V A-
'
u
91.00 a Year In Advance
-FOR GOD, FOR COUNTRY AND FOR TRUTH."
8lnfiJe Copies, 5 Centa.
VOL. XXVII.
PLYMOUTH, N. 0., FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1916.
NO. 15.
W'ISUIAIIE
is
HARBOR
DARING NAVAL EXPLOIT ACCOM
PLISHED U-53 ANCHORS AT
NEWPORT.
BRINGS LETTER TO EMBASSY
Tarries Only Three Hours and Atki
For No Provisions,' Water, Fuel or
Repairs. Had Mounted Guns Fore
and Aft.
Newport, R. I. Seventeen, days
from1 Vilhelmshaven ,the Imperial
German submarine U-53 dropped, an
chor In Newport harbor.
Almost before the officers of the
American fleet of warships through
which the stranger had nosed her
way, had recovered from their aston
ishment, the undersea fighter had de
livered a message for the' German
Ambassador, and, weighing anchor
turned Brenton's reef lightship and
disappeared beneath the' waves just
outside the three-mile limit.
She flew the black, and white col
ors of the German Navy, a gun was
mounted on the forward deck and
another aft, while . .eight torpedoes
were plainly visible under the forward
deck.
Lieut.-Captain Hans Rose, com
manding the U-53, said that he had
called at Newport simply to mail a
letter to Count von Bernstorff. He re
quired neither provisions nor-fuel and
would be on his way, he Bald, long
before the 24 hours during which a
belligerent ship may remain within a
neutral harbor had expired. '
The submarine was in American
waters a little more. than three hours,
assuming that she continued to sea
after submerging. Within that time
the German commander paid official
visits to Rear Admiral Knight com
mandant of the second naval district,
and Rear Admiral Glaves, comman
der of the destroyer force of the At
lantic fleet, who was. on board the
flagship, the scout cruiser Birming
ham. Both American officers re
turned the brief call promptly. . .
While these formalities were being
exchanged wireless' ' messages were
carrying to the ships of the British
and French patrol fleet, off the coast
and warning that, a hostile submarine
had slipped through their cordon and
might be expected in the open ;sea
soon. At the forts and the "naval sta
tion the fleet of Captain Hans Rose
wa3 the one subject of conversation,
and there was much speculation as
to her mission. . .
The first question asked by Cap
tain Rose when a motor boat ca'me
alongside was: "Have you heard
from the Breman?" ,-?.!
When he was told, that there was
no news ot the missing craft his face
became grave but he made no com
ment.'" To the naval men generally,
the1 most interesting fact disclosed by
Captain Rose was that he had been
at sea 17 days and still had provisions
for three months, abundant fuel and
needed no repairs. .Not so much as a
bottle of water was taken aboard and
the ship was spick and span.
The U-53 had made her way
through the fleet of 37 United States
warships, including destroyers and
submarines, to an anchorage. Cap
tain Rose told the correspondent that
he had come in to mail a letter to
Count von Bernstorff and asked for
the newspaper man's credentials.
The latter exhibited an Associated
Press badge and was intrusted with ,
the correspondence for (he Ambassa
dor. "Please forward this letter to
Count Bernstorff," said the captain,
"ancf report my arrival. ; They will - be
glad to hear It."
NEW TYPE AEROPLANE IS
WRECKED IN TEST
OvC'
t' firtton Land and Sea
V fC'Head First Into Wa
Flier Goes
v u.rf Firit Into Water.
fyywort News. The Curtis combi
nation land and water maenme wmg
x tested here for the United States GovT
erumnt was- totally wrcked when Pi
lot Victor Vernon went crashing nose
first into he water while attempting
' a landing.
