The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1916-01-14
get FIRST VIEW
OF NAVAL BASE
JOURNALISTS TAKEN TO SPOT
WHERE BRITISH FLEET
STANDS GUARD,
SHIPS BATTLE-SCARRED
Ofilcer Gives Details Of the Fight In
!, Which Bluecher Was
Sunk.

'Es.
London, Jan. S.-Under escort OF
officers assigned by the admiralty,
correspondent of the Associated
Press and party Of foreign journal
lists, recently were given the first
opportunity to visit one Of the great
su,yal bases on the coast where cruz
sers, destroyers and submarines are
assembled for the watch over the
North Sea and from which point
big. ocean going submarines are sent
ON forages to the Baltic and the OAR
danelles.
II was an impressive sight Of con-
centrated power and alert readiness,
with long lines OF battle-scarred
cruisers stretching seward and
headed by the famous Arethusa. back
OF them a vast fiotilla Of destroyers.
then a countless number of submar-
ines OF the latest d and z. type,
which have recently performed such
brilliant work from the Dardanelles
to the Bosphorus and throughout
the Baltic Sea.
The day was typical OF the rigors
the British feet Is now experiencing
in the North Sea with rain pelting
the sailors in oilskins, and the wind
cutting the sea into foam and sea
guils everywhere. The little fishing
village on the coast had been trans
formed by the war into vast naval
rendezvous with store houses stretch
ing half mile. prepared to re-eQuip
an amanda and send 1t back to sea
within two hours of its arrival
Here also were the mother" ships
ranging In long lines along the
quay, ready to receive back their
fighting children each time they
came from raid or battle.
The huge establishment was vi
brating with energy, and in the har-
Dor mine sweepers were coming back
from their work; hydroaeroplanes
were maneuvering from the deck OF
their craft and black smoke from the
tunnels of the cruisers and destroy
-ers told of their readiness to dash
out to sea after an enemy craft.
Tells Of Sea Battle.
The Arethusa and the light cruis-
-er squadron had just returned from
scouting along the German coast In
search of German feet which was
said to have ventured out from the
Kiel Canal. Nothing had been seen
of the Germans ships and the Brit
ish ofiicers-the same who had now
received their stars in the famous
fights under Vice Admiral Sir Dave
Beatty--were desisive at the idea
that the Germans would venture
forth.
One OF the officers was In COM
mand Of the torpedo tubes when
they fired the deadly missiles which
struck the German cruiser Bleucher
and sent her Keeling to the bottom
in the great fight of last January.
He pointed out these self-same tubes
and told how they had worked
First we let go that one" he
said. "and then this one. 1t was
this one that hit the Bleucher amid
ships. She was lying off there about
1900 yards. The thing that i'm
pressed me after we hit her was the
deathly stiffness. 1t was terribly
still until the great big ship threw
up her bow, turned clean over and
sank"
"Yes. this is the one that did It,"
and he patted this terrible, death
dealing engine affectionately. as II
IL were his child, as, In truth, 1t has
been since he sunk the Bluecher.
Scars of battle were all over the
strip, which the officers pointed out
with the pride that Heidelberg stu
dent displays when he exhibits his
wounds. A deck gallery amidships
had been entirely shot away, a me-
1snite shell having exploded In 1t.
This has been rebuilt. One dent In
the side armor was pointed out as
BID rs a washbowl. The upper
wopls were literally peppered with
,shyannel. but the scars were now
rnea IN aandased with two-inch rivit-
a steel plates. so that the saucy
ArethusA was again a. good as ever
ri, ,.ahtw now want ahoard tho