an troop ship, as
previously stated, has been torpedoed on the way to France, and but
three, the _Antilles_, _President Lincoln_, and the _Covington_, were
sunk on the return voyage.

GRATIFYING RESULTS OF NAVAL ACTIVITY.

Only three fighting ships were lost as a result of enemy action--the
patrol ship _Alcedo_, a converted yacht sunk off the coast of France,
November 5, 1917; the torpedo boat destroyer _Jacob Jones_, sunk off the
British coast, December 6, 1917, and the cruiser _San Diego_, sunk off
Fire Island, off the New York coast, July 18, 1918, striking a mine
supposedly set adrift by a German submarine. The transport _Finland_ and
the destroyer _Cassin_, which were torpedoed, reached port and were soon
repaired and placed back in service. The transport _Mount Vernon_ struck
by a torpedo on September 5th, proceeded to port under its own steam
and was repaired.

The most serious loss of life due to enemy activity was the loss of the
coast guard cutter _Tampa_, with all on board, in Bristol Channel,
England, on the night of September 26, 1918. The _Tampa_, which was
doing escort duty, had gone ahead of the convoy. Vessels following heard
the explosion, but when they reached the vicinity there were only bits
of floating wreckage to show where the ship had gone down. Not one of
the one hundred and eleven officers and enlisted men of her crew were
rescued; and though it is believed she was sunk by a torpedo from an
enemy submarine, the exact manner in which the vessel met its fate may
never be known. Among the number of men lost on this vessel were at
least a score of black men. Taking into consideration all the dangers
and difficulties attending this service of the transport force, the
comparatively light casualty list is eloquent testimony of an efficient
personnel organized and trained under a wise administrative command.

THE NEGRO IN THE MERCHANT MARINE.

Now let us briefly consider the contribution of the Negro to the
construction and development of the merchant marine, a force vitally
essential to the successful prosecution of the war. When America entered
the war, it is a well-known fact that her merchant marine was
insignificant; and, to respond to the urgent appeal of France and her
allies to hurry men, provisions and munitions, a gigantic task of
constructing the necessary ships stared her in the face. For the Germans
at this time were making a desperate effort to starve England, France
and the ot