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About The Maupin times. (Maupin, Or.) 1914-1930 | View Entire Issue (May 17, 1918)
RECORDS TELL HOW AMERICAN DESTROYERS SINK SUBMARINES P E SUBMARIME WHIPPED U-lloat living Sunk by Alllc Faster KAISER IKES HUGE CURRENT DEMAND RUSSIA Than Knemy Builds Them-Lom , Shipping Lost Per Month. ParisThe effectiveness of the Ger Vessels Guarding Convoy Forced Germans to Surrender After Depth Charge and Shell Fire "Mosquito Fleet," With Crews of Youths, Does Great Work in Danger Zone Nelson Touch in One Fight. London-Often tbe qneirtlon ba fceeo asked, "What ore our submarine! doing? Art they active at all In bunt ing the Oerniun U-boat which ore link ing our mercantile iblpplng?" Occa ilonully cases are beard of German mibniarlnei being mink by detroyer. The weekly Admiralty report tell of i certain number of merchunt ship "unauccoHsfuIly attucked," from which one conclude that In (tome cases a TJ bout may have been "bagged" by the merchantman's gun. Nor has the American "mosquito" fleet been long In learning the game of U-boat hunting. "Keen as mus tard," said a BrltlHh naval officer re cently In talking about the American navy, They simply love a scrap when they con get It, but the Germans are not ho keen. There In no end of stories about the sinking nnd destroying of Germnn U-boats hidden away In the very brief reports of commundlng officers which from time to time reach the Admiralty, If one could only get at them. Of many of the highly successful meth ods of hunting and destroying the U boat It Is, of course, Impossible to tell, but the Admiralty has permitted the publication of some recent records In which American destroyers, British de stroyers, motor launches and subma rines have played distinguished parts. Most Are Mere Boys. Tho brave fellows engaged In the Work are, for the most part, mere boys, fresh-faced, clear-eyed youngsters, de void of nerves, always alert, cool and confident, who have to make up their Kinds and give their orders on the stunt, and who, In true navy style, perform their allotted tasks and say nothing about them. Here Is a story of a successful en gagement fought by two American de stroyers which were escorting a con voy of merchantmen. They sighted a periscope, which however, quickly dis appeared. Rushing to the spot the de stroyers dropped a depth charge and then wheeled back. The periscope again appeared, as though heading for the convoy, nnd off went the destroy ers full speed. Once more the periscope disap peared, but not before three rounds bad been fired by the leading destroy er, who also dropped a depth charge. The enemy's bow then came up rapid ly, and It appeared that he was lying at an angle of thirty degrees, stern down. German Crew Surrendered. Be managed to right himself nnd tried to get away on the surface, but egnln the Americans opened Are, and then the Germans came on deck, held top tliolr hands and surrendered. The U-boat sank Just afterward, the sur vivors being tnken on board one of the destroyers. Here Is a title of an English com mander of a submnrlne Just as It reached Whitehall : "10 a. m. Sighted hostile submarine. Attacked same, "10:03 a. m. Torpedoed submnrlne. lilt with one torpedo amidships. Sub marine seen to blow up and disappear. Surface to look for survivors. I'ut down Immediately by destroyers who fired at me." Hut this young commander was a little more explicit In his footnote, as he might well be, for, having kept to sen nnd his appointed duty under cir cumstances of extreme difficulty nnd hazard, he took his fate In both hnnds, stalked the enemy' and destroyed him. ""During my attack, ho wrote( "there was Just' enough sea to make denth keeping difficult. I fired two torpedoes, and one hit nt forward end of coming tower. A large column of yellow smoke, about one nnd a half times as high ns the mast, was observ ed and the submarine disappeared. The explosion was heard nnd felt In our own submarine. On tho previous day the periscope had become very stilt to turn, and In the dark hours I attempted to rectify sunn, but while doing so I was forced to dive, nnd thus lost all the tools and nuts of the center bush, "While attacking It took two men he side myself to turn the periscope. For this reason I did not consider It pru dent to nttnek the destroyer after hav ing sunk the submarine. Lay on Bottom Amid Enemy. "After torpedoing submarine I pro ceeded four miles northward and lay on the bottom. Many vessels through out the day were heard in close prox imity. Several explosions were heard, especially one very heavy one. It must have been close, as the noise was con siderably louder than that of the tor pedo. On one occasion a wire sweep scraped the whole length of the bout aloug my port side, and a vessel was heard to pass directly overhead." That Is all. The feelings of these gallant