U. S. LAND BANK BOARD ,
GUARDS AGAINST FRAUD
Washington. Because of numerous
complaints that fraud has been prac
ticed in the organization of Joint stock
lan d banks under the hew rural cred
its law, the farm loan board announced
that no charter would be granted to
any Joint stock land bank In the organ
ization of whichhere had been any
expense for promotion:,., and .that ,the
consideration ot charters would be de
ferred until the completion ef tie or-
janization of the system.
s
HIPS AT5EA- RACE FOR
THE THREE-MILE LIMIT
Four British, One Dutch and
One Norwegian Ships Sent
to Bottom or Left Crippled
, Derelicts off Nantucket.
AMERICAN SHIPS GO TO
RESCUE PASSENGERS
8o Far' as Is Known There Was No
Loss of Life. Hold Up American
Steamer Kansan, But Upon Estab
lishing Identity 8he is Allowed to
Prooeed. Shock Given Shipping.
Newport, R. I. The executive offi
cer of the destroyer Ericsson',' return
ing from the scene of the German
submarine activities off Nantucket,
reported that nine ships had been
sunk' and that three submsrines 'were
operating off the , coast. 'This Infor
mation, he said, he had on the auth
ority of the captain of the Nantucket
Shoals Lightship. .....
Newport, R. I. Four' destroyers of
the American flotilla came Into harbor
here bringing 216 persons .rescued
from the ships sunk off Nantucket
.Sunday, by a German submariner The
Ericsson, one of the destroyers to; ar
rive, brought 8, the Drayton 68; the
Benharrr 36 and the Jenkins 31. Thirty
five women and ten children are
among those on the Ericsson.. - This
information came by wireless In ad
vance of the actual docking of the de
stroyers. ,-
Boston. A submarine of the Im
perial German. Navy,, ravaged ship
ping off the eastern coast of the
United' States Sunday.
Four British, 'one Dutch anJ.. one
Norwegian steamer were' sent to the
bottom . or left, crippled . derelicts off
Nantucket . Shoals. All ' night under
the' light of the hunters ' moon the
destroyer flotlla pf the United States
Atlantic fleet was" picking up passen
gers and crews of .the destroyed ves
sels and bringing them into Newport,
Rhode Island."
So far sa known there .was no loss
"of life although" at; a late' hour the
crew of 'the British' steamer Kingston
lad ' not been . accounted, for. .A sub-,
iparlne held up the American steam
er. Kansan, "bound from New York
for Genoa wlth -sfeel for the Italian
Government, but later . on establish
ing her identity1 allowed the Ameri
can to proved. The Kansan came
into Boston harbor, late at night for
her usual' call here. '
The submarine is believed to be the
U-63, which paid a call to Newport
and disappeared at ' sunset. Some
naval men, however, declared that at
least two submarines are operating
close to the American shore though
outside the three-mile' limit.
s Record or warfare. ' -.
The record of submarine warfare
as "brought -to; land by wireless dis
patches fdllow: ' .
, The Strathdene, . British freighter,
torpedoed and sunk off Nantucket.
Crew taken aboard Nantucket Shoals
lightship and later removed to ..New
port, by torpedo boat destroyers. The
Strathdene left New York for Bor
deaux and was attacked at 6 a. m.
The West Point, British freighter.
torpedoed" and sunk off Nantucket.
Crew abandoned the " ship in small
boats after a warning shot from the
submarine's guns. r Officers and men
were taken aboard a destroyer. The
vessel was attacked at 10:45 a. m.
She was bound from London for New
port News; ' -i
The Stephano, British ' passenger
liner, plying'Tegularly "between New
York, Halifax' and St.. John; N. F.,
.torpedoed southeast "'of, Nantucket
while bound for' New York. Report
ed HBtill afloat late at night. Passen
gers ami crew, numbering about 140.
were -picked up by the, destroyer
Batch and transferred to the destroy
er Jenkins. The attack was made
at 4:30, p. m. ! ;' ;
The Kingston, . British freighter,
torpedoed and sunk southeast of Nan
tucket. Crew missing and destroyer
searching for them This vessel la
not accounted for in maritime regis
ters, and maybe-'the' KIngstonian.
The attack occurred at 6 p. m.
