The First Lord said that, while our defensive measures had
steadily reduced the toll taken by the enemy submarines, our offensive measures had become much more successful. In the three months ending at Michaelmas the Navy sank as many German submarines as they did in the whole of last year. Since the war began, between forty and fifty per cent. of the enemy submarines operating in the North Sea, the Arctic, and the Atlantic had been sunk. But Sir Erie Geddes warned the House that the enemy was building submarines faster than ever, and had not yet attained his maximum strength. Here, as elsewhere, he said, " it is booming a test of determination, grit, and ingenuity between the two eon- tending forces." The sailor's best defence azsinst the submarine was a good look-out. If a vessel sighted a submarine, the odds were seven to three on her escaping. Tho cosntry's best defence lay in " the strictest economy at home with the maximum comfort
for the workers." We must import as little as possible, so that the demands of the Allies for supplies and the needs of the great American armies which have to be transported may be met by. the available shipping.
Previous page
