cumuhH've caret- of the submarine campaign are manifest t throughout Kurope. The fuel and food re-* stnclions hi-.: intensified, neutrals par'.icu-' lar'y lacking coal. Those refills arc njt cue to the actual loss of shipping. The reduction as yet i s merely an. infinitesimal percentage. They arc duo rather to the lioldiu.. , up ot vessels and the general cldav ai'd con , liisum caused. jJm "Great, Britain, despite' 1 the submarines, is best servfd in all ,-<..- 1 i fP? c ft" '"" s ' S I,ot u,,1 - v I,l:t ''. v ,u »" «"o. ; bis, likely to continue, true. 1".,.- (Jnat Jiri- ■ \ tain owns the greaicsl, nia.ss of I lie world's sbippnig and she will use it for the ben-fit ; -or herself and her Allies before considering the wants ot neutrals. Moreover, while h-r -•tups are being armed and ccuv.jv,>d with increasing efficiency, the unlunkv " iicutr ds axe completely at the mercv of t„ c t .-V ;;:;";!fr r .' nirou - I ' "'-■ v^^nm« y 0 f t i, fi «Vp V°y, 0n "" el "*' il>«y are nor allowed to defend themselves. We may vet -oe a repetition of the precedents ,-,f days, when neutrals ; ough; the prou-c.iou „f britisn convoys. s: 0 j Oli e ;ls tilL . possesses 0u,,p,„.r, Britain ,s likely to have hi-stoan upon,,. K O , if uctUl ,„ I tip their vesscs lb- Ikiiish Internment eau ether purchase or charter them: hm in tea, case they will be used primarily to suye the wants ot Butaiu and her Alhes „<-; those ot the ueuhals themselves. Their position will -row mcadilv worse as tli, r L,,'l cont.intus, and ;I R , „Iti„ 1:lte n V ,.„ Mien as tiermanv has „.,( for. sen Ovi' Britain can always say to the Miffc-in-™ls: - If you prefe; to take vour gs yingdowu. you ,„„, ,„„ „p with them; but it is open to you to arm and convoy your vessels and whcn .„„ d ,. vi ., 011 fo ; >• enough tor this we will help ;.„„." Duron, > V.polcciu? war, the Coi.ii,.-m a | llillJi)rl MilTeied ,„oro through X-apolcons efforts t„ crush Br, lam by the ■■ t outim-mal system ; ' than urn Britain herself; au-t Yapo'cVei , rr ultimately led to In, ruin bv it. Pre'seiu'lv the- itemnls may bctdu to think that n.-io"-with tiermany ,< ,„ure t .i sas! :olks Io \ hcn] than war would be. LESSONS OF EXPEDIENCE. Ratio experts a-ert that the -let-man submarines number less than 200, and tint lli-v are sent out in s,p,ad;ons. tho lirst of win." I, lett pott on the sth ins!, and wa.s ,' ,e to <-<■ turnabout, the .Ukh urn. After a ' io'rini-ht at sea i he. siibmarne-s must be- rl■•- d 0 - ' and have ,|,cir engines overhauled:' ' if," atter Ihe whole 01 the Mibm.inu-.s l-.ve made -heir lii,.(, tnp t i, ilt . it u .; u ■„, sei>ll jf |j)o eounter-mrdMUCs of Ihe Admiralty a to■, v nig Kach will' reuini MKh s-aps in ,1s r:mks . Ti .,. ....r.5;,,,,, of „„_ portauee will then be whether the submarineare bemg umined out m-ore lam.ilv t h,. u (.;.-- many ,an rcpiaec ilicm. lf',o' v-'-en \\-- hi-st f.iimtlron goes cu; i; «■:!; he with reduce. liumbcis. and the eampai .„ wi'l gradually dwindle, a? ils preJee;ss o r 7 ( \„l " It is pointed out that, a sin-ie ■■vi m ,'j,e stern ot a merelvtnt vessel f0.e0., die submanr.es to operate under water, when thenWut-? A ."! 1 ""-■ "•■<l«.r.n.'-o of electric battens sicail. '| his ae-omts f, r . he small n n; - portion ot armed merchantmen that are -ur-ik Indeed, if the merchantm.au carries a , powerful a gun as the submarine, the latte.- ean hardly hope to sink il. except bv smrp-s,, IJip wilmiamic dare not l: ? i,i on t!:c -in-iae-and 111 pursuit, under waier It eiii ,v'- lione to gam eIL-wlv at the. bci. Its 'is liable to bo hit and its : uipel loe S to be det.i- ed by the witr-n of i),e !mv>eham ves-el'c screw. Moreover, a s di- uir'r.-liaiiMiiaii i. steaming directly away f ; -.,m the suhmar.iio the captain can watch lor ihe •r.,ri, <■{ { \ u , torpedo, and avoid it bv a turn of die helm It- is turiher pointed out that 1 in- wu«ia-e of power m such pursuits helps t i„, ' iuin . subuianne measures near tin- eoa-t rtheu die eubmarine dies to relmii borne. -Her-- it vneoimters various <!■-.,-trie i.-\iee- mi-ao phones, trawlet,, ~,-t,. ,lestr .vers,' „ii u ,r boats, dirigibles, and hvdropiaurv ' 1~0 week wo i. u d a stateuiein. that the deriaan submarines are lilted widi nei-euiie,., but tins is exlremelv doub.tful. Apad fauii tn« difficulty of fitting nei-eude-is "to so large a thing as the prow- of a Mibmarij:,- ihcic" are the conning town- and periscope 10 ...m-idtr. It the prow of the submarine were :o cul a hole through a, net, the subinn.riu-> would probably be' naught bv its camine t ( , v , ( r very much like a rabbit in a r.005,.' THE SPF.CIAJ.ISED .MIX]-. Mr Thomas Edison is sail to be working in 11 elosel;,-oiuirdcd bmliin." oi- , v mode! of a. IGfi caih which If e!ai,n- "w;''l revohitiuni-e. .submarine work. l'eri.aos' it will; but iho.:e who have noi-.d the peetdiar limitations oi the specialise,! mind ■>, , !j( , inventor will net, be ondmisde about, ii When a plant develop.