men, lying on the sea bed, while death In Its most horrible form search ed around for them, are left to the Imagination. They made port safely end, ' after refitting, put off to sea again, This deadly game of submarine , against submarine is the blindest and Worst of sea fighting. The hazard la the highest that can be Imagined, bat It Is accepted by splendid men of the PirUih and American navies with a cheerful disregard for unythlng but duty. For not only must our under sea craft run the risk of being fired on by enemy ships, but they have also to chnnce shots from British cruisers and armed vessels, who "let fly" when ever they see a periscope which they cannot identify. Nelson Touch In One Fight. There was n Nelson touch nbout the destruction of one U-bont which would have appealed strongly to the little ad miral who looks down from his lofty eminence In Trnfulgnr Square upon the Admiralty building In Whitehall. Sighting the Oermnn, the Britisher' dived and gave chase, worked blind on the course her communder laid nnd trusted somewhat to li)ck. Now and nguln her periscope broke wuter for a second 05, so only long enough for her skipper to confirm his course and bearings. Then tho British navigated Into shallow water, so shallow Indeed that to avoid being seen she had to scrape the bottom, bumping uncomfort ably and dangerously all the while, and had also to dip her periscope. Luck was with her, and she avoided breaking surface until she came to a position favorable for attack, between 500 and GOO yards from the U-bout, which, unsuspecting, was lying nwnsh, her conning tower open. Some of her crew were Indeed spreading the wind screen In preparation for a trip on the surface. Mttle did they dream that In a few seconds they would be on their way to "Davy Jones's Locker." But so It hap pened. Away with n hiss went the torpedoes from her tubes, nnd as they sped on their errnnd the Britisher was shifted so. that another tube was brought to bear on the enemy. The commander was taking no chances, and If the bow tubes missed he was ready to have another go. But the bow tubes had been "well and truly laid" on the target, and twenty seconds lifter the torpedoes hnd been fired a dull explosion was heard by the Brit ish crew. Oily Substance on Surface. But there was no sign of the U-bont. There was a great disturbance upon the wuter where the pirate had last been seen, and when the Britisher reached the spot the sea was found covered with a thick layer of oily sub stance. A wireless to the depot port nnd another red dot went on the chart which records the fate of the plrntes. In the dawn of a bright morning a British submarine sighted an enemy U-boat running on the surface nnd at once dived to get Into a favorable po sition for attack. As the nnvy would say, she "proceeded as requisite" for fifteen minutes and, rising until her periscope was above wuter, picked up her quarry again. The skipper wanted to make sure of his game. Onrofully and expertly he maneuver ed his boat Into a favorable position. Then a quick order nnd out of the tube 11 shining "tin fish" sped toward the Iiun. In less than n minute the explo sion was heard, and up to the surface came the Britisher to look for results, lllght ahead the sea was covered with a big patch of oil, in which three men were swimming. Two were picked up by one of the submarine's boats ; the other sank before he could be reached. Another of the kaiser's pets had "gone west." Lauder' Cousin Killed. Cumberland, Md. John Lauder, forty-eight, a cousin of Hurry Lauder, the Scotch comedian, was killed In the Ty som coal mine near here, where he was employed. He was caught under a fall of rock. NURSERY TRAIN 1 1 "uOTlWW n 'i 11 x- - a I I A Bed Cross nursery train at Basle, Switzerland, where French civilians repatriated from Germany are cared for on their way home. The poster of the stork and the child signifies the object of the car and the inscription alv translated mean "For the Eapplness of Women.'' LET'S HOLD THE LINE ta to N " N By Norreyt Jephson O'Conor of the Vigilante, We bold the line which stretches fur, From wetern town to field of France, Where now our brave battalion nre, Fighting to stop the Hun's advance. We must not fall them In their need, We who, in factory or field, Are soldiers, too J we may not bleed ; Should we, then, find excuse to yield. Because we pass In dreariness Our days, or In the Rummer sun Are hot, and worn with weariness? If our line breaks, the foe hus won. If we heed enemy alarms, Vuln is tho generul's vast design, And vain tho soldier's deed of urms. In freedom's' name, let's hold the Hue. GIRL SCOUT CAPTAIN ilrs. Elizabeth 1". Stark, sister of Hoffman I'hllllp, newly appointed min ister of Colombia, Is captain of a mounted girl scout troop In Mnyport, Fin., whose duty is to patrol the coust east of Floridu to turn up pro-Germun activities. All the girls carry rifles or automatics, and nre proficient In their use. The scouts ore from thir teen to sixteen years old, nnd do night work without u qualm. FORETOLD WAR WITH HUNS Russian Consul at Boston Fourteen Years Ago Prophesied Great Conflict Boston. Fourteen years ago Joseph A. Conry, Itusslnn consul, prophesied there would be a war with Germany. This was made in an address Mr. Conry delivered at the annual meeting of the Ninth Regiment Veterans" as sociation In G. A. R. hall in this city, ADril 0. 