New Britain herald., 1916-09-08

1 been far more unhera1ded instances
 where raids have been prevented by the presence of Swedish cruisers, de-
 stroyers and torpedo boats. It is no
 easy task to partol coast line which stretches from the northern crescent of the Gulf of Bothnia down through the entire length of the Baltic and out into the Cattegat, nor is 1t always possible to "chaperone'' all the mer- chant ships flying belligerent flags
 and submarines, and some of the
 three-mile limit. It is no strange
 sight along the coast to see German and a Russian "lugger" churning the
 waters side by side, or to see Ger
 man and an English ship pass in the
 night without the slightest sign of recognition. And it is always safe to
 assume that somewhere along this
 jagged, rocky coast there is lurking a
 spider-like destroyer of the enemy
 ready to bounce upon the steamer the
 moment it may stray "outside' or
 sometimes through Over- -eagerness to
 step inside the limit and "persuade"
 the richly laden tramp to steer "a lit
 tie wide' of the dangerous coast.
 A Prince to the Rescue.
 There have been numerous incl dents of late wherein Swedish naval
 vessels have been stripped for ac- tion against belligerent destroyers and submarines, and some of the naval officers here in Stockholm say they have rather regretted it has never come to blows for. they have had all the drudgery of war with none of the glory.
 One of the, newest torpedo boats the Castor, is commanded by Prince William, second son of the king and a very popular young man. The prince is a great favorite in Stock holm but the duties of the coast pa trol have kept him away for a long time and his slim little gray vessel has been noe of the chief defenders of Swedish neutrality.
 An English steamer recently was making her way out of the Baltic when accosted by @ German de- stroyer. Knowing he was within the protection of territorial waters the English captain at first paid no heed. Then the destroyer slipped to the in side of the cargo vessel and in per- fectly good English the German commander directed the Engishman to steer south. The order was not answered, but soon the destroyer be- gan to crowd the merchantmen so it was necessary for him to alter his course and he was gradually ap- preaching the open and unprotected waters of the Baltic when the Cas- tor, with Prince William full six feet three, on the bridge, hove in sight. The Castor came flashing to the scene, white spray flying from her clean cut bows.
 ''What is the matter here?" called out the prince in even better English than the German had employed.
 The English captain megaphoned the reply that he was being ordered by the German to steer to the south so that he could be legally captured and taken as a prize to Swinnemunde.
 You take orders from no one but me-" directed the prince. Keep to your original course and l will pro- Lect you.''
 The German slunk away and the English ship, escorted by the Castor, in safety.
 Within the past week the greatest concern has been caused here by the sinking of several Swedish ships by German subma marines. This practice has followed the declaration of the Berlin government that foodstuffs shall be considered contraband as well as certain classes of timber princi- pallv pit props cut for use in the English ccal mines. Other Swedish ships have been captured as prizes. A somewhat amusing incident re- gently was that. of the "Themis" which the Germans were trying to take to a home port in charge of a prize crew when they discovered there was not sufficient coal aboard. They | put into a Swedish port on Gothland Island and were greatly surprised l when the Swedish government polite | ly but firmly refused to recognize the l '"Themis' as a prize and unceremoni- l cusly hustled the prize crew off. l outside the harbor two l srim German destroyers stood glaring l at three Swedish vessels of similar | type but just a little more powerful. |
 Russians Also Violators.
 The more recent outbreak of ] trouble for Sweden in the Baltic be- l gan several weeks ago when two Rus 1 san submarines slipped inside the three mile limit and carried away the German steamers Lissabon and Worms. Two Swedish pilots were captured but released after a week or SO. The Russians claimed the Ger mans were just outside the territorial waters, but Sweden maintains they were not and is demanding their re- storation
 This incident was scarce two days old when a German destroyer boldly 7ame into the southern territorial waters and captured the English