Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 262, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 November 1917 — BRITISH VESSELS WORK FOR ALLIES [ARTICLE]

BRITISH VESSELS WORK FOR ALLIES

Merchant Marine Is First Line of Naval Defense in This War. ARE FEEDING MANY LANDS English Freighters Fight U-Boats While Neutral Craft Ply to Safe Zones—Half Tonnage Working for France Sent by England. London. —An analysis of„ the present status of Great Britain’s merchant fleet as affectedby the war will indlcate more clearly than any-statement heretofore issued the extent to which the merchant marine has been absorbed into national service under the immediate control of the government. There is ji<> mere emphatic proof of the measure in which England has placed her resources at the disposal of the wur cause than this analysis of the merchant fleet’s disposition. British ships are working for France, for Italy, for the unfortunate neutral states that would be threatened with starvation if the allies did not help to keep them alive. Troops, munitions, equipment, food supplies have been brought from all quarters of the world in British ships, not exclusively for British consumption, but for all of Britain's allies and for neutrals. Without the British merchant marine the world’s International commerce would be almost at a standstill. A famous authority on shipping and naval affairs recently pointed out that the merchant marine has become the first line of naval defense in this war; and It is literally true. A majority of merchant ships are now armed, and therefore take the same chances as warships. They are attacked by the enemy on sight and they tight the enemy on sight.

Keep Out of Danger. Neutral vessels have sought the less dangerous zones of operation and ply their trade in waters far from the German submarine bases, where they may reasonably be certain to remain unmoiested. To the British merchant fleet is left the uncomfortable duty of serving in those “waters where submarines are thickest, where mlnes are strewn, where the Germans show the concern for humanity, where every hour and every mile represents the serious chance of death and destruction. The French ministry of mercantile marine has issued a statement which sets forth the condition of the French merchant fleet. It is stated that the French merchant marine amounts to $4,167,000 tons, of which 2,100.000 tons has been loaned to France by Great Britain. Thus it appears that half the tonnage working for France is furnished by Great Britain. This is particularly Interesting in view of the wellknown fact that French shipping has been dealt with rather tenderly by the German submarines. The greatest of French shipping corporations has been particularly fortunate in this regard, and a curious ex-

planation of the fact is current in both France and England. It is that this corporation represents a large investment by one of the most powerful and influential religious orders of the I’omnn Catholic, and that the Germans have made it a policy not unnecessarily to give oflftmse in this quarter. Secondly, it is a matter of frequent note that certain French ships are always permitted to escape, while other vessels in the same waters are invariably attacked. Almost Cut Off. France is now almost as completely cut off from the privilege of commerce with her neighbors by land as is Great Britain. To put it in the reverse, she is almost as dependable on shipping as England. Before the war, according, to the French ministry of marine. France imported by land 18,000,000 tons annually, while last yeni —her imports by land to only t? 600.000, Inasmuch as the total of in 1916 was 44,000.000 tons, the proportion received by land is very small indeed. Inasmuch as France is at present much less capable of living within itself thanjs England, by reason of tHe necessity particularly to Import metals and coal, it may fairly be said that France is even more dependent upon maintaining her touch with the sea than is England. The French government is co-operat-ing with England in every possible way to Increase the production of new tonnage; but France’s contribution must necessarily be small compared to those of England and the United States. The French Tjdnlster of marine said that Great Britain would shortly have to recall a part of the 700 vessels which she had lent to France. British needs are increasing rapidly, and no vessel will be recalled from the service of an ally unless it is agreed between the two countries that it is more necessary to England than to the ally. The British nation before the war was importing 58,000,000 tons of goods a year, which fell to 43,000,000 tons in 1916 and will be considerably further reduced this year. Before the war foodstuffs represented less than 25 per cent of the imports; in 1916 two-thirds of all imports consisted of ’foodstuffs, munitions of war and the manufacture of war supplies.