- abaonnaUy in one , direction Ihe diversion of nutriment s..eii,K to lead to its iinpoverislunem ; n o.lier resppfts. In like manner, when a rem d( v. lop-- an abnormal genui.i in some uart i.-uiir flip c- ' t:on. sneh as invention, he invarial.iv .!.-■. plays ey'i-aordinary nienral bie.itado.is' wb>ii » faced with bro idir is,Miw. Tiie invariable logical ,ii"apacity of men with ex-a-nl i'uial mathematical talent is a ea— in poim". Tile pb.rase, "as logical as a. niathciiKitieiau " was invented hy someone who knew uollin.u abe-it ' logic. Other explicit, v - -re pruvidecl In- that ingenious in-eentor tfir Sc-wtt, when he proposed to miild sulmiariinA instead of DTearlnou-,dUs, ami by Cue i'ai'.i.irc. ' ot another inventor iSir .(oim Ja-ksont a.s Firftt. Sea Lord. But the best example is provided by those American invenU.rs' who now that there is campa' oi wat between • America ai«l lleriiMiiv.' are eoifem ra. ine their energies upon subiu.xriu?.-;. Tbey are ' biirlcing up the wrong dee entire].,-, ilnoird, ' sheer lack of "rasp if tacti-s ,nid ' slraL-A. Submariii.-s are relatively useless in :i w , u ' with Oeniia.iiy. .11; the iicrmaii ileet in ai- ( ready outmatched, ;nd in foilowtnr some will-o'-the-wi-p which :« lo " ievoiuiionise : submarining" the inventors :re lhrowin;' their energies away. What is nc-.-U«-d are 1 methods of fighting the submarines, and jf Edison wishes lo make himself u.-eiul lie 1 should concentrate his mind upon the. inceution of sotm- uielliod of the sub- I marines under water and at a distance—some 1 method along the lines of ti.: innrophones referred to e.bove, which, hy the way. are prcba-bly connected electricilly will the ( shore. A SOBER RKVrEW. The review of the e-eno-aJ sidiadoo Sv a high British military " authority, w Im-h 'Ws published with the approval of lh» .British War Office and sent from AVasl-inefion in f one of yesterday's laier cables, is more fiobcr in tone than meet, of ihe predictions which '- we havo boon getting lately. It points out that " for two years the' Germans have ' steadily dropped belied in material'resources despite the. gross illegality at their cmploi- I ment of scores of Ciousantls of war prisoners and deporl-ed civilians ;lu d munitions p- 0 . I diicers. Toe. •xi-orditiiitcl ailie.l nre.a-ure mi «ll fronts Juts forced Gcrmiuv and Austria ' lo draw on inferio- malarial." This is doubtless true, but what the over-confident pre- I dictions which we have bc;n geiting lately I »*em to overlook is that Hiiideiiburg'« ex-trao'-dinar/ measures and the iiio!idisa;.i m I of "every" man. woman, child. licrse. cat. and doe.'' must have produced a substantial ' mass of force. V.'hen this is e>;lmi.med the collapse, of the. Gnitral Powers wili no doubt b.v rapid; but in the meantime the inability which the allied leaders have thus far shown 5 to rise above a mere war of attrition suggests caution. Only first-rate strategical c ability is likely to settle the business bv a quicker pvocess thin attrition. ' { PROVISIONING GREECE , It is at last definitely stated from Athens that Sir F. E. Elliot '(the British Minister) < has informed the Greek rorei.ni Mu.isi-r '■ that the Entente Powers a.re considering the question of provisioning Gre-?ce. On'' the. - other haril, Mr .teffries decl-u-iv that the position is disepiieting. as, although 80.000 t rifle's hare been received from the. armv. none harve been, delivered up bv civilians' I Yet thousands were distributed 'duti tr the late crisis: and Mr Jeffries further hints Cant 6 the Greek General Staff are frying to mme. the canal which cuts through the Isthmus of C Corinth. But if the Greek General Staff have absented to the disarmament and <ic- r mobilisation of the army thev are not likely to be mad enough to attempt to or- £ gam'se a resistance with a. mob of arnttd civilians and reservists. In anv case. \\<j \ have our safeguards. Let Greece do provisioned, but not on a scale sufficient te nhnyv 'I ler to pile up reserves. Then, >' it ever becomes iioees. : ary to renew '.he blockade, she I will be in the "rip of famine i-naiediately. ' f