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Show I A Bread-And-Boat-War H - IJy BUIITON J. HENDMCK. H In Every Week. H j rorhaps Mr. Wilson's most Import- H ant acts, In bis preparations for war H against Germany, nre the two np- H ( polntments ho has tnado for tho two H departments that will supply tho H l most ncedod of nil war munitions H A bread and boats. Ho has mado Mr. H 1" Herbert C. Hoover food controller H 1 nnd grand vlctualor to tho nation, H I and Oencral Ooorgo Ocothals tho B' y great Amerlcan'boat builder In chief. Tho feodor of peoples and tho builder or boats have not hlthorto figured as tho greatest factors in warfare; at ' tills present moment, however, that Is precisely tho position they occupy. BBV At so mo tlmo In tho futuro we may send millions or fighting mon to I Europs, possibly our great dread- J i nought fleet will bo ranged alongside ot England's in n sea battlo tho mag- nultudo of which tho most osttrnvn- HB gant lmnglnatlon can hardly compro- HBa bond. At the proHcut tlmo, however, HBm nnd for a year to come, tho ono tip- HBs palling aspect on tho landscapo Is b tho wide-opening gullot of tho nllled BBa nntlons waiting to bo fed. Bh Highest I'ccdiiiK Contract In If wo can satisfy that huge nppo I tlto for a yoar, tho bnttlo for clvlllz- BBa ntlon will In won. This feeding ron- k trnct, tho greatest In history, Is tho HB7 'f responsibility of Mr. Hoover and Mr. Goethnls Hoover to garner In tho HBl . food from a thousand places, nnd HBf ( Goothals to ship it to tho millions of I hungry mouths. HBg "Tho rond to victory, tho guaranty BBs , of victory," said Lloyd-Georgo, in his BBf recent speech welcoming American BBa participation In tho war, "tho abso- HBg luto nssurnnco of victory, has to bo HBf I l found In ono word, 'ships,' and a sec- BBl H ond word, 'ships,' nnd u third word, B I HBf I This war, from tho American HBh '' standpoint, Is to bo n brcnd-and-boit V war at least, for tho first year. HBf Americans should clearly under- BBJ stand this fact, nnd precisely, why it. BBJ Is so. Whenever ono discusser' tho BBJ European war, ho always reaches ono BBt fuudnmentnl fact, from whUtevor BBj point of view ho begins. This fact BBJ In tho great English dreadnought BBJ "Nolson's storm-tossed ships," BBJ wroto Captain Malum, describing a BBJ similar situation that prevailed about BBJ a hundred years ngo, "stood between BBJ Napoleon nnd tho domination of BBj mankind." Tho great Corslcan could BBJ win wonderful military victories BBJ Austerlltz, Wag ram, Jena, far great- BBJ er than anything tho present Gorman BBj staff has accomplished; but Kng- HHJ i land's domination ocer tho seas mndo M I them nothing more permanently slg- B L nltlcant than grandiose sporting fl ? ' events. So long as theso ships held B I tho French empire In a strangle- B hold, shattered all French commerce B ports, nnd gradualyy reduced the HHl French population to starvation nnd m other privations, this titanic strug- HHfl glo could have only n single end. H Sen Tower Will HHt Decide the War, HHJ Moro than any other man, tbo HHf groat American historian, Mnhan, has HHJ developed the Idea that sea power HH always decides tho fato of great In- HHJ ternatlonal conflicts. So closely is HHt his name associated with this con- HHg caption that, In Europe, tho Idea Is HHf usually known ns "Mnlmntsm." HHf At tho beginning of tho war tho HHt Kaiser declared that ho would dom- HHJ on3trato that Mnhnnlsm, or sco pow- HHt i er is the determining factor In war, HHT was a fallacy. The fato ot mankind, HH ho said, would bo decided, not on HHf tho sen, but on tho battlefields of HH- Franco. Hut even Germany now nc- HHT knowledges that Captain Mahan was HHT eternally right: that Germany can HHf win tho war In only cno way, nnd that HHmi is by making her sea power superior BBtt to that or tho Allies. Tho Kaiser HHf. has resorted to tho old devlco that H he had dismissed as not all-sufficient HHf that of blockade. It ho can do to B; England what England has already HHfi done to him Isolate tho Island from HHf all association with tho rest ot tho B world ho can undoubtedly win In i l the present conflict. Such a calnml- Hj ty would lnjuro England much more B j than It has Injured Germany; for In BBfll a few months her food supply would HHf disappear and surrender become ln- Hl ovltablo. K" What Will llapiK'ii If tho HHa GcrimuiR Win. BB And what would England's sur- HHb render mean to tho future ot tho BBj world? Tho prospect is ono ot the BBfJ1 most appalling Imaginable. Germany HBBt would not rest content with an ordln- HHb '.BHHHHB nry surrender. Tho Kaiser would "bleed England white," precisely ns Illsmarck promised to do to France. Abovo everything else, ho would demand de-mand that military' engine which li now tho great support of tho Allies tho British fleet. On all England's thousands of vessels-Including the fifty or sixty dreadnoughts that now, her men hardly firing a shot, domln-ato domln-ato tbo world situation tbo English flag would go down nnd the Germnn flag go up. This enormous armada would then bo joined to tho German fleet now anchored In tho Kiel Canal and tho Baltic; that Is, tho world's two greatest navies