The Washington times., 1915-01-22
OFFICERS Of LINERS
FLOCK TO GERMANY
N Disguise They Go Past Brit.
,ish inspector and Fight for
Fatherland. ~.

HOBOKEN, N. j., Jan. 22.-It the Brit
ish feet should by any chance be Dc.
feated by the German feet, thousands
Of German and Austrian reserv:sts
would flock to Hoboken with the expec-
tation Of being transported to their
fatherland aboard the fourteen German
steamships which have been interned
there since the beginning OF the war.
But they would be disappointed. be-
cause there are not enough Officers left
aboard the German ships TO even start
on such a voyage. let alone complete
It. Out OF a total Of thirty.six onlcsrs
on one of the largest steamships only
three are left, and they are old men.
The others. all young blood. have
gradually disappeared. Among the
how 70 nsr ;npsfos' up s ., sSs s
eriand. took passage on neutral ships,
and managed to pass through the Eng
lish lines and the strict British csnSor-
Every German steamship officer 10 an
officer in the German naval reserve.
many has been busy day and night en-.
larg!ns her navy in order to prepare It
gle with Great Britain's navy on whose
outcome the destinies OF Germany rnaJ
depend.
Officers Are Lacking.
While there is an abundance of, men
in Germany to man the new war ves-
sells which are being built, there has
been q decided lack Of trained naval
officers. So the Kaiser issued a call for
all available naval officers interned in
this and other neutral ports. This In
itself Is not a violation Of neutrality.
But It involves great risk to those who
endeavor to execute the Kaiser's COM
mand.
Among the men stories are current
about the schemes used By the officers
to get away. They tell how an officer
would remain in his stateroom for
dsys At time snS from their Sssrd S
The next time they heard from him he
was in the Kiel navy yard, from which
ne sent greetings to his comrades.
Many went across a. sailors. stewards
A story Is even current among the
men in Hoboken how q young, dashinS
officer Of a big German liner managed
to obtain passage aboard an English
liner in the Mny Esss Of Of IN n. ,n.
English as fluently perhaps as they
sneak their own language. They have
travelled on the seas and have mingled
with people Of other nationalities all
their lives.
Two Captains Return.
Among those who left a comfortable
berth in Hoboken to risk capture and
possible death for their fatherland are
two steamship captains. Among the
sailors they are regarded as heroes.
ard many . man in tho ranks would
like to follow their example II he had
q chance.
There 10 an undercurrent Of unrest
among the idle German sailors in Ho-
boken. They feel that something is In
the air" They are speculating among
themselves how soon the German naval
victory will make n possible for them
to get into action. The shortage among
officers on the German steamers 10 nc
obstacle to their enthusiasm. They are
confident that officers will be procured
in some way.
And 80 it may be possible. although
the probability Is small. that some day
in the future the German steamship
fotilla will steam out Of the harbol
ed by Scandinavian. Dutch, Italian OF
even American officers. many Of whom
according to sailor gossip, have been
out OF work since the war began, and
wouldn't hesitate to take whatever Jobs
they could get
And these rumors keep the spirit OF
patriotism very much alive among the
sailors in Hobolxen and furnish them
with interesting topics for discussion to
break the monotony Of their idle, though
none the less watchful waiting.