1904. Excerpts from .his speech follow: "There will be a war in this coun try ns sure as time flies. With Eng land? No, because our commercial In terests are too Intimnte. Not with France, because she Is diminishing. We hnve hnd It with Spain. "But it will be with the empire of Germany. We have no desire for war, but If it should come, we need a Vol unteer militia made up of 500,000 men to back up our standing array." Ship Coal by Water. , Memphis, Tenn. -Heavy shipment of coal from the Kentucky fields are being made by wnter on the Missis sippi river. A single steamboat recent ly towed 15 barges containing 9,000 tons of coul from Caseyvllle, Ky., to Memphis. It would have required three or four trains to have hauled this consignment by rail. FOR FRENCH BABIES ( rY ) ' ' tel. Brief Resume Most Important Daily News Items. COMPILED FOR YOU Event of Noted People, Government and Pacific Northwest nnd Other Thing Worth Knowing;. Pastor Charles W. Wagner, author of the widely known book, "The Simple Life," is dead at his home in Paris. He was 67 years old. Lieutenant Benjamin V. Maurice, of New York, died at Ellington Field, Houston, Tuesday, of injuries received when his airplane fell on April 16. Bread tickets as a war-time measure in Chicago may be necessary, accord' ing to sentiment among 12,000 master bakers of that city in session there Wednesday. John Verburg, of Chicago, was shot and killed by his crippled son, John, Jr., because he had struck the youth 1 mother when she objected to his de mands that a 15-year-old daughter get employment. Major Ralph Royce, of Hancock, Mich.; First Lieutenant Herbert R, Garside, of New York, and Lieutenant Paul Meyers, of Milwaukee, Wis., have been decorated with the war cross by a French general. Count James Minotto, son-in-law of Louis F. Swift, the packer, wa4 taken into custody in Chicago Wednesday by deputy United States marshals, two weeks after his arrest was ordered on a Presidential warrant. The chief features of an agreement to strengthen the alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary have been laid down, says an official state ment issued in Berlin in regard to the visit of Emperor Charles to German great headquarters. Orchestras composed entirely of wo men will be seen in the near future throughout the country, according to Mrs. Enos P. James, of San Diego, Cal., the only woman delegate attend ing the 23d annual convention of the American Federation of Musicians in Chicago Tuesday. Women of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, won their 40 years' fight for full lay membership in the church when the general conference in session at Atlanta, Ga., struck from the church law the prohibition against their election as church stewards and as delegates to the general conference. British mounted troops, after cap turing Kirkut, in Mesopotamia, pur sued the Turks for a distance of 20 miles to the northward, says an official statement issued by the British war office. On May 11 the Turks were driven across the Lesser Zab river at Altyn Kupri. The latter place is 60 miles southeast of Mosul. The Right Honorable William Mor ris Hughes, premier of Australia, ar rived at a Pacific port in the United States Wednesday with a party of Australian officials en route to a war conference in London. Passengers on the vessel said a German raider had attacked and damaged a British trans port on which the premier had sailed previously. Nothing further has reached Ottawa officially as to the disposition of the United States troops in France. The statement contained in the cable from the British war cabinet and issued at Ottawa by the director of public in formation that the Americans were not to be utilized in the fighting line until they had a complete self-support ing army has not been changed or modified in any way. An anti-loafing bill, modeled in some respects after statutes n effect in Maryland and New Jersey, was signed by Governor Whitman, of New York, Wednesday. It requires all able-bodied men from 18 to 50 years of age, after proclamation by the governor, to be "habitually and regularly , engaged in some lawful, useful and recognized business, profession, occupation, trade or employment until the termination of the war." Sergeant L. Baylies, of New Bed ford, Mass., an American flyer in France, has brought