would becomo n single force. Probably Germany would also annex tho greater part of tho English mercantile fleet also tho largest In the world. What would such n transaction mean to tho world? It would Instantaneously Instan-taneously demorall7.o and English nnd French forces In Franco; ror tho prowess of tho English navy Is the chief agency in supplying theso armies with food and munitions. Russia would dlsnppenr overnight as n military factor. All supplies of war to Archangel would bo cut off. Germany could easily send war ships to tho East, Isolate Japan, and at tho same tlmo kcop all supplies from reaching Itussln from Vladivostok. Tho Salonlca expedition would bo starved to surrender In n few weeks, nnd tho whole of Asia Minor nnd India would becomo provinces of the Germnn empire. Thero would bo only ono power In tho world that could concelvnbly offer of-fer any resistance to tho Oermnns; that Is tho United Stntes; and any resistance from us would bo rather short-lived. Tho Gorman navy, especially es-pecially U relnrorced by tho English ships, would hnvo little difficulty In capturing and destroying tho Ameri can fleet. Our shores would thus bo laid opon to Invasion. If Gormany succeeds In subduing England by blockade she will accomplish this stupendous task beforo tho first of September. Bv that tlmo wo could hnvo organized no military forco competent to handle seasoned veterans. Then, for us, would come submission; n huge Indemnity In-demnity would bo exacted; and the Monroe Doctrine would bo no more. Germany would thus strldo over tho world; tho dcctrlno of might against right would havo accomplished Its supreme Justification; democrncy would bo nt nil end; nnd tho world would bo reorganized' on the Prus- i slati model. What are the chances thnt Ger-mnny, Ger-mnny, In easo wo keep hand off, may destroy British nnd neutral shipping to on extent that Englnnd bny bo sub dued? Let us cherish no illusions on this point. Tho grcntest men In England nro cherishing no such Illusions; Il-lusions; In fact, they aro cautioning tho English people not to llvo In it fools' paradise. You can not fight submarines with your mouth; nnd merely pooh-poohing tho possibility (that tho Germnn campaign may be I a success does not remove tho danger. dan-ger. Submarines Are Sinking 000,000 Tons ii Month. Germany's Indifference to our re-cont re-cont declaration of war Is oxplalncd by tho fnct that she genuinely believes be-lieves thnt her ruthless submarine campaign will bo n success. When tho Germans began, thoy figured thnt tho destruction of 1,000,000 tons a month would soon bring England to her knees. They havo not sunk this 1,000,000 tons, but they hnvo sunk hnlf that amount 500,000 tons n month, In tho approaching summer months the submarine, should In-croaso In-croaso this average, not only because tho weather will bo moro favorable, but becauso theso destructive vessels aro bolng launched in constantly Increasing In-creasing numbers. That Germany, beforo fall, may reach tho 1,000,000 monthly tonnago Is not Impossible. Just how much shipping England and tho neutrals have is not known slnco n lnrgo proportion of tho tonnago Is being used, not to transport foodstuffs, food-stuffs, but In purely military service to France, to Salonlca, to tho Persian Gulf, and to Canada. It Is freely acknowledged, however, that ships nro being sunk much more rapidly thnn they aro being Jnunclied. Clearly, therefore, America's military mili-tary duty Is plain. It Is not to build dreadnoughts and battlo cruisers that will be ready for servlco three years from now; It is not oven to send u "oxpodltlonnry force" for Its "moral effect." A forco, oven so small n 100,000 men, would demand a largo tonnage, not only for transportation, I but for continuous supply, nnd would thus consume shipping that might bs ' used for the real, pressing military objective ot the hour the feeding of the Allies. Our supremo tmllltary duty Is to exert all our national energies en-ergies to making Germany's submarine subma-rine blockade n fnllure.' This may not bo so spectacular and heroic an enterprise ns taking VImy Heights or nssaultlng St. Qucntln, but It would accomplish Indefinitely In-definitely moro In bringing the war to n sudden end. That Is what Lloyd-George means when he Insists on "ships and ships and ships" ns tho great need of the hour. It is greatly to the credit of tho Washington Washing-ton administration that it sees this point Just ns clearly, and Is promptly prompt-ly acting upon this basis. America Must teed Her Allies. America's duty Is thus to grow food and ship It to England and Franco. Hence tho nntion-wldo movement move-ment for tho cultivation of nil our arablo lands. Large wheat fields In America will bo quite ob potent In tho war against Germany as munitions muni-tions fectorles; nnd potatoes will prove Just a deadly to the Gorman trenchos as hand-gronades and bombs. Judging Trom tho newspapers and magazines, rrom tho activities of agricultural ag-ricultural departments, stato nnd na-tlonnl, na-tlonnl, or agricultural colleges, garden gar-den clubs, granges, nnd other organizations, organ-izations, the nation has been aroused to this fact. Wo