Show Allied Fleet Off i 1 U. U S S. S Coast to Fight Boats U Boats I Commerce Protectors to toi I Convoy British h Merchants Merchantmen Merchant Merchant- II I S men Wren Trie Trieste to Hide o B Br d Iram Tin fl Ue BOSTON Dee Deft The L-The The presence on this side of the Atlantic of or a a. formidable fleet of oe allied warships was aS indicated definitely today Th The vessels esse Is are known known officially as commerce commerce commerce com com- merce protectors They are ht heavily armed aimed and disguised dis dis- guised guised- For Vor obvious us reasons reasons their exact disposition Hs is not revealed but the arrival recently r recently In American Ameri Ameri- can waters of or this this newest unit of or orthe the British and l French rench a admiralties was made known from a a. source that hardly can be mistaken For some days ays skippers of or transAtlantic trans trana- Atlantic and coastwise steamers have been bringing to New Engla Eng Eng- land la l ports reports of ot strange apI appearing ap ap- I croft craft that were making br aY T la IWI jio no reply l to signals ls an C i could not notI notIe Ie I e approached Thc They steered a vagrant var va- va grant r nt course and were described as of or the fashion of mer merchantmen transports light cruisers and antI oven even submarines Pieced to together together together to- to gether these thele reports fitted in with gith the suspicion now apparently Conformed conformed con conformed con con- formed of ot shipping sl men It Is said the first arrived l safely at Halifax N. N S S. a n few days ago but nothing then became known generally general about It because of ot the strict censorship censorship cen cen- maintained Ed I The commerce protectors are e described de described le- le scribed as large and ana power powerful CuI l b but capable of or fair speed The They were wre designed It I is said to meet the German U-boat U danger and In anticipation of oe an attempted attempt attempt- ed raid oft off ce the Canadian coast similar ar to that made by U 53 of or Nantucket October S. S At that time shipping men figured that there was not an allied warship within five rive hundred miles ts of or the spot that Captain Hans Bans Rose Hose deliberately selected In which to operate The British admiralty It is said determined determined deter deter- I mined to make Impossible another such raid and the fleet of ot commerce protectors was the fruition of the plan then formulated The arrival I of ot followed the disguised warships was won followed followed fol fol- lowed almost immediately with the announcement by the British premier pre pre- mier Lloyd George Glorge of ot the plan pian for forthe forthe the nationalization of or British ship chip chipping ping It Is la understood that the Die commerce protectors will wUl not only lie in wait watt for tor submarines at strategic points but that the they have hawl been provided In sufficient number I to act as convoys s for tor merchant merchant- I vessels through the lh zones in which I undersea boats would be mot most likely likely like like- ly to operate I |