11 FEBRUARY 1922, Page 3

The Times on Monday published a long article examining the

evidence on which Lord Lee at Washington accused the French naval writer, Captain Caster, of adopting a doctrine of submarine warfare as abominable aa anything preached by the Germans. The writer in the Times is very indignant with Lord Lee. It seems that Lord Lee attributed to Captain Caster opinions which Captain Caster had set out not as his own but as a summary of German doctrine. Lord Lee unques- tionably made this mistake, but we have read Captain Caster's writings and we find that he does argue that the German view of submarine warfare walk irk- the main justified. Captain Caster, that is to say, though he does not of course advocate atrocities, holds that the Germans could not have used their submarines in any way except to sink merchant vessels without challenge if they were to use them with any effect. Lord Lee'.

argument was therefore not far wrong in substance, though his particular reference was an error. Surely nobody could possibly believe that Lord Lee, or any other British representative, would deliberately make a misquotation .since such mistakes can be instantly disproved.