Bloomerskijk; Dutch ferighter, tor
pedoed and sunk south of Nantucket:
Crew taken aboard a destreyer. The
ateamer w.aa bound from New York
for -Rotterdam. . . -,-
The Christian' Kundsen, Norwegian
freighter, . torpedoed- and sunk were
TheBloom.erBdyk went. down. The
cr.ew--. picked" up -by destroyers. The
vessel sailed from New York for
London.
Shock Follows Sensation.
The sensation created when the
U-53 quietly slipped Into Newport har
bor and as quietly slipped' away three
hours later, was less than the shock
in shipping circles when wireless re
ports of submarine attacks began to
come into the naval radio stations.
Within a few minutes the air was lit
erally charged with electricity ' ., as
wireless "messages of warnings were
broadcasted along the coast.. The
submarine or submarines had taken
a position directly in . the steamer
lanes, where they could hardly miss
anything bound in for New York or
bound east from that port.
Vessels of the Entente Allied Na
tions and neutral bottoms carrying
contraband of war scurried to get
within the three-mile .limit of the
American shore. Several that were
following the outside course shifted
and made for the Inside lane. The
Stephano, of the Red Cross line, how
ever, was caught outside the neutral
zone. The destruction of this vessel
was perhaps the biggest prize of the
day. The craft had been sold to' the
Russian Gpvernment- and would have
been used as an icebreaker after her
present trip.
Throughout the day and up to late
at night, none of- the patrolling fleet
maintained, by the British and French
to protect their own shipping and
American ships ' carrying munitions
of war had been sighted. . Frantic
appeals were sent to Halifax.
Stirs Up Halifax.
"All steps possible in the circum
stances are being taken to deal with
the situation."
This message was received .by the
Associated Press from, the commander-in-chief
of the British Nbrth Atlantic
squadron at Halifax, N. S. It was in
reply to a request for a statement by
him. The work of the patrolling
fleets was directed from Halifax an?I
ever since the war began cruisers and
auxiliary vessels of the British and
French navies have moved up and
down the coast. The passengers and
crews of destroyed vessels who were
being brought into Newport were not
expected to reach there until after
midnight. ... i
Preparations to care for them had
been made by Rear Admiral Knight,
commandant of the Narrangansett Bay
naval station, and Rear -Admiral
Gleaves, commander of . the destroyer
flotilla now at Newport?'
f '
. Later reports gave further details
of the ; attacks. The Stephano .met a
submarine six miles southeast, of
Nantucket lightship and was attacked
by. gunfire and a torpedo. ' She re
mained afloat until 10:05 o'clock.
The West Point went. down .10 miles
south of the Nantucket lightship. The
Strathdene was attacked "off light
shlpv the reports stated : and the
Bloomersjidk was sunk three miles
south of the lightship. She ' remained
afloat some time going -down' at 8:05.
The American steamer Kansan was
held up three meils east of Nantucket
lightship.
'West Point Gave Warning.
The first wireless warning of the
presence of a hostile submarine In the
steamship lane was given in the dis
tress signals of the ' West -Point which ,
reported that she had.. been torpedoed
10 miles southeast of Nantucket light.
This message apparently was picked
up by every vessel having a wireless
equipment within range for within a
very short time press dispatches from
St. Johns, N. F., and Halifax, N. S.,
Indicated that the patrolling warships
aad received the alarm. The British
censorship, however, prevented the
disclosure of the movements of the
patrolling vessels.
Booming of Guns Heard.
The booming of the submarine's
guns, apparently fired in warning,
was distinctly heart at Nantucket; It
was plain that the submarine had
placed herself in the lane of passen
ger and freight traffic and terrorized
shipping along the coast.
In a flash after the first distress
signals of the West Point were sent,
wireless messages of warning were
sent broadcast. x . ;
Every vessel was warned to make
for the three-mile zone and the com
manders of merchant vessels of . the
Entente Allies lost nqtime in shift
ing their course.
