THE COLONIST. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1917. THE SUBMARINE MENACE.

Colonist, Volume LVIII, Issue 14336, 12 February 1917, Page 4

THE COLONIST. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1917. THE SUBMARINE MENACE.

The depressing tale of merchaont ships destroyed by Germany's pirate fleet «as relieved on Saturday by a suggestion that the Navy is proving equal to the present emergency. Though many losses must be expected, we are told, the latest methods of dealing with submarines are proving highly effective. In the previous crisis due to unrestricted or practically unrestricted submarining the ' Jfavy has succeeded invariably in bringing the lawless campaign into narrow limits within a brief! space of time. Experience has shown | that Germany has been unable to maintain a submarine campaign ou tbe grand scale for more than a fortnight or three weeks at a time, so costly has -the business been made and,' probably, so-difficult has ehe found it to provide and train crews to undertake so hazard-; ous an enterprise. The r statistics of the present "blockade" chow that-she has this time prepared on a vaster scale than evejr before, and she 'vill doubtless be able to maintain opera*tions at the maximum effect for a ton- \ feiderably longer period, but that tl>€-y| cannot continue., indefinitely is' clear, j There are good reasons, no doubt, for! the reticence preserved in official circles concerning the part the Navy i is playing in suppressing the submarine, menace, bu.t there are reassur-: ing. indications that^Gerißahy has by no means had^the advantage -that the' element of surprise would have afforderl. The problem of the Navy is to. grapple with a familiar contingency on a greatly extended scale, for which extension it was at least partially prepared, and we may repose the utmost confidence in the Navy's ability to adapt itself to the exigencies, of the case, though we must be prepared for unparalleled destruction of shipping bofore the menace can be destroyed or even reduced to normal limits. It was stated in one of Saturday's cables that the solution of the problem has in fact been found in -a means of destroying submarines or rendering them ineffective. This is one of the countless schemes- submitted to the authorities by private inventors', among which there have been not a few practical ideas which have proved of the utmost importance in warfare on land and sea. In the case of the new submarine destroyer, it is stated that the experiments have shown the invention to be all that it is claimed'to be.. All else concerning it is a closely-guarded secret. < ...'.,....... i