shall probably see this Bummer nn awakening of Interest Inter-est in American farming thnt Is without with-out parallel In our history. If wo fall to do our duty In raising this tood supply, we shall bo dammed In tho sight ot nil mon. Wo havo millions or acres that nre now going to waste. To let thee Ho unused, when our allies In Europe Eur-ope nre fluttering for tho food that spells tho victory of civilization and democracy certainly Americans could not bo so baso ns thnt. Probably Prob-ably tho mountains or splondld nutritious nu-tritious rood thnt will bo rnlscd by next tall In tho United Stntos will astound mankind. In doing this we shall not only be righting tho battlo of mankind, but wo shall be devoting InNtUtc resources re-sources for our futuro wealth. Soma economists figuro that Germany, should she stop righting tomorrow, will bo hungry tor Hvo years to como. Tho rood situation all over the world, when tho war ends, will bo ncute tor a long tlmo. This condition con-dition will probnbly solve tho "abandoned "aband-oned rnrm" problem In tho United Stntes, for theso large stretches of now wnsto lnnd, If turnod up by tho plow to meet tho present crisis, will probnbly find a market that will keep them going Indefinitely. But this food will not relieve tho situation unless wo havo tho ships to transport It. How nre wo to get these? Our ship yards aro now going go-ing night nnd dny, building steel vessels ves-sels tor tho wholo world. Tho other dny a Cunnrder was launched trom n Portland ship ynrd, nnd eight Cun-ard Cun-ard ships havo recently been contracted con-tracted ror In Seattle. Groat ns Is America's production ot steel, tho unusual demand has heavily drained our resources, nnd there Is now n decided shortage. Tho production ot a Heel or steel steamships steam-ships In tlmo to meet the submarine menace is out ot tho question. But tho curloua result of this wnr, modern mod-ern In its lnrgo nspocts ns It is, lias been to bring back weapons that military mili-tary sclenco had long slnco disccard-ed disccard-ed tho hnnd-grennde, the bayonot, tho Bteel helmet, for example And now, to supply tho ships that shall save mankind, Amorlcn finds Itself resorting to tho engines used in tho oldon time. About n hundred yenra ago, when Involved In war with Englnnd, Eng-lnnd, the United Stntes wns greatly Inconvenienced by tho fact thnt tho British fleet controlled Lake Erie, while wo hnd no naval forces In theso waters. Commodoro Perry went to Pres- quo Isle, nnd spent nil the summer constructing, nt breakneck speed, an American flotilla. In n period of n few months this lmprovlshod fleot was ready, and Perry sailed over nnd destroyed tho enemy. Wo aro nt-temptlng nt-temptlng to do something llko this, though on a, gigantic scale, this yenr. From Mnlno to Florida on tho At-lnntlc At-lnntlc coast aro scores of abandonod ship yards, once tho headquarters o' a great wooden shipbuilding Industry. Indus-try. On the Pacific aro many other yards, and many more places that can bo transformed Into yards overnight. over-night. Equally Important, we still have largo supplies of lumber, while our englno builders stand ready to furnish standard enflner oa an;- I scale demanded. Theso places havo already begun to resound with tho shipbuilding noises that havo been stilled for many years. The national govern-imoat govern-imoat Is figuring upon' ths 150,000 workmen that are needed to make nn of rdctual. beginning if necessary, it will conscript 'them. Plans are already al-ready under way tor 1000 ships or from 3000 to 4000 tons In all, a tonnage of rrom 3,000,000 to 4,000,-000. 4,000,-000. Ships Can He Hcndjr Hy September. Wo shall begin to lnunch theso vessels In September, nnd shnll then bo ready to rioat about 200,000 tons ot mount an amount that can be greatly Increased as necessities T3-quire. T3-quire. Tho motlvo power ot thcs-3 ships will bo steam; they will bo nrmed ngalnst submarines, wilt havo, wireless, nnd will maintain a good speed. They will cost nbbut $300,-000 $300,-000 each, and will carry crows of j obout thlrty-rivo men. About tho tlmo Mr. Hoover has his largo food supply ready, theso ships will start from a dozen American Ameri-can ports on their adventurous voy-nge3. voy-nge3. American war-craft will police lanes from American ports ngnlnst German submarines, whllo the British Brit-ish nnd French navies will take nil posslblo precautions tor their snfe nrrlval on tho other sldo and their .own guns will not bo Idle. Some, perhnps n grent ninny, will bo lost; I but If a hundred and moro yards In the United States nro turning them out dally, theso wooden ships will tako tho sea much mora rapidly than German submarines can destroy them. Billions In loans to the Allies and thousands of food-boats hero we havo America's first blow against Germany. If, nfter these facilities are ready, Europo needs our armies, alio will get them and 'not by thq hundreds of thousnnds, but by tho millions. According to present plans, we shall have theso huge armle3 ready when, by the aid of our food and boats, wo shall have destroyed the submarine menace Whatever wo shall over have to use them. In large numbers, 13 another question. |