Those that were following what is
known -as the outside course turned
to the inside course that would bring
them closer to American land. ,
The passenger steamer Stephano.
which plies regularly between New
York and St. Johns, N. F., was bounJU
west and was due off Nantuekct Mo fa
day morning. When her British coAn
mander received his warning, he Jwas
said to have shifted his cour4 to
bring his vessel within theinside
lane.
British consular officers i&ong the
New England Coast, who had been
advised by the British Einbassay "to
warn British shipping aga'lnst the. U
53 upon her appearance at Newport,
renewed their caution r on learning
that the submarine I f ad gone Into
action.
WAR VIRTUALLY BROUGHT
TO SHORES OF THE
UNITED STATES.
The European war virtually
has been brought to the shores
of the United States. In the
vicinity of Nantucket, ,voff the
Massachusetts coast, a German
submarine or possibly more
than one Sunday sent to the
bottom of the Atlantic Ocean at
least four British' steamers and
two neutral vessels one Dutch
and the other Norwegian.
The sunken boats were the
Stephano, . Strathdene, West
Point and Kingston, flying the
British flag and the Bloom
ersjidk, Dutch, and Christian
Knudsen, Norwegian. 8o far as
known, there were no fatalities.
The Stephano carried 83 pas
sengers, all of whom were
saved.
MANY AMERICAN PA8SENGERS
SEE THE STEPHANO SUNK
Newport Society Set Proffers Help to
Shipwrecked Rescued by U. S. Na
val Vessels. Vessel's Cargo' Not
Heavy.
Newport, R. I. The British steamer
Stephano, bound from St. Johns, N.
F., to New York, carrying nearly 100
first and second cabin passengers, in
cluding many American tourists, was
sunk off Nantucket lightship at 4:30
p. m. Sunday, presumably by the Ger
man submarine U-53. The United
States torpedo boat destroyer Balch
reported the loss of the liner by radio
to the naval station here, stating that
the ship had been torpedoed. The
message from the destroyer said that
the crew was safe aboard the Balch,
but tnade no mention of the passen
gers, who, It was thought here, also
were taken care of.
Confirmation of the rescue of the
passengers by the Balch was con
tained in a later message sent- by the
destroyer to the naval station here. It
was said that she had picked up the
passengers and later had transferred
the Americans to the destroyer Jen
kins. Rear Admiral Knight, commandant
of the Narrangansett naval district
said that the passengers who desired
to do so would be allowed to remain on
the warship until morning and that
every effort would be made by officers
and men to make them as comfortable
as possible. At the same time, he
said, if any of those picked up wanted
to be set ashore their wishes would
toe complied with as promptly as pos
sible. Society Offers Aid.
Members of the so-called Newport
society set were prompt to extend prof
fers of help to shipwrecked passengers
through Admiral Knight. Mrs. Robert
L. Beekman, wife of Governor Beek
man and Mrs.- French Vanderbllt, vol
unteered to take care of as many refu
gees as possible. Many of the pas
sengers on the Stephano are residents
of New York. At this time of the year
the vessel carries a fairly heavy pas
senger list made up of summer tour
ists who spend their summer sin New
Founland and In the Canadian mari
time provinces.
The cargo loss of the Stephano, It
was expected, wuld not be very heavy
as on her westbound voyage she usual
ly carried little freight. This made
up largely, as a rule of fish oil and
other fish products. The vesswas in
the regular service of the Rjd Cross
Line. f
The sale of the Stephano i .to the
Russian govrnment which lu t planned
to use her as an ice breaf, was re
cently announced. Her sher ship, thG
Florizel of the same line also had been
sold to Russia for ice; work.
Stephano Stoutly Built.
The Stephano wa? of stout con
struction, built especially for the
heavy ice conditions encountered In
winter sailings on; the New Foundland
coast. It was expected in marine
circles that this was intended as one
of the last regular sailings of the Ste
phano prior to her sailing for the
White Sea, to work with a large fleet
engaged hy Russia to keep her north
ernmost port of Archangel open for
the , receipt of war supplies.
Th.e liner was In command of Capt.