down seven Ger man airplanes within the last two months, says an official dispatch from r ranee. Seven young men of Brussels, born in Belgium of German parentage, but Belgian citizens by adoption, have been taken to Germany to be enrolled in the army, according to an official dispatch from France. Emperor William has returned to Potsdam owing to the political crisis resulting from the recent rejection of suffrage reform by the Prussian diet. Count von Herthng, the imperial chan cellor, has been summoned to Potsdam to report on the situation. Serious disturbances in the Austrian- Hungarian fleet have caused changes in the high command, a dispatch from Switzerland says. The crews, com posed largely of Slavs and men of Italian descent, have made much trouble and the disturbances were put down with difficulty. man submarine campaign i doclining. The German government is aware of this fuct, declared George Leygeus, minister of marine, before the naval committee of the chamber of deputies Monday, but has made the greatest efforts to conceal it. lie said the sit uation was most favorable and that the sinkings of submarines in the first three , month of 1918 through allied measure was greater than the number built by the enemy. Minister Leygeus referred to the statement made in the reichstug on April 17 by Vice Admiral von Capello, German minister of marine, in which he said 600,000 tons of allies' shipping were sunk monthly. This figure, the minister said, was incorrect. It was reached and passed in April, May and June of 1917. In July it de clined and in November it fell below 400,000 and since has diminished con tinuously. M. Leygeus said that in February, March and April 3723 French steamerB and 788 French sailing vessels passed through the danger zone where a few months ago fosses by torpedo had.been very heavy. Not a single Bhip was sunk. On the other hand, he said, the num ber of submarines destroyed had in creased progressively since January in such proportion that the effectiveness of enemy squadrons fcannot be main tained at the minimum required by the regulations. The number of enemy U-boats destroyed in January, Febru ary and March was far greater in each month than the number constructed in the same month. In February and April the number of submarines de stroyed was three less than the total destroyed in the previous three months. These results, the ministry declared, were due to the methodical character of the war against submarines; to the close co-ordination of the allied navies; to the intrepidity and spirit animating the officers and crews of naval and aerial squadrons and to the intensifica tion of the use of old methods and the employment of new ones. YANKEES TAN HUNS' HIDE American Shell Fire Keep Teutons in Hellish Torment. With the American Army in France A gigantic enemy ammunition dump at Cantigny was fired by the American artillery Monday morning. At the same time two fires were started in Montdidier, followed by numerous ex plosions. The weather continues misty and raioy. There was no miantry action and only intermittent machine gun and rifle fire. The position of the Ger mans is becoming more and more in tolerable, while the Americans are en trenching fheir positions more firmly. Any hopes' the enemy might have had of breaking through in this sector are diminishing. The Americans take nothing for granted, but return fire two to one, which is believed to set a new pace in this sector. What appears to trouble the Germans most is that the Ameri cans never turn back when the enemy uses gas. They give him a double dose of the same, with' everything else the enemy tries. Improved weather conditions led to increased air activity in the Toul sec tor Tuesday. Many American planes were working over the enemy lines and observation balloons were sent up for the first time in many days. The American artillery Monday night and Tuesday morning directed a heavy and harassing fire on German rear areas, where it is known troops are billeted and it is suspected that others are moving. To Increase Freight Rates. Washington, D. C. Estimates made Tuesday by railroad administration officials indicate that an increase of at least 25 per cent in freight and passen ger rates will be necessary this year to meet the higher costs 01 met, wages, equipment and other operating ex penses now set at between $600,000, 000 and $750,000,000 more than last year. Recommendation that rates be raised by approximately this percent age has been made to Director General McAdoo by his advisers. He is ex pected to act within the next six weeks and to put increases into' effect immediately. Mail to Go by Airplane. Chicago Miss Katherine Stimson, aviatrix, was sworn in Monday as a postal clerk, and started at once for New York in her airplane, carrying a number of especially -addressed letters for delivery in that city. In connec tion with the flight, word was received from Washington announcing that a new stamp of the 24-cent denomination is to be used for aviation mail. It can also be used on other matter for which the'eharge amounts to" that sum. The new stamp will carry the picture of an airplane. 