The arming of merchant vessels against submarin es was the
subject of an interesting letter in the Times of Friday week. From what the writer of the letter says, it is plain that vessels armed with guns have an enormously greater chance of escape than un- armed vessels. But the writer suggests that guns pointing aft are not enough ; there should also be a gun in the bows to fire ahead, so that a merchantman could continue to fire while attempt- ing to ram a submarine. We are certain that properly to arm merchantmen will go a long way towards meeting the submarine peril. A submarine is like a tiger ; it wants to kill, but it will avoid being attacked if it can. Armed merchantmen will always be treated with considerable respect, and of course the mercantile marine has an immemorial right to defend itself.
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