New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-12-01
THE GERMANIA WRECK INVESTIGATION
VERDICT OF THE CoRONERs JURY-THE DEAD
SAILORS BURIED.

| Asbury Park ". j., Nov 80 CSpeciaI.- inquest
| into the Of the death OF the six sailors Whose
bodies have been recovered from the wreck Of the bari
Germana held at Long Branch to-day under tho
charge Coroner Vanderveer. The verdict reflect
strongly upon the owners OF the Germania, upon the
officers IN command and upon the inspection officers
who classified the vessel Some of the testimony
to-day went toward substantatng the theory that the
vessel had been purposely wrecked. The first Wit
ness was II. Doyden, the first mate. II became
apparent that the examination likely to prove
less because of the mates limited knowledge OF Eng
fish and the jurys dense ignorance OF nautical terms
Charles Basel. representative Of Theodore Ruger &
Co., the c0nscnccs OF the Germania- came TO III,
rescue and acted interpreter throughout the inquest
MI. Basel was for fifteen years friend OF Captain
Windhorst and was placed in the painful position of
being compelled TO translate many statements damag-
Ing TO the captain. The first mate testified as follows
The Gernania before leaving stettIn had becn
released by the German Lloyds and
had been recauked. She was tbirtv-six wears
old. but thought to be in perfectly safe condition
She carried 400 bales Of rags COO empty kerosene
barrels LOO packages of wood pulp and fifty tons Of
cement talked with Captain Windhorst about
five minutes before the vessel struck The captain
did not seem TO be drunk. Neither of us knew tho
position OF the ship. but the sounding had shown
fourteen fathoms OF water. and we both supposed
We We're at least twelve miles from Shore
smelled strongly Of liquor at the time Of the disaster
Rudolph Helm, age sixteen. the captains steward
testified that he saw in the captains cabin while in
m!docean the sketch Of threc-mastcd bark wrecked
near lighthouse with life-saving crew laborng at
the rescue. The sketch was drawn on a page Of the
log book, and underneath IL was the words Every.
'hihg lost shortly before the wreck Helm saw the
captain drinking liqour in the cabin; he stumbled
ana icll under the influence Of the liquor.
bu'tdNe IrcNc, seaman testified that he was a
'he wheel from 10 , O'Clock Wednesday afternoon.
aiier which he went on the forward watch He saw
Jour nights on the port side but the captain said
thtfr were none there and sent a man aloft The
nan reported three lights, but the captain still said
IL was Impossible That was about twenty minutes
before the disaster and the captain seemed 10 be
drunk. They were Ealing then northwest bv west
Iur the course was changed heading the vessel more
directly for the brcabcrs
Major Edward Waneli. of the Merritt Coast Wreck
ing company, and agent Of the American Board of
Chdcrwi1ters said that neither the wood nor the
IRON OF me Wreckage was tit for use i'm n vessel and
,na IN MS opinion she should have been condemned
40 vessel he said thirty years old and built a, was
me 6ermania could have honestly passed INSPECTION
IN an American port
Inc jury delberated for several hours and 10 night
NtuTned verdict nnding that the six sailors had
met telr death In accident caused by the officers
W ulc 1e,rnanla losing their reckoning and by the
uh% inspector who classified her
~ ppdlcs OF i've Of the sailors were buried this
iS nooi, III me Branchburg Cemetery where lie the
~ 'he 10 victims of the New Fra disaster of
M ING expenses OF the funeral were borne by
lheOIole Kruger Co The services ucr, conirc,e1
ny me Rev J. 4. Dlks pastor of the Tsbon simnson
W 40 Episcopal Church. and the Rev j schmidt
OF nc NcWark German Lutheran Church Tho hodv
~ ~. apIdn Windhorst was taken 10 New-York This
'i''i ''o" anu VIII he buried In Greenwood Cemetery