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Show Admiral Tries to Explain Failure of the U-Soais AMSTERDAM, July 29 The chief of the German admiralty staff Admiral von Holtzendorff, has explained to the Cologne Gazetto to tho best of his ability, abil-ity, the reason why German U-boats are not sinking American transports. He says that, owing to the many points of debarkation that are at the disposal of the Americans from the north of Scotland to the Mediterranean, Mediterran-ean, the irregularity of coming of the transports and the strong destroyer guards which accompany them, it js inexpedient for the U-boats to lurk off all these harbors on the chance of getting a shot at them. The real object ob-ject of the U-boats, adds the admiral, is to reduce enemy cargo apace, for on this depends the ability of the allies al-lies to continue the war. Referring to a statement attributed to the British admiral Sir John Jclli-coe, Jclli-coe, the former first sea lord, that the U-boat war was a failure, that it had ceased to constitute a danger and that moro U-boats were being destroyed than were being built, the admiral said: "The statement is incorrect and if credited would prove a fatal error for our opponents. The fact is that merely mere-ly by appropriating neuttal tonnage the situation has undergone a temporary tem-porary amelioration, especially regarding re-garding military supplies from America." Amer-ica." Admiral von Holtzendorff .asserted that the German policy in attacking every ship sailing in tho enemy'3 service, ser-vice, resulted, apart from the destruction destruc-tion of largo quantities of war materials mater-ials and supplies, In the infliction of enormous economic damage on the enemy. "The enemy's losses in ships and cargoes alone to July 1, 1918, are estimated es-timated to surpass 50,000,000,000 marks." Asked for the reason why few American Am-erican transports were sunk, the German Ger-man chief of staff replied: "The Americans have at their disposal dis-posal for debarkation the coastal region re-gion from the northern part of Scotland Scot-land to tho French Mediterranean ports, with dozens of debarkation places. Must wo put our beats to lurk off these harbors on tho chance of getting shot at by the strongly guarded guard-ed convoy of fast American transports? trans-ports? The convoys do not come with the regularity and frequency of railway rail-way trains at a big railway station, but irregularly, with long interruptions and often by night and in fog. "When one remembers all that, one realizes what little prospect of success it offers to set the U-boats, especially at American transports. "We must always remember that it is tho task of our U-boat to reduce the entire cargo space In- the enemy's service ser-vice for on this depends his existence and ability to carry on the war." |