frails of the
_Vaterland_, the _Kaiser Wilhelm II_, and other Teutonic craft. Their
employment in the way of providing transportation of our soldiers, of
course, was contemplated. In fact, the accession to our marine of such a
large number of hulls seemed to provide for us all the necessary means
which otherwise we would have lacked.

But not so fast. When our officers began to look over these German craft
they found that they were in a woful condition, not so much because of
disuse as because of direct damage done to them by the German crews who
had been attached to the ships ever since they were laid up in 1914.
There is evidence in Washington that the German central authorities
issued an order for the destruction of these ships which was to be
effective on or about February 1, 1917--simultaneous, in other words.
with the date set for unrestricted warfare. There is not the slightest
doubt that the purpose of the order was to cause to be inflicted damage
so serious to vital parts of the machinery of all German vessels in our
ports, that no ship could be operated within a period of time ranging
from eight months to two years, if at all.

But the Germans miscalculated, as already set forth. We took over the
109 German vessels in April, and by December 30 of that year, 1917, all
damage done to them had been repaired and were in service, adding more
than 500,000 tons gross to our transport and cargo fleets. In general
the destructive work of the German crews consisted of ruin which they
hoped and believed would necessitate the shipping of new machinery to
substitute for that which was battered down or damaged by drilling or by
dismantlement.

To have obtained new machinery, as a matter of fact, would have entailed
a mighty long process. First, new machinery would have had to be
designed, then made, and finally installed. These would have been all
right if time was unlimited. But it was not; it was, on the other hand,
extremely limited. The army wished to send troops abroad, the Allies
were pleading for men, and the only way to get them over in time to do
anything was to do quick repair jobs on the damaged vessels. But how?
Investigation revealed how thorough the work of the German seamen--now
enjoying themselves in internment camps--had been. Their destructive
campaign had been under headway for two months, and they had thus plenty
of time in which to do all sorts of harm, ranging from the plugging of
steam-pipes to the