20,000 Refugee Aided. Cairo, Egypt The British govern ment is transporting 1500 Armenian refugees from Jerusalem to Port Said. Others are coming from the south east. Rev. Stephen Trowbridge, represent ative of the American committee for Armenian and Syrian relief, said that 20,000 refugees had been given assist ance in Jerusalem by the committee. A hospital has been established at MejdeC near Gaza. Arming of Troops Must Stop- To Take Many Large Cities. LITHUANIA IS CALLED Kaiser Inform Country That it Must Share War Burden of Teuton, Including Military Service. Washington, D. C Detail of the latest Gorman demands on Russia, re ceived at the State department Wed nesday from Swedish ' sources, Bhow that Russia' has been asked to muke financial concessions, to give up Mos cow and other large cities to the Ger mans, to cense arming troops and to dissolve all recently formed military units. Amsterdum Emperor William has issued a proclamation concerning Lith uania in which it is assumed Lith uania will participate in the war bur-' dens of Germany. In the proclamation the indepen dence" of Lithuania, . allied with the German empire, is recognized. "We assume that the contentions to be concluded," the proclamation says further, "will take the interests of the German empire into account equally with those of Lithuania and that Lith uania will participate in the war bur dens of Germany which secured her liberation." Lithuania is one of the former Rus sian border states which the Germans have attempted to set up as nominally independent countries under German influence. Germany is making every effort to exploit the states economically but, except in the case of Poland, has not attempted to force the former Russian subjects to fight with the German army, as the" emperor's announcement indicates may now be done in Lithu ania. The attempt to enroll a Polish army on the same plea that is now made in the case of Lithuania was a failure. The Vorwaerts of Berlin said re cently that strong opposition was de veloping among the Lithuanians to transforming their country into a Ger man semi-federal state. Entire inde pendence is demanded. The Lithuanians number about 2,- 000,000. Washington, D. C. Emperor Wil liam's proclamation recognizing the independence of Lithuania alllied with the German empire, was received with no enthusiasm by officers'of the Lithu anian National Council headquarters here. "The assumption that Lithuania will participate in the war burdens of Ger many means a contribution of three things: Money, munitions and men," the officers declared. "The first we have not, as Germany has already im poverished us; the second we have no means of supplying, because we lack the first. Therefore Germany can have reference only to men." AIR MAIL SERVICE STARTS Machines Are Capable of Carrying 300 to 600 Pounds of Mail. Washington, D. C. America's first airplane mail service was inaugurated Wednesday between Washington, Philadelphia and New York, with planes starting simultaneously at 11:30 a. m. from the National Capi tal and New York. President Wilson cabinet members and other govern ment officials attended the ceremonies preliminary to the initial flight. The President, as head of the( Amer ican Red Cross, will receive the first letter by airplane from New York. The communication will be from Gov ernor Charles S. Whitman and will ex press his wishes to the President for the success of the Red Cross campaign to raise $100,000,000, which Btarts Monday. The mail airplanes will be piloted by army aviators especially detailed to the service for experience in cross country flying. "Give a Lift Club" Comes. New York No soldier or sailor will lack means of free transportation in this city it the mayor s committee on national defense succeeds in its plans launched for the organization of the "give the uniformed men a lift" fra ternity among automobile owners. The committee is distributing cards bear ing the words "Give the uniformed men a lift as far as you go." The cards are to be stuck on windshields and will constitute sufficient invitation for en listed men to ' jump into automobiles whenever they pull up at the curb. Drug Seller Sentenced. ' Chicago Federal Judge Land is Tuesday sentenced Nathan H. Schaff ner, a young physician, to imprison ment for two years at Leavenworth, Kan., for violation of the Harrison anti-narcotic law. Schaffner's book showed his income from his practice was from $80 to $150 a month until he began providing drug user with nar cotics, when his office receipts in creased to about $1500 per month.