WASHINGTON, D. C., June 1 —
The world knot’s the story of Britain’s
fleets—the simple tale of the gaunt
gray fighting hulks that swing cease
lesslv in circles from the Arctic down
to Ostend, barring effectively the
egress from German ports of naval
merchant shipping. Only the U-boats
and an occasional raider have been
successful in slipping through the
steel cordon.
Although, much has been told about
the high seas fleets, but little has been
written—and less officially disclosed
about England’s efficeint submarine
navy. However there has been receiv
ed by the committee on public infor
mation an official British statement,
made public with the appropation of
the admiralty, telling in detailed form
of the exploits of Britons in combat
ing Germany with her favorite
weapon.
Leaving the home harbors on Eng
land’s east coast, or perhaps dropping
down some Scottish fiirth, the submar
ines slip into the gray waters of the
North Sea and pick their way through
German mine fields so that they may
battle with the enemy even within the
confines of his own harbors.
One of the most popular tales of the
exploits of British submarines, which,
however, is not contained in the pre
pared statement, deals with a young
commander who audaciously crept
through mine-infected waters into the
very harbor of Heligoland, the Ger
man Gibralter. As he allowed his
periscope to show above the surface
for an instant, he caught a glimpse of
an enemy U-boat riding awash while
the crew, lined up on deck, smiled a
greeting to the crowds on shore and
aboard harbor shipping were noisily
welcoming the ‘‘heroes’’ returning
from a raid on the Atlantic. A torpedo
from the British craft summarily cut
short the celebration and eliminated
the U-boat as a future men ice to
lied vesels. The brilliant phase of the
achievement is the fact that the Eng
lish vessel succeeded in escaping and
returning to port unharmed.
Besides detailing various engage
ments in which British submarines
have accounted for one or more enemy
war vessels—it is stated that more
than forty German warships have been
attacked successfully — the review
tells of the hardships incident to pa
trols in bad weather.
In winter, a sold clammy chill pre
vades the submarine and at times the
thermometer drops so low that the
crew find it difficult to sleep. Spray
freezes several inches thick on the
wireless antennae, rendering radio
communication impossible, while the
periscope becomes useless at times be
muse of a frosty mantle.
The submarine rides very heavily in
a seaway, and an even keel is difficult
to maintain even many fathoms below
the surface. When running on top for
the purpose of replenishing the supply
of electric motive power, the ventila
tors must he kept open with the result
that water is shipped in heavy quanti
ties.
How much respect tor the bntisli
underseas navy is entertained in Ger
many is told best in the official narra
tive, which runs as follows:
“Venturesome as the enemy is with
his U-boats, he rarely allows his
above water craft beyond the confines
of his harbor. He well knows that our
submarines are ever on the prowl for
him, and how vigilant and thorough is
the watch kept may be gathered from
tiie fact that though so few oppor
tunities are afforded them our sub
marines have successfully attacked no
less than 40 enemy warships.'
“Night and day the search is con
tinued, according as circumstances
may dictate. The watch is kept on the
surface, or submerged save for the
periscope, or maybe the vessels are on
the diving patrol, only coming to the
surface every now and again to scan
the horizon for any hostile craft which
may come within reach.
“A ship being sighted the submar
ine dives to the attack. As the ship is
probaly steaming fast on a zig-zag
course a long time may elapse before
the submarine is in a favorable posi
tion to fire her torpedoes. While this
is going on she must ascertain
whether the ship is friend or foe and
at all costs she must avoid being seen.
If the periscope is sighted the hostile
ship will make off with all speed and
the odds are that she will get away.
An irregular course and great speed
make her a difficult target and if the
sea is smooth she may see the track
of the torpedo fired at her and steer to
avoid it.
“But in spite of all the difficulties
the submarines manage to drive home
their attacks and a few of the success
es may be here recorded.
