Mr. Churchill and the U-boats
Mr. Churchill's speech on Tuesday gave just that sense of a firm grip on the situation which will satisfy the public that the control of the Navy is in the right hands. He knows the terrible danger of the U-boat campaign in the last war ; he is able to show us that in this war it is already being mastered, and that although losses must be expected in war our counter-measures will ensure the full use of our command of the sea. The sinking of a considerable number of vessels at the outset was inevitable—enemy submarines were ready posted, the convoy system had not come into being, mer- chant ships were not then armed. Now the convoy system is increasingly coming into operation, U-boats are success- fully being hunted and destroyed by methods unknown in the last war, guns and trained gunners are available for 2,000 merchant ships—this degree of preparedness in munitions reflects credit on his predecessors fully acknowledged by Mr. Churchill. The rate of losses in tonnage is rapidly diminish- ing, whilst German ships have been swept from the seas and contraband is being arrested. The achievement already on record is encouraging to this country and our friends, and we are able to feel that with Mr. Churchill's watchful eye on the situation, and his resourceful mind, well tempered by experience, controlling it, the British Navy is certain to play its great part in winning the war, and not always under an unnecessary cloak of silence.
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