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Show BALFOUR SAYS GERMANY HAS SEENJLlDEfl First Lord of British Admiralty Ad-miralty Contributes Letter Let-ter to Press on Submarine Sub-marine Warfare. DECLARES BRITISH FLEET IS STRONGER Asserts That Neither Navy Nor English Mercantile Tonnage Has Suffered Severely Thus Far. LONDON. Sept. 5. S:lo p. m. Arthur J. Balfour, first lord vf the admiralty, contributes the follow ing letter to the British preys: Much has been written about Germany's Ger-many's military methods and alms on land : not so much about her aims and methods at sea. Vet, In truth, the two are so Intimately connected con-nected that neither can be understood under-stood apart from the other. In 1900 Germany first proclaimed her policy of building a fleet against Great Britain, and from the potnt of view of her own ambitions the policy was a perfectly sound one. She aimed at world domination; and against world domination the British fleet, from the time of Queen KUxa-beth KUxa-beth to the present, has alwas teen Jound the surest and moat effectual protection. The Germans have every reason to beware of the fact, for without the British fleet Frederick the Great must have succumbed to hia enemies, a nd Prussia would scarcely have shaken eff the Napoleonic Na-poleonic tyranny. Due to British. Whatever may be thought about the freedom of the sca in any of Ita meanings, the fredom of the land is due In no small measure to the British ships and British sailors. Jt takes time, as well as money, to create a great fleet and German statesmen were too wise to suppose that they could at once call into existence ex-istence a navy able to contend on equal terms with a power, which, as they saw dearly enough, was the most formidable obstacle to their aggressive ag-gressive projects. But they did not on that account doubt the Immediate advantages which their maritime policy pol-icy conferred upon them. They calculated that a powerful fleet, even If It was numerically Inferior In-ferior to that of Great Britain, would nevertheless render the latter impotent, impo-tent, since no British government would dare risk a conflict, which, however sueessful, might leave them In the end with naval forces Inferior to those of some third power. Policy Expressed. This Is the policy, clearly, though cautiously, expressed In the famous preamble to the navy bill. It Is unnecessary un-necessary to add that the German . navy league entertains much more ambitious designs. So far, neither the designs of the German government nor those of the German naval league have met with any measure of success. The British fighting fleet lias become relatively stronger than it waa thirteen months ago, and there is no reason to suppose sup-pose that during the future course of the war this process is likely to be arrested. It is indeed plain that after six months of hostilities, they saw that the old policy had broken down and that a new policy must be devised. Submarines they thought might succeed suc-ceed where dreadnoughts and cruisers had failed. The ciiange, no doubt, was adopted with extreme reluctance, and many searchings of the heart. Admission of failure in Itself is unpleasant. Though we cannot regard a government govern-ment responsible for the Belgian atrocities as either scrupulous or humane, hu-mane, even the most reckless government gov-ernment does not desire to perpetuate perpetu-ate unnecessary crimes. Sailors Gallant. As to what the German navy must have felt about the new policy we can only conjecture. But German soldiers are gallant men. and gallant men do not like being put on a coward's cow-ard's job. They know well enough that in the old days, which wo are pleased to regard as less humane than our own, there was not a prlvateersman but who would have thought himself disgraced dis-graced had he sent to the bot torn unresisting merchant ships with all bands on hoard, and It can have been no very agreeable reflection, even lo the German navy league, that the first notable performance of the German fleet should resemble piracy rather than privateering. We may therefore safely assume that nothing but hope of a decisive (Continued on Page 3, Sport Section.) SAYS GERMANY HAS SEEN ITS BLUNDER (Continued from Page One.) uri-e.KB would have Induced the German Ger-man mlnlntTH to Infll't thia Main upon the honor of thlr country, yet decisive success hag not ben attained and dogg not neem to he In dght. I clalnv no gifts of prophecy, I make no boast of t he future. But of the pant I can Hpeak with assurance, and It may interest you to know that while t lie losses Inflicted upon the fli-i it inn HiihmarinAK have been for-mtdable, for-mtdable, British mon-amHo tonnage In at tldH moment greater than when the war bean. Criminals Suffer. h is true that by this method of warfare many inoffensive persons, women and children as well as men, neutrals a, well as hell I Re rents, have been robbed and killed. But it la not only the Innocent who have suffered; Ihe criminals also have paid a heavy toll. Some liave been rescued and are prisoners of war, but, from the very nature of submarines, it must often happen that they drag their i rewa with them to dest ruction, and thotse who send forth on their un-honored un-honored mission wait for their return re-turn In vain. Herein lies the explanation of the amazlnjj f-hange which has come over t he diploma tic attitude of Germany toward the I "n I ted Sta tes. Men aak themselves why the sinking of the LuitJtanta, with a loss of over eleven hundred men. women and children, whs welcomed throughout Germany with a shout of triumph, while the sinking of the Arabic was accepted In melam-holy silence? Is It because in the intervening month? the I'nited States has become htronger. or Germany weaker? Is It becaut"- the attitude of the president has varied? In it because the argument argu-ment of the secretary of state have become more persuasive? la it be-cause be-cause German opinion has at last revolted against lawless cruelty? No; the reason is found elsewhere. It is found In the fact that the authors au-thors of the submarine policy have had time to measure Its effecta that thp deeds which were merely crimes In May, In September are seen to be blunders. |