“While patorling between the East
ern "Tims and the Weser river a sub
marine sighted two lots of destroyer
smoke to the southeastward. Two
anxious hours were spent maneuver
ing for position to attack, and then, at
a range of 500 yards two torpedoes
were fired, one at the bow and one at
the stern, of one of the destroyers.
Having fired the torpedoes the sub
marine dived to avoid being detected,
but a loud explosion told without
doubt that one of the torpedoes had
leached its mark. Eight minutes later
the destroyer was seen sinking by the
stern, fifteen feet of her bow still
j standing vertically out of water.
“Tiie other destroyer was seen
steaming at varying speeds and dis
tances around the wreck. Elated at
the success, the submarine thirsted to
put her down too, but as two more de
stroyers had arrived on the scene and
were systematically searching, it was
not considered feasible to continue the
attack.
“On another occasion two armed
auxifary cruisers were sighted in the
Heligoland Bight and the leader, the
larger of the two, was atatcked and
torpedoed, and was seen to be sinking
by the stern.
“It frequently happens that a sub
marine does not actually see her vic
tim struck, but she invariably has the
satisfaction of hearing the explosion
if the torpedo gets home.
“This was tne experience of a sub
marine which patrolling one morning
off the Ems, sighted an enemy de
stroyer, and fired both tubes at a
range of 350 yards. As the submarine
dived on firing the result was not
seen, but after the lapse of a few sec
onds there was an exceedingly loud
explosion which was distinctly heard
twenty-five miles away.
“A quick sweep around with the
periscope two or three minutes later
revealed no sign of the destroyer
which had been fired at, but 400 yards
astern was another vessel of the same
k i nd.
“As the destroyer was not actually
seen to be hit at first it appeared like
ly that in realty there was only one
enemy vessel, but after the bearings j
and distances had been carefully j
worked out this did not seem to have!
been possible. In view of the violence j
of the explosion, it is probably that:
the magazine blew up and that would!
account for the rapid disappearance j
of the ship.
“Yet another instance of the total |
disappearance of the ship may be
cited. One of our submarines located
an enemy submarine ahead of her and
giving chase, reduced the range to 40(1
yards. Two torpedoes were fired and
one was seen to hit. When the smoke
cleared away there was not the vestige
of the hostile vessel to be seen.
“These are but a few of the- many
instances which could he quoted show
ing the silent and stealthy work of the
submarine.
“For submarine operations to suc
ceed it is necessary to take the enemy
by surprise and for that reason their
; work is a hidden mystery and their
movements wrapped in obscurity. The
! following extracts from an official re
port of operations in the Heligoland
j Bight lift for a moment the veil of
; secrecy and afford, a glimpse into the
: 'ife of one of these craft.
“‘When a submarine is submerged
her captain alone is able to see what
is tailing place, the success of the en
terprise and the safety of the vessel
depend on his skill and nerve, and the
prompt, precise execution of his orders
by the officers and men under his
command.
2
“ ‘Our submarines have been
pioneers in water which have been
mined. They have been subjected to
skillful and well thougiit out anti-sub
marine tactics by a highly trained and
determined enemy, attacked by gun
fire and torpedo, driven to lie at a
great depth to preserve battery power,
hunted for hours at a time, by the hos
tile torpedo craft, and at times forced
to dive under our own warships to
avoid interfering with their move
ments.
“ ‘Sudden alterations of course and
depth, the swish of propellers over
head and the concussion of bursting
shells, give an indication to the crew
of the risks to which they are being
exposed, and it speaks well for the
morale of these young officers and
men, and their gallant faith in their
captains that they have invariably
carried out their duties quietly, keenly
and confidently under conditions that
might well have tried the most hard
ened veteran.
“ ‘The hardships undergone during
stormy weather are terrible. During
the winter months westerly gales wrere
frequently experienced in the Bight
and these gales were invariably ac
companied by high, steep seas which
made it impossible to open the conning
tower hatch. Vision was limited to
that through the periscope, and W'as
only a cable or two between the seas
which continually broke over here.
