New Britain herald., 1915-04-08
INTfRNMENT OF EHfL
 ORDERED BY DANIELS
Rear Admiral Beatty to Take Ger.
 man Raider to Norfolk
WHERE SHE WILL BE DISMANILED
Officers and Men at First Will Prob ably Be Given Freedom of Norfolk. and Later Officers May Receive Unrestricted Liberty.

Unrestricted Liberty.
 Washington, April s.-Secretary Daniels today gave formal orders to l Rear Admiral Beatty, commanding
 the Norfolk Navy Yaro, to take the I'rinz Eitel Friedrich to the navy yard for internment. Admiral Beatty will determine to what extent the ship will be dis lnantled but it was not thought that more would be done than to remove che breach blocks from her guns and 1 detach the connecting rod of her en- i zines. At first officers and men prob ably will be given the freedom of Norfolk, and later the officers. at least, probably will be given practically un- restricted liberty, of course upon their promise not to violate the neutrality of the United States. It has always been customary to extend rather than
 curtaii the liberty of interned belii- Serents. .-.. Ends Spectacular Career. Newport News, Va, April S.-With the >internment today of the German auxiliary cruiser Prinz Eitel Fried rich and her crew, the commerce de- stroyer ended her spectacular war ca reer.
 Decision of Captain Thierichens of the PrinZ Eitel to intern his ship fol- l lowed the receipt by him of an inn perative notice from the United States government early last night hat nn init hi eto lo; l port would expire at midnight. Had he not asked to intern his ship, Cap tain Thierichens would have been 1 compelled to depart from American ! waters not later than 4 a. m. today In requesting permission of the l Washington government to intern, l Captain Tnierichens explained that | failure of expected relief to arrive l made the step necessary rather than l deliver crew and ship to fruitless and certain destruction by British and
 French warships waiting off the Vir- l ginia Capes."
 1 Many British ships were leaving 1 this port today as a result of the de- l cision to intern the Prinz Eitel, which
 action operated to lift the American l embargo against commerce ships of | the allied European countries. | 1 With the taking of the Prinz Eitel | to the Norfolk navy yard today, the breech blocks of her guns were to be 1 removed and the connecting rod of 1 her engines detached. The Prnz 1 Eite1 had been laid up here since 1 March 10, when she limped into port 1 following her remarkable commerce raiding voyage from the Orient, dur ing which she destroyed the Ameri- ! eo hi Nrro
 l Commanders Notice.
 Following is the announcement l handed Collector Hamilton last night l by the commander:
 1T inform you I intend to intern S. 1 M. $. Prinz Eitel Friedrich. The re- 1 lief I expected appears not to arrive 1 ir time so the number and force of | the enemy cruisers watching the, en- trance of the bay makes to me impos- l sible the dash for the open sea with 1 any hope of success. I have decided ; not to deliver crew and ship to the 1 fruitless and certain destruction. Be- 1 ing obliged for the courtesy shown by all United States authorities, I am ex- l pecting your orders. I have sent the same information to Rear Admiral Helm, U. S. s. Alabama. l Respectfully, | "Thierichens" 1 As the collector read this, a spirit 1 of gloom seemed to pervade the com | mander's cabin and spread all over l the ship. Officers and crew were l downcast.
 l Said He was Heart-broken. l Captain Thierichens himself de- 1 ciared that he was eart-broken to l be compelled to resort to such step. l Unofficially, he said that he had never
 intended to intern, if it were possible 1 to prevent it; that he had hoped for l the arrival of German forces to do
 battle with the British and French 1 warships off the American coast and
 thus clear the way for his return to 1 the open sea.
 1 "I would like to have gone to sea l 1nyself," he declared. "I would not
 hesitate to go, but had to think first
 1 of my men,"
 1 Sends Notice to Washington.
 i Collector Hamilton dispatched the l notice to Washington and informed 1 Rear Admiral Beatty. The latter ! notified Rear Admiral Helm, on board 1 the battleship Alabama, which was
 guarding the channel to the sea, to
 l prevent departure of the Prinz Eitel
 | Friedrich from this port after mid
 1 night last night.
 l Captain Thierichens' action came at
 the close ofs day filled with mys
 i terious developments. Up to the last ! few hours of grace he had not said d
 i word to Washington officials about in | ternment He had coaled and provi-