The following table tells the tale of U-boat destructiveness day by day, during the first eighteen days of the reign of "frightfulness," which Admiral Von Tirpitz boasted was going to destroy the mercantile marine of Great Britain and compel that country to surrender to Germany because of famine, within six months:

Tremendous as was the damage done, the campaign of frightfulness was a failure. The boast of Von Tirpitz had been that a million tons a month would be destroyed. In the eighteen days of February he destroyed only 245,140 tons, or 13,619 tons a day-little more than one-third of his boast. In the fifty days of February and March, already noted, he destroyed an average of only 12,402 tons a day.

Moreover, during most of the war Great Britain has been building new ships, or purchasing them, about as rapidly as the German submarines have been able to destroy them. Thus in the year 1915, in which occurred the loss of the Lusitania and other large vessels, the British losses and gains were as follows:

steamers there was a net loss of eighty-six in numbers, but there was an actual net gain in tonnage of 9,137 tons.

INCREASE OF BRITISH COMMERCE

Even in February, 1917, when unbridled "frightfulness" was let loose, there was an actual increase of shipping entrances and clearances at British ports. On February 14th a high Admiralty official was quoted as saying:

"More ships have entered and left English ports in the last few days than for months past. On February 13th more ships arrived and departed than on any day for six months. The average loss since Friday (February 9th) was one ship out of every thirty-five. In the English Channel, at a period when a greater number of ships than ever before are plying between British and French ports, the losses in the last two weeks (February 1st to 14th) have been extraordinarily small."

During that entire month of February, when German

1

A slender steel column, projecting above the surface of the water, is the eye of the submarine. The image enters at a side of the top, is reflected downward by a prism through lenses and a lower prism to the officer's eye. The periscope may be turned in any direction.

submarines were destroying shipping at the rate of 13,000 tons a day, there was an increase of British imports to the extent of more than $18,000,000 and an increase of exports of nearly $5,000,000. At the same time, however, there was a marked decrease in American commerce. In February, 1917, as compared with January, our exports decreased more than 22.3 per cent, and our imports more than 17.8 per cent; a result chargeable chiefly to the German U-boat campaign, which caused a temporary suspension of American shipping.

NAVAL CONSTRUCTION

The building of fighting ships has also proceeded during the war, apart from submarines, at a greater rate than the destruction of them. Omitting submarines, destroyers, etc., the following additions have been made to the British navy, of vessels of the dreadnought or "all big gun type, the years named being those of the completion of the ships: