I think I am therefore justified in saying that this enterprise was a strong factor in overcoming the submarine menace, though the success of the convoy system had already brought the end in sight, and had thus made it practicable to assign, without danger of defeat, the tonnage necessary to lay the barrage and maintain and augment it as long as might be necessary. The Germans saw the barrage not only as it was in the autumn of 1918, but as it would be a few months or a year hence. We had started a steady stream of mines from hundreds of factories in the United States to our Scottish bases; these establishments were constantly increasing production, and there was practically no limit to their possible output. We had developed a mine-laying organization which was admittedly better than any that had been hitherto known; and this branch of the service we could now enlarge indefinitely. In time we could have planted this area so densely with explosives that it would have been madness for any submarines even to attempt a passage. To be sure, the Pentland Firth, between the Orkneys and Scotland, was always open, and could not be mined on account of its swift tides, but besides being a dangerous passage at best it was constantly patrolled to make it still more dangerous. The loyal devotion to duty and the skilful seamanship which our officers displayed in this great enterprise were not only thoroughly in keeping with the highest traditions of the navy, but really established new standards to guide and inspire those who will follow us. These gallant officers who actually laid the mines are entitled to the nation's gratitude, and I take great pleasure in commending the work of Captain H. V. Butler, commanding the flagship _San Francisco_; Captain J. Harvey Tomb, commanding the _Aroostook_; Captain A. W. Marshall, commanding the _Baltimore_; Commander W. H. Reynolds, commanding the _Canandaigua_; Captain T. L. Johnson, commanding the _Canonicus_; Captain J. W. Greenslade, commanding the _Housatonic_; Commander D. Pratt Mannix, commanding the _Quinnebaug_; Captain C. D. Stearns, commanding the _Roanoke_; Captain Sinclair Gannon, commanding the _Saranac_; and Captain W. T. Cluverius, commanding the _Shawmut_. This splendid squadron, of which the flagship was the _San Francisco_, was organized by Captain R. R. Belknap and, by order of the Secretary of the Navy, was placed under his direct command; and he was therefore responsible for all preparations, tactics, general instructions, special instructions for each mine-laying "excursion," the intricate navigation required, and in fact all arrangements necessary for the successful planting of the mines in their assigned positions. FOOTNOTE: [7] Complete statistics of shipping losses, new ship construction for 1917 and 1918, will be found in Appendices VIII and IX. CHAPTER X GERMAN SUBMARINES VISIT THE AMERICAN COAST