“ ‘There was no rest at the bottom,
even at 22 fathoms, as the vessels
rolled and bumped dangerously. They
were, consequently, compelled to keep
under way at a depth clear of the
keels of possible ships. When battery
power became low the submarine had
perforce to come to the surface for re
charge. While on the surface it was
essential to run the engines in order
to keep head to sea, and through the
ventilator—which with the engines
running must necessarily be kept open
—much water was shipped.
“ ‘The seamen got very little sleep
owing to cold. With these words the
captain of a submarine concludes his
report on a cruise in the North Sea.
It is characteristice of the service that
he should make no reference to the
fact that while the crew had got very
little sleep he had got infinitely less
himself.
“ ‘The weather had not been good,
and throughout the six days the cold
had been intense—Arctic in fact. At
times ice formed on the periscope very
quickly and boscured vision so that it
had to be dipped every few minutes.
On the surface the theremometer gave
no reading though it had a minimum
of 18 degrees of frost.
“‘To receive'messages by wireless
was impossible, for the spray froze on
the aerial forming a coating of ice two
inches thick.
“ ‘From time to time it was neces
sary to dive to remove the icicles
which, over a foot long, depended from
portions of the superstructure. The
bridge screen froze like a board and
only with difficulty could it be folded
and the ice on the coats of the offi
cers and crew did not thaw until some
hours after the garments had been
hung up below.’
“Four battleships of the Kaiser
class were sighted by a submarine
which was patrolling off the Danish
coast. Probably there were other ves
sels in company but owing to low visi
bility they were not seen. After get
ting into position to attack, the sub
marine broke surface owing to the
heavy swell and it was necessary to
go full speed to get her under again.
“Just before the periscope dipped,
sights were got on to the third ship
in the line and four torpedoes were
fired. The range was estimated at1
4,000 yards. Two loud explosions were
heard and the commanding officer of
the submarine was of the opinion that
the third and fourth ships in the line
were each hit by a torpedo.
“As the submarine was about to |
rise to observe the results of the
shots, a destroyer was heard to pass I
very close overhead, aid after that
she was continually harassed by de
stroyers. Two depth charges explod
ed in close proximity to her, and a
sweep was distinctly heard to drag
over her hull. For two hours the de-j
stroyers searched diligently for her,
but without success.
“Some failures may be described as
more glorious than victories, and the j
attempt of a submarine to pass j
through the Sound into the Datlie is
surely one of these, replete as it is ;
with pluck and persistence.
“It was known that the German fleet
was exercising in the Baltic, and j
three submarines X, V, and Z, were!
detailed to make the passage of the
Sound and attack. It was essential
that the three vessels should pass
through the Sound the same night, but
unfortunately X developed certain de
fects and was unable to keep up with
the other two. The result was that
she reached the entrance to the Sound
the night after V and Z had success
fully made the passage. Their pres
once was discovered in the Baltic and
the enemy took all possible steps to
prevent either their getting out of the
Baltic or others getting in.
"What X found was four merchant
ships in line abreast proceeding
through the narrow entrance to the
Sound, and from the accurate station
they kept it was evident they were
sweeping. Beyond them were destroy
ers.
“These ships were all showing navi
gation lights and accordingly X
thought it would be best to do so too,
hoping to pass without attracting at
tention.
“She had not proceeded far before
she was detected by a destroyer which
•h :ed to ram her. Her only course was
to dive and as she sank in water she
heard the threshing of the enemy’s
propellers above her.
“To make the passage with lights
burning was clearly out of the ques
tion, and nothing daunted, she return
ed, silently and stealthily creeping on
the surface, until she got into the
wake of a vessel proceeding through
the Sound, trusting to be able to fol
low her unobserved.
“For a while it seemed as if the
plan would succeed but suddenly the
vessel she was following stopped. As
luck would have it she was a destroyer
which at once endeavor to ram her.
Again she dived.
“A third and a fourth attempt
brought no greater success. The
enemy thoroughly alarmed, were ever
on the alert to ram her.
