The Daily News. FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 1917. THE SUBMARINE CAMPAIGN.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 August 1917, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 1917. THE SUBMARINE CAMPAIGN.

Faced with the large tosses ii>flicted an. British shipping by the German submarine campaign the. British Government set about repairing tiie ravages in the only way possible—by an organised policy of shjp-bniWiDg. He enemy's object was to starve Britain into submission, or at least into making peace, knowing that Britain was dependent in greai measure on overseas supplies of food.. Germany has done her best) to, destroy :every 'British ship afloat, and tbe position consequently became one of gravity, bat the authorities rose to the occasion and formulated a programme ior building standardised ships at the highest possible speed. The nonrra] shipping production of 'Britain in. peace time was about a million and a half tons, but 'it readied nearly two million in 14)13, ■while' in 19t4 it-fell t0i1,083553 tons ajid. "Of-couraosleereased greatly aftor-the war broke oat owing to the urgent need for the services of the men on more im.poriaot *rork connected with the war, "the oufcpit for '1915 being only 688,000 ions-sad 5385000 in the following year, lb is computed that the losses by &üb--Jnarinea must have amounted to more ■tha». ioBS over and above the new tonnage rinee Retouary, and the 4oßbm*s 6tilLgoiug;on. Acco«liDg"to Mr. XAcswi' George ttw»mow programme was -to preside 480,000-tons rn the first six. swaths of'thepresent year, while in the 'last half the output was expected to ; Teach tons. If the figures for ISM are compared with this total it "will ben-seen what a great wort is being accomplished under the supervision of Si- :ph Maclay, and some idea may hi.- the output for next year which should certainly he a record, i and we may feel confident that tbe new tonnage will more than make up for ! enemy ravages. New Zealand ha s been feeling acutely the shortage of shipping, but the Motherland has felt it far more, ■for the meaxlunt-Biarine is Britam'a life B blood m 4 its jMiatenaßee » prime

lost tonnage was one of the most ser,•lolls that Britain lias liad to solve, 'but the way in which it has been tackled gives striking testimony to the enormous resources and determination of the Motherland, where the people have to make sacrifices and perform services .which we in the Dominion can hardly realise. It must be borne in mind that neutrals have suffered very severely by this 17 boat piracy, and as they mater-, iallv assisted in the carrying trade to Britain, the hardship was intensified. Xow that America has joined hands with the Allies we can count on the pushfulness of the United States to assist in providing the remedy for the shipping losses. The adoption of the standardised system by America should result in a great accession of new tonnage from there, so that the outlook is encouraging. It is, however, obvious that for some time to come only actual necessaries ean be carried by Allied ships, and that every available vessel will be needed for tlie work of transporting troops and essential merchandise. Speaking at the Guildhall, London, at the end of April, Mr. Lloyd George said .that the real danger had moved from land to sea, on which element we once thought ourselves secure. The minimum problem the British authorities have to face is to feed 45,000,000 in a country which is not self-supporting, to provide the raw material and food to equip the army and navy, and to keep the seas for the transport of troops, the first difficulty heing to feed the population. The prob-

lem has been faced and is being solved on sound line 3, for as Mr. Lloyd George

said: "When pressure is brought to bear on the Old Country it somehow rings true." The Dominions are so far removed from the centre of the war storm area that they arc only affected in a minor degree. At the same time it should be a great relief to know that both Britain and the United States are pressing forward at top speed a shipbuilding programme that will be of material service to overseas producers. From now onwards the severity of the shortage should steadily grow less, assuming that the submarine menace can lie kept m hand. Patience, courage, and practical assistance are needed and should be forthcoming in every direction required.