PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 202, 15 May 1918, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

M. Marcei. Hum is quoted to-day as predicting that the German Navy will take part in the next phase of the Western battle. It has long been assumed that Germany would probably throw her fleet into the scale in the crisis of the war, and it is possible that popular pressure may hasten action on these lines, but thoro seem to bo excellent grounds for believing that Germany has poorer prospects of gaining anything by naval action to-day than at any earlier stage of the war. She has lost her former pro-cmin-ence in naval scouting aircraft, tho Allies have greatly extended their .minefields, and American capital and other ships, as well as many destroyers and patrol craft, are now co-operating with tho British Grand Fleet. Even if Germany has contrived to take over some of the Russian warships, she is undoubtedly faced by a very great superiority of • force. Anxious as she must be to turn her fleet to account in an attack on the Allied sea communications 01 in somo other way. it must bo held rather doubtful whether M. Hutin's prediction will bit verifiod.

Questions which have been raised during the last day or two regarding the linos on which it is proposed to employ tho American troops on the West front aro in part set a.t". rest by the' American Secretary for War. Me. Baker states that American forccs in Franco will be actively engaged in the battle now, and regularly in future. This presumably means that the arrangement to brigade a proportion of the American troops with French and British units so that they may bo speedily employed holds good. It leaves open the question whether the American Army under General Pershing jV to assume an active role at an early date, or is to remain meantime upon a comparatively quiet section of tho front while its organisation and expansion proceed. It seems probable, however, that tho_ last-mentioned course has been decidcd upon. Uncertainty as to the disposal of the American forces aroso out of a somewhat ambiguous passage in the official review of military operations issued by the British authorities last week. The review is mentioned in a cablegram from Ottawa to-day. As it was received here it stated that tho Entente Powers wero so confident that, given the choice of a small immediate _ American army, for defence, or waiting till they were reinforced by a complete, powerful self-supporting American Army, they had chosen the latter. The statement presumably had a substantial foundation, and since it does not mean that the whole of the American forces aro to be held in reserve, tho most obvious interpretation is that tho American Army as an organisation is to remain out of the battle meantime, but that an appreciable proportion of the American troops in France are to take an active part us occasion may arise. This interpretation is consistent with tho comments by military officials in Washington which aro cabled to-day.

» « • > An interesting summary of what the United States acoomplished during its first year as a belligerent, together with some indication bf de-

velopments in near prospect, is givoti in files just received by mail. Tbo chairman of the Committee o£ the House of Representatives appointed to inquire into the Navy in submitting his report, on Marco 12 said that in 1918 destroyers bad been built in a third to a half the time taken under pre-war conditions, and predicted that by 1919 the country would have the greatest fleet of these vessels in the world. Of more direct relation to tho present year was his statement that 1100 merchant vessels had been equipped by the Navy Department with guns and crews to handle them, by virtue of which all but a few had been able to traverse the submarine zone unb,armed. In regard to the construction of merchant shipping, on November 25, 1917, the Emergency Fleet Corporation announced that it had let contracts for 884 new vessels of 4,724,300 deadweight tons, besides winch 1 it had requisitioned 426 vessels under construction, thus insuring a total addition to the merchant service of 8,363,808 deadweight tons. _ Recently the chairman of tho United States Shipping Board stated that on March 1 the programme for steol shipbuilding had advanced 28 per cent, towards completion—or 2,121,568 deadweight tons. Eight per cent.—or 055,456 deadweight tons—of the steel ships contracted for, '■ or _ requisitioned while under construction on private contracts, were actually in service. As to food economy, it was announced by the Food Administrator in the latter part of February that 140,000,000 pounds of foodstuffs had been saved in tho course of the preceding four months. Great efforts are now being mado to further reduce the home consumption of wheat, meat, and other commodities, and so increase tho quantities available for export.' It is roughly estimated that the country's war bill for the first twelve months will bo about £2,000,000,000. In regard to the raising of troops, itp-to-datc figures have recently been cabled. The most noteworthy item is the transportation of half a million men to France,