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Show U-BOAT MENACE IS HELD IN CHECK, BUT NOT YET MASTERED LONDON, Dec. 13. "The submarine menace in my opinion is held, but not yet mastered'-' said Sir Erie Geddes, first lord of the admiralty in the house of commons today. "Our shipbuilding is not yet replacing our losses. Since November 1, when I made my last statement," state-ment," Sir Eric continued, "the downward down-ward trend of mercantile marine losses has continued satisfactorily. The upward up-ward curve of merchant shipbuilding and the upward curve of destruction of enemy submarines have been equally satisfactory. I have no reason to doubt that nil three will continue satisfactory." satisfac-tory." The first lord said that if the country would economize so as to restrict' the use of tonnage and set ships free for more urgent uses, if the English would follow the tradition of their race and put forth all their power, relaxing no effort to defeat the submarine, the war could end only in victory. "We must have ships, more ships, still more ships, and now I want the men to build them," Sir Eric added. He said the plans wero made and the flteel had been obtained and that unless he mistook the spirit of the country I there would be an adequate, response to the appeal for men. Since June, said Sr. Eric, there had been only three torpedoed ships in home waters, the salvage of which had been abandoned, and only one ship which it had been decided not to repair for the present. In June, -7 per cent of the total salved tonnage on hand was under repair, while today SO per cent was undergoing un-dergoing the repairing process. Since August the output of ships ropaired in dry dock had increased 4S per cent and repairs afloat by 45 per cent. The first lord described three new national shipyards which were being built on the river Severn. The first keels, he said, would be laid there during dur-ing the earlv part of the year of a more highly standardized ship "than had heretofore here-tofore been undertaken. A great deal of the steel work would be done in bridge yards and a considerable part of the labor would be performed by prisoners of war and unskilled help. These vards, added Sir Eric, will provide pro-vide thirty-four shipbuilding berths. They were located on the Severn because be-cause of the .facilities there for the more comfortable and healthier housing of the workmen. The cost of the new vards, he stated, would be 3,887,000. In the vear 1913, continued Sir Eric, Great Britain launched 2,282,000 tons of shipping, of which 1,920,000 tons was merchant tonnage. That, said the first lord, was the highest output ever reached. If the output for December was as good as that in November the tonnage launched this vear, he stated, would be equivalent equiva-lent to that of 1913. . The rate reached during November and thus far in December De-cember was 18 per cent higher than in 1913. |