“Another effort would not have been
hopeless but would have unjustifiably
risked the boat and the lives of the
cerw, so she returned to her base, as
her gallant commander expressed it
in his report, ‘prior to making further
attempt.’
“The enemy, however, is up to many
tricks and his innocent looking decoy
ships have been known to give a sub
marine a sharp surprise. On one oc
casion the submarine sighted what ap
peared to be a merchantman and gave
chase showing the signal, ‘stop en
gines, and ‘send a boat.'
“When the submarine had closed to
about a mile the steamer hoisted the
German naval ensign and opened fire
with six-inch guns, at the same time
increasing speed and altering course
so as to ram the submarine.
“At the time the submarine gun was
manned, the signals were still flying
and there were altogether 12 men on
the deck, but she just manager to dive
in time. Two or three minutes later
two loud explosions were heard over
head. Beyond the shaking the boat
violently they did no damage.
“From time to time instances occur
of encounters between our submarines
and those of the enemy, which prove
inconclusive. After many hours of
dead-reckoning a submarine cannot be
very sure of her position and in one
such encounter a British submarine
thought for some time that her ad
versary, which was approximately end
one, was her consort out of station.
“Realizing her mistake she dived at
once, but before should could pick up
the German in her periscope the later
dived. Under the circumstances ‘stale
mate was particually inevitable and
after an haur and a half, during which
they simultaneously rose and simul
taneously dived again, each manoeuv
ering for a favorable position for at
tack the German retired out of the
area.
URGING FERRY
ATTALKEETNA
Wanted—a ferry across the Susitna
river at Talkeetena. The good ctiizens
at Talkeetna, the mine operators and
prospectors in the Cache creek district
and the people of the surrounding
are all anxious for a ferry at this
point. The present mode of crossing
the river is accomplished in a row
boat and is very unsatisfactory. The
river is very swift and usually the
passenger lands many yards down the
river from the objective point. And
too the most available landing is at
Talkeetna and directly opposite on the
Cache creek side.
These people are entitled to consid
eration and some effort should be
made to meet their requirements,
which are not at all unjust.
Last year the road commission com
menced work on the long delayed
wagon road from Talkeetna into the
Cache creek district. In addition to
this route being used by the weekly
mail service it is traveled by the great
majority of operators and travelers
into the Cache creek placer fields and
the interior.
The matter has been brought to the
attention of the road commission but
so far without result. The people in
terested in the establishment of a
ferry at Talkeetna realize that the
country is at war and in the event
they can not have a ferry this year,
are perfectly willing to accept lesser
recognition. H. W. Nagiev, a promin
ent merchant of Susitna and Tal
keetna has suggested that the govern
ment provide an Evinrude or small
power boat for the benefit of the many
travelers using this crossing over the
Susitna river. In this event Mr. Nag
ley has guaranteed to furnish a man
to run the boat and thus save the
government additional expense. It is
understood that the Anchorage Cham
ber of Commerce will take the matter
up at their next meeting and see what
can be done for their neighbors at
Talkeetna.
SAWED-OFF SHOT
GUNS USED BY YANKS
WASHINGTON, D. C., June 1.—
One particularly interesting bit of in
formation concerning the resistance
which Americans have on several re
cent occasions offered to the German
storm troops is that the Americans
have surprised the advancing Ger
mans by making effective use of saw
ed-off double-barreled shotguns of
the type used by stagecoach drivers
in the west.
It is said that General Pershing
some time ago surprised the war de
partment by putting in a request for
10,000 of these weapons. Officers
here who have been following the
practice of giving Pershing what he
wants were at a loss to know just
what he intended to do with them.
It is now reported that men in the
American sectors which the Germans
attacked were armed with these
shotguns as additional weapons of
defense and that he sprays of wide
ly scattered buckshot tended to
break the morale of the advancing
Germans.
A little over 21 tons of freight,
composed mostly of feed destined for
a big cache at Mile 43, was recently
hauled over the rails at Nenana. The
superintendent of transportation, W.