Smlh, who It Is thought had taken
the outside course inroundlng Nan
ticket lightship and had fallen into
tie grip of the undersea raider.
COMPLICATIONS NOT FEARED
. BY UNITED 8TATE OFFICIALS
Washington. Submarine warfare at
the very doors of the United States
does not necessarily portend further
complications with Germany so long
as it is carried - on within the llmlta
tons of international law.
That Is the view of official Wash
lngton on the record of one day's oper
ations in which none of the ships de
stroyed appears to have been attack
ed without warning or without proper
measures having been taken for safe
ty of those aboard.
RAID WAS 11 OF
LONE SUBMARINE
KNOWN LIST OF VICTIMS IS SIX
THREE OTHERS REPORTED
SENT DOWN.
CREW OF ONE SHIP MISSING
Raider, Supposedly U-53, Disappears
and Leaves No Trace of Its Course
After Wholesale Raid Off Nantucket
Lighthouse.
Newport, R. I. The wholesale raid
on foreign shipping south of Nantuck
et Lightship was the work of one sub
marine, according to reports of Amer
ican naval officers. Rear Admiral
Albert Gleaves, cammanding the tor
pedo-boat destroyer flotilla which did
such remarkable speedy rescue work,
said that the reports of all his officers
agreed that to the best of their obser
vation one raider only was concerned.
This boat presumably was the Ger
man U-53, which called at Newport.
Admiral Gleaves said he could easily
understand the positive statements of
the captain of the Nantucket lightship
and of sailors of the torpedoed ves
sels that more than one submarine
was concerned. The U-boat he said
was very fast and appeared to have
been handled cleverly. It was easy,
he pointed out, for her to disappear
on one side of a ship and then show
up unexpectedly at another spot.
Doubtless, he- believed, she had sub
merged an(J reappeared often enough
to mislead any but a keen profes
sional observer and to create the im
pression that more than one sea ter
ror was operating.
This opinion would seem to be
borne out by the statements of many
of the refugees that the submarine
had more business on hand than ' she
could take care of at once' and was
obliged to request one steamer to
wait her turn while another was be
ing put out of commission. Lieuten
ant Commander Miller of the destroy
er Ericsson, who witnessed the de
struction of the Stephano said he was
positive that only one submarine was
in the vicinity at the time.
The raiding has ceased, at least
for the moment.
The known list of the victims of the
U-boat's exploits remains at six, not
withstanding reports from the Nan
tucket Lightship that three other
ships, the identity of which could not
be learned, were sent to the bottom.
There also was a persistent rumor,
without verification that a British
cruiser one of the Allied patrol fleet
sent to the submarine zone, had been
attacked .
STEAMER ANTILLA STILL
BURNING IN HAMPTON ROADS.
Coast Guard Cutter and Tugs Bring
Ward Liner Into Port With Fire
Still Raging In Her Hold.
Norfolkk, Va. Towing the still
burning steamer Antilla and the yacht
Paclflque the coast guard cutter On
ondaga and the naval tug Sonoma ar
rived in Hampton Jloads and at last
reports were proceeding toward New
port News.
The fire in the freight hold of the
Antilla where there Is a large quan
tity of sugar was practically under
control when the expedition passed
Cape Henry. The naval tug Sonoma
pumped water in the burning ship
during the entire voyage of about 120
miles of the Virginia capes, where
the Antilla was picked up by the
Onondaga.
The fire was raging fiercely when
the Sonoma reached the scene, but
the powerful tug kept a steady stream
of water pouring into her frieght hold
and practically had the fire under
control.
The Onondaga landed at Newport
News. Captain Blackadder. his 13-year-old
daughter and his three
mates, the crew was taken to New
York by the Morro Castle. Several
members of the crew had their feet
and hands burned while fighting the
flames but so far as learned no one
was injured seriously.
DANISH ISLANDERS
FAVOR SALE TO U. S.
St. Thomas, D. W. I. The sale of
the Danish West Indies by Denmark
to the United States was unanimous
ly favored by acclamation at a meet
ing held here attended chiefly by
working men laborers and artisans.
