4 THE GREAT WAR 



ten thousand slow merchant ships obtaining any 

 insurance and being laid up as useless, as the 

 United States merchant ships were laid up when 

 the Alabama was about. This will prevent the 

 weekly arrival of the four hundred merchant 

 ships which bring us our food, and cause panic 

 on the corn-market, the enemy having made 

 food contraband of war." 



The Germans are endeavouring to repair their 

 great blunder of keeping their fleet inactive 

 before the war by attacking our vessels with 

 submarines. Although the operations of their 

 submarines, carried on with the usual " fright- 

 fulness " and accompanied by wilful murder, 

 have been to a certain degree successful, they 

 have not yet had any effect on the issue of the 

 war. 



According to a statement of the Admiralty 

 dated April 14th, 1915, there were for the week 

 ending April 7th, 1234 arrivals and sailings of 

 oversea ships to and from the ports of the United 

 Kingdom. During the week 5 British ships (with 

 a gross tonnage of 7904 tons) out of the 1234 

 named were sunk or captured by submarines. 



Since the declaration of the submarine " block- 

 ade " on February 18th, 1915, up to April 9th, 