B. Raeburn, accompanied the ship
ment over the line to the point where
it was taken charge of by Foreman
Conrad Beggs.
The following address was made by
Mr. J. A. Wilkinson on Memorial
Day:
in commoration of our forefathers
who died upon the battlefields that
liberty might be maintained, we ask
the question, did they die in vain? Has
the generations who followed them
been denied a benefit from the sacri
fices they made.
Our heritage from them inspires the
Americans of today who are engaged
in a similar struggle. The same spirit
and the same desires are rampant
among the soldiers of today, because
our lives and our institutions are
founded on liberty and democracy. All
through the history of our country
when a struggle has occured it has
been against injustice and autocratic
rule. Since the Declaration of Inde
pendence our forefathers have follow
ed the flag of their country as our men
are doing today, willing to sacrifice
their lives, their homes and their prop
erty to establish American principles.
The men of the sixties did not die in
vain. Their memory is held sacred all
over our land today. In every state,
city, town and hamlet exercises such
as this are being held by milllions of
men, women and children. The names
of our illustrious forefathers are in
scribed on tablets of love and memory.
Their brave deeds are recorded upon
the pages of world’s history and their
sacrifices can only be partly realized
through the efforts we are putting
forth today to defeat the greatest
autocrat of world’s history on the
battle fields of Euorpe. Thei’e are men
among us who are so indifferent to
their country’s welfare or who think
only of their own selfish agrandize
ment that they cannot understand the
necessity of true loyal patriotism, but
it is because they have not studied the
history of the past aggressions of the
autocrat or tyrant or they have had no
direct interference from the tyrant or
autocrat of the present.
The men who died upon the battle
fields of the Civil War established a
peace that lasted for over 50 years,
not including the six months of the
Spanish-American war, and it is to
their memory we should bow our
heads and thank God they lived at a
time when their services were needed
and freely given for the benefit of fu
ture generations.
What man among us dares to say
they died in vain. Who can trace the
progress of our country and declare
they did not leave for us who live
today a land worth preserving and a
principle worth maintaining. To the
men who seek to profit from the pur
suit of war, to the profiteer, the near
hog or the pro-German I want to say
their kind lived and plied their nefar
ious trade while our forefathers
fought and died upon the battle fields
to establish freedom and justice, but
their conduct was always held as
traitorous, immoral and unjust and
severe punishment was often meted
out to them.
We might follow the Grand Old
Army through all of its battles and
eulogize each one for their heroic
deeds but we would have to acknowl
edge as did General Grant at a recep
tion given to him at the close of the
war in England. He said, “I am only
one of the Americans who fought to
j establish freedom and justice and it
is the men who fought with me who
j should be given the credit for winning
the war and establishing American
principles.” Our women also did their
share as they are doing today. The
mother who watched with quivering
lips the departure of her boy knew
she was sacrificing her hopes and joys
} to establish human freedom and hu
| man justice, but she was proud of her
j boy who died up on the battle fields.
The great absorbing issue at that
| time was a government of the people,
j for the people and by the people, ir
1 respective of creed, color or national
! ity and no man can truthfully say
their rights have been abridged or
their liberty endangered without the
consent of the majority of the Amer
i ican citizens who through their right
I of franchise have established our in
stitutions and made the laws which
govern us. We have advanced since
that time and our destinies are in the
; hands of the men and women of today.
Where woman’s suffrage has been
adopted, but despite the extended
rights, we find the women of today
working and sacrificing with the same
zest and patriotism as did our mothers
of old. My friends, this would be a
dreary, hopeless old world if we did
not have the confiding love and inspir
ing hope of the mothers of men. They
have matured and given to the world a
race imbued with an energy and a
philosophy that is eventually going to
win against every foe of democratic
principles and the men who fought on
'the battle fields of the Revolutionary
.
War, the Civil War and the Spanish
Anierican War and the war of today
have always" had the same ideal and
the same noble purpose to spur them
on to action.
