The Irish standard., 1904-12-03
ROCKIES EXPLOIT
feok a Torpedo Boat Dss troyer
Out Of English Harbor.
Under Disguise Of a Yacht Ne
Brought Her to Russia.

Burke Roche, the dashing Irish ex-
member Of Parliament and society
man of Paris and New York, has given
official England shock. He has just
succeeded in rushing torpedo boat
destroyer from an English. shipbuild-
ing port, believed to be Hull, into
Libau, where she was delivered to the
Russian authorities.
Despite the never ending watch Of
countless Japanese spies, eluding the
guard of watchful British officers and
slipping past vigilantly careful Ger
man officials, Burke Roche took the
destroyer to Russia without other
papers than a bill Of sale. In fact he
took a thousand chanches of being sent
to the bottom Of the sea by the first
warship discovering his glaring act of
actual piracy.
The destroyer was taken across the
North sea through the Keil Canal,
steered by two German pilots, as re-
quired by law, and was anchored near
a German cruiser until her papers
could be examined.
1t was here that the most thrilling
chapter of this war romance was en-
acted, for Burke Roche cut his cable
and sent the speedy turbine destroyer
dashing away northward through the
Baltic before the astonished German
naval officers fully realized the charac-
ter of the innocent looking, yacht-like
thing that had been lying within few
yards of their anchor chains.
international complications are sure
to follow Mr.. Roche's act, and there
will be long explanations from some
one.
The incident can only be fully under
stood and comprehended when it is
realized that from the time Burke
Roche sneaked away from Hull until
he met two Russian cruisers waiting
for him in the Baltic he occupied an
exceedingly precarious position.
Nevertheless, the reckless, daredevil
Irish sympathiZer with Russia took all
these chances as calmly as though do
ing nothing of greater importance than
ordering breakfast at his club. He
is now in Russia, where it is said he
will serve as an officer in either the
army or navy as he may elect. His
crew, composed of men as utterly reck-
less as himself, have been returned to
England, and it is from them that
these facts have been learned.
The torpedo boat destroyer thus ran
into Russian port by Burke Roche is
one Of the swiftest ever turned out of
British yard. She is sister ship to
the Tarantula, the turbine destroyer
converted into yacht by Vanderbilt,
and now in the United States.
Some time ago Burke Roche called
at the shipyards in Hull and COM
pleted the arrangements for the pur-
chase of the boat. He represented
himself as acting for a well-known
member of Tammany Hall in New
York, and said the boat was to be con-
verified into yacht to beat the Wander
bilt craft; but as the work in detail
was to be done in the United States,
according to his story, he asked that
only a simple deck structure be
erected, and that the hull be disguised
as much as possible, to carry out the
yacht idea, until the boat could be
landed in New York. His instructions
were faithfully carried out.
In the meantime daring and reck-
less crew, willing to take chances of
any sort, had been gathered together
and were awaiting Mr.. Roche's orders.
They had been brought to the port
secretly by many routes.
How the boat was coaled has not yet
been learned by the authorities, but it
is believed thousands of small bags
filled with fuel We're carried secretly
on board.
When the crew had been secretly as
sembled the fires were started and the
long, slim craft dashed out of the har-
Dor.
Ashore were scores of Japanese
spies entrusted with the task of pre-
venting just such an act as that COM
mittcd by Burke Roche. None knew
of the disappearance Of the boat until
the next morning, however, by which
time it was impossible to learn any
thing concerning the destination of the
men who had gone to sea in her.