The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1914-12-19
HARTLEPOOl, WHITLEY AND SCAR.
BOROUGH SUFFER IN FIRST AS
SAULT ON SHORE OF eRi-
TAIN IN OVER A HUN
DRED YEARS.
40 KILLED, 70 WOUNDED
INVADERS SLIP PAST MINES UN-
DER COVER OF FOG AND WRECK
HISTORIC STRUCTURES IN
FOUR ANCIENT TOWNS.
w..,ern Newspaper Union News Service.

Western Newspaper lhioh ->e"s S-i'ies-
London. Dec. 17.-For the first time
in more than a century England mas
been struck by a foreign foe. A squad
ron Of eight German cruisers crept
through the fog to the eastern coast
and turned their guns against the
Britons.
When day broke they began the
mbardment OF three important
wns-Hartlepool, at the mouth OF the
Tees: Whitby, thirty-five miles south-
ward, and Scarborough, noted as
pleasure resort, fifteen miles beyond
The town of Redcar also was struck
HartIepool suffered most. There
two battle cruisers and an armored
cruiser were engaged and at this place
the greatest loss of life occurred The
British war office fixes the number OF
dead at HartIepool as seven soldiers
and twenty-five civilians, and the
wounded at fourteen soldiers and fifty
civilians.
At Scarborough. where battle crui-
ser and an armored cruiser shelled
the town, thirteen casualties are re-
ported, while at Whitby two were
killed and two were wounded.
Men, women and children of the ci-
william population were left dead or
wounded -- struck without warning
while at breakfast or at work. In all,
the casualty list totals 10, according
to the official estimates, Of whom
forty are known to be dead.
Three churches were damaged. the
gas works and lumber yards at Hartie-
pool were set afire and the abbey at
Whitby was struck The Balmoral ho-
tel at Scarborough received the full eff
fects of a shell. A number OF houses
and shops were shattered and partly
burned in each of the towns.
The hostile squadron escaped in the
mist after an encounter with coast
guard vessels patrolling the neighbor-
hood, which were reinforced as soon
as the presence OF the Germans was
signaled. ~
AS the German ships steamed oat to
sea they dropped mines to prevent any
ships from following in their wake.
A wave of intense anger has spread
over England because OF the attack,
and bitter denunciation is heard every
where of policy which permits the
shelling of undefended towns. The
fortress at the mouth of the Tees Is
supposed to give some protection TO
the important shipping base OF Hartie-
pool, but Whitby and Scarborough are
as open to the enemy as Atlantic CITY
on the New Jersey coast.
Scarborough. with its old castle on
high hill, the big casino with a high
tower, and the row of pretentious no
tells ON the water front, presents a
shining mark for target practice.
In a direct line the mouth Of the
Tees is about $50 miles from Helgo-
land, the German naval base in the
North sea. The British admiralty says
the German ships We're among their
fastest.
They chose a night when thick
mist prevailed to reach the England
coast and must have left their base
at least two hours before dark.
As they started to return about 9
o'clock there still remained about
seven hours of daylight for the pur-
suit, which, however, was rendered al
most impossible by the fog. How the
Germans evaded all the mines and pa
tro!s remains somewhat of a mystery,
although experts recall that in maneu-
vers British ships performed the same
feat in the comparatively small space
between England and Sicily islands,
which, however, was not mined
The admiralty report announces that
such demonstrations are not difficult
to accomplish, but the population gen.
orally cherished so great confidence In
the protection of the British navy that
the inhabitants made no serious prep
araticns to meet a bombardment.
Naval writer's express the opinion
that eight ships were engaged. The
Germans have available for such an
attack the armored cruisers Blucher,
Room. PrinZ Adalbert, Prinz Heinrich
and Prinz Friedrich Karl and more
than twenty cruisers Of smaller class.
AIbanians Declare War Upon servia.
Amsterdam.-A dispatch from Con-
stantinople to the Telegraaf says that
the tribes in northern Albania have de-
clared war on Servia.
Emden Crew Capture Collier.
Manila, P. I.-Forty men of the crew
of the German cruiser Emden who
were left on Cocos Island when the
Australian cruiser sydney discovered
the Emden and forced her to run
ashore some time ago. have captured
collier. mounted two maxims on her.
and now are raiding commerce in the
Pacific, according to report received
here. The report came through Off
GERS of the British steamer Malacca
which has arrived at Jolo. The report
has not been officially confirmed.