This course was favored rather than
the Institution of reforms under the
existing regime, the transfer being
held to be the only means of remedy
ing existing unsatisfactory condition
ra the islam!
RUMANIANG MEET
DECISIVE DEFEAT
AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN AND GER
MAN TROOPS TURN ON IN
VADERS IN EAST.
ALONG FIFTY - MILE FRONT
The Successful Repulse of the Invad
ers Was in the Hangs of General
von Falkenhayne. Heavy Fighting
Continues.
London. Turning against the Ru
manians who had been advancing
steadily In Eastern Transylvania,
Austro-Hungarian and German troops
have defeated the invaders decisively
along a 50-mile front north of Fogaras
at the juncture of the Homorod and
Alt Rivers near Heps, the Rumanians
are in retreat, pursued by the Teu
tonic troops.
The successful repulse of the invad
ers on the southern end of the line,
was In the hands of General von
Falkenhayn, who only last week
routed the Rumanians around Her
mannstadt and drove them back to
their own frontier. North of Reps
the Austro-Huiigarians recaptured po
sitions and took more than 200 pris
oelr oners. Bucharest admits that
the Rumanian troops in Eastern
Transylvania have been withdrawn
before attacks by superior forces in
the region of Fogaras.
In Dobrudja, heavy fighting con
tinues along the line south of the
Constanza-Bucharest railway with
Bucharest recording progress for the
Russians and Rumanians in the cen
ter and on their left wing.
While General Brussiloff apparent
ly has ceased, at least for the mo
ment, his attacks, against the Aus-tro-German
lines in Volhynia, west
of Lutsk, he continues, southward
his assaults with great intensity
against the positions of the Teutonic
Allies guarding the approaches to
Lemberg, those to the southwest of
the Capital, according to Petrograd
resulted in the taking of positions
south of Brzezany and the capture,
of 500 prisoners. Berlin, however,
declares that all Russian attacks in
Galicia have been repulsed and that
the Austro-Hungarian troops captured
1,200 Russians.
COLLISION IN NORFOLK
HARBOR SINKS STEAMER.
British Tramp Sent Down by City of
Norfolk. No Lives Lost.
Norfolk, Va. In a collsion In the
Inner harbor shortly before 8 o'clock
the British tramp steamer Hawk
head, said to have been at anchor,
wa3 sunk and the bay liner City of,
Norfolk, of the Chesapeake Steamship
Company's Line, was badly damaged.
There was no loss of life and so far
as can be learned no one seriously
injured.
The accident was due to a heavy
fog hanging over the harbor. The
City of Norfolk was outward-bound
and carried in the neighborhood of
100 passengers. The majority were
at supper when the crash "came.
Great excitement prevailed for a few
minutes, but was quickly quieted by
the officer on the liner.
Fearing that the damage to the
steamer was greater than could be
ascertained the passengers on the
City of Norfolk were immediately
transferred to the Old Dominion
river steamr Pocahontas, where they
remained only a few minutes, when
the majority were transferred to an
out-going. Old Bay 'Line steamer for
the continuation of the Voyage up the
bay. About 15 of the passengers
elected to return to Norfolk.
GERARD BRINGING PEACE
PROPOSAL SAYS N. Y. PAPER.
New York. The New York Evening
Post published a story saying that
It has been learned from a trust
worthy source that Ambassador Ger
ard, now on his way back from Ger
many, will lay before President Wit
son a request that the President use
his good offices in suing for peace
with the Allies.
FLORIDA STATE PRESS
ORDERS RATES RAISED.
Jacksonville, Fla. The Florida
State Press Asosciatlon meeting here
to consider ways and means to meet
the increased cost of print paper,
voted to Increase, effective January
1, 1917. the price of weekly news
papers to $2 a year. It also voted to
Increase advertising rates, the amount
of Increase to be decided and also
will take up a proposal to finance a
paper mill in this section, or make
arrangements for getting paper.