We read the history of other na
tions and find the fight Has always
been in the interest of the autocrat for
more territory and a larger degree of
power, with on thought of the people.
Millions of men have died upon the
fields of battle without a conscious
thought of liberty or freedom, but
America’s sword has never been un
sheathed for any purpose, only to
preserve freedom and it has always
remained unsheathed until victory' was
accomplished and the object had been
attained.
The wars of the past bring to our
mind many heart rendering scenes.
The parting of the husband from his
loved ones, the separation of the sons
from the mothers and sisters, the suf
fering of the men in the prison camps,
the destruction of the homes, the
agonies of the dying, the shout of the
victor, the Xesire to kill, to vanquish,
to destroy the enemy are all included
in the horrors of war, but when the
object has been attained and the vic
tory has been accomplished, men again
become engaged in peaceful pursuits
with a higher ideal and a nobler in
spiration to build for the future a bet
ter social order and a higher sphere
of existence.
Our present state and existence are
the result of our past accomplishments
and our future state and existence de
pends upon our patriotism, our hones
ty of purpose and our willingness to
hiold the institutions that will be es
tablished in the future by unselfish
men and women.
We must spend part of our time to
build for the future a better system
based upon equality, freedom, brother
hod and peace. We must be willing
to make some sacrifice on the altar of
truth so that when the day for read
justment comes and the men return
from their fight for democracy we will
have a congress of men and women
who will be so guided by truth and
justice that they will establish a bet
ter state for the future and our chil
dren and children’s children can honor
our memory' as we honor the memory
of our forefathers here today'.
I believe every man and women in
our land can be faithful to this trust
and I hope and pray that each one of
us will be found willing to do our duty
to our country and our fellow man and
establish a system when freedom,
human justice and human brotherhood
will prevail to our country, to our flag,
and to our fellow man. Let us pledge
our sacred honor that our legacy to
future mankind will be democracy' in
truth.
A KICK TO THE TIMES.
There has been considerable com
plaint handed into the Daily Times in
regard to the mouth of Chester creek
being used as a dog burial ground. The
main trouble is the sexton does not
bury the dogs, but their carcasses are
left exposed to the elements. Dead
flesh is subject to decay; sunlight and
time further the process. In speaking
of aroma and sweet scented smells a
person usually refers to flower gar
dens, prefumes or the breath of a
woman in passing. The word stench
is more appropriate in reference to
unburied carcasses. Chester creek is
given up as being the ship yards of
! Anchorage. Here, several famous
; boats have beer, built and launched;
I more are in process of construction.
: The mouth of Chester creek is the
j placid home of Anchorage’s mosquito
I fleet. This fleet is necessary to the
| commercial life of the city. Burial
grounds and human habitation are not
i in sympathy, they do not harmonize.
It really does seem that some other
spot than the mouth of Chester creek
could be selected for departed dogs.
Space is no particular object in Alas
ka. There is an abundance of unat
tached vacant space in the neighbor
hood of Anchorage that fairly shrieks
for company, even to the dead dogs.
VAN DEVEER LEAVES
TO JOIN THE SERVICE
The colors have called another Cook
Inlet baseball player. Other than be
ing a crackerjack baseball player L.C.
Van Deveer is an all around good fel
low. Van leaves on the steamer Alas
ka for San Antonio, and will either
enlist in the aviation or engineering
service. He has been in this part of
Alaska for thi'ee years, part of the
time spent as a clerk in the Brown &
Hawkins store at Ivnik. Later he
worked in their store in Anchorage.
For the past eighteen months he has
been connected with the Alaskan En
gineering commission and located at
Turnagain Arm. Van has many
friends in this section who will miss j
him, but, at the same time glory in his
move to the colors. Their best wishes
for his inclination to “do his best" at
tend Mr. Van Deveer and they predict
an honorable soldier record.
Some wives haven’t enough to do
to keep them busy. But it is different
with the woman who married a man
to reform him.