Salt Lake Tribune | 1918-12-20 | Page 6 | Beatty's Tribute

UEATTY'S TRIBUTE. :Tiiu tribute t.i tlio American i'i.'i't l.y Aiiiiiii-.il Sir I)a id JJoutty, com-iiian.ler-in-cliiil of the grand fleet, stivujjtlieiis llietjond of friendship hc-tween hc-tween Hie two countries and tends to prrp.-tiiati! the ties which have united tiie sea lighters of (he United States and Croat Dritain during the past eighteen months. The admiral spoke I'tniii the fullness of hid heart, and his u'nrds were accented in the spirit in which they tvero uttered. There have he-u times when the Knglish and Van-kin Van-kin sailors struggled for the mastery upon the. high seas, but these combats arc now a matter of history and intense rivalry no longer exists. The warships of the two great English-speaking nations na-tions have been merged into one grand tk-et during the war with the central powers, aud the work accomplished .went far toward winning the war for the allies. Troops, munitions and foodstuffs food-stuffs wero transported over tho ocean to the war zones, and the German ports successfully blockaded. The sneaking submarines were destroyed or driven ftom the i, c. lanes one by one, until, at the end, the U-boat menaco had practically prac-tically ceased to exist. Before the United States came into the war the Jiritish fleet porformed the work alone, the German high command fearing to send their battleships out to engago in battle. It was a pitiful exhibition ex-hibition of inferiority aud cowardico as -well. Tho German fleet was surrendered surren-dered intact, according to, the terms of the armistice, and the navy, ot wtncu tho former kaiser professed to bo so proud, disgraced forever, it was claimed from timo to time during the struggle that the Germans would seek ft battle at sea and would go down with flying colors if overwhelmed. As they did not come out before the United States declared war, which was always doubted by tho British, who wcro spoiling spoil-ing for a naval engagement, it was an absoluto certainty that they would keep out of harm's way when our warships crossed tho Atlantic and joined the British fleet. It is a matter of regret for all concerned that a great sea battlo did not occur, for the English and Yankee Yan-kee sailors would have won immortal glpry and no stigma would have rested upon tho German seamen, who havo now become the laughing-stock of tho world, from the humblest jackio to the "admiral "ad-miral of tho Atlantic." 'Admiral Beatty's farewell address ivill bo highly appreciated by the people peo-ple of tho United States, who have not forgotten that it was a British sea captain cap-tain who exclaimed, "Blood is thicker tbiin water, and stopped tho execution execu-tion of Americans in Cuba nearly half a scntury ago. It was due, in part, to this same feeling of blood being thicker than water, that the United States cast its inan-powcr aud resources into the scales against ueimuny; ior umier no circumstances would the people of free America stand idly by and watch the Uuus destroy the civilization of Europe Eu-rope ami subordinate the English-speaking race to the Teutonic tribes. Blood was considerably thicker than water when it came down to a survival of tho fittest, ami our intervention in the war was not sulci' oa our own account. Our battleships aud many of our other vessels ves-sels arc now on the way to home ports, and, in the course of a few days, the guns of the shore batteries will sound a thunderous welcome to the sea fighters whom Admiral Bcatty so highly praised. They are entitled to the greatest amount of credit for their work, and they will get it as soon as they reach this side of rl:e Atlantic.