Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-12-01
SEVERE LOSSES
To NORWAY'S SHIP
ING DURING WAR
About $50 Steamers Insured at
$25,OOO,OOO, Sailing Ships In
sured for $1,888, 900 and Other
Craft-15O Sailors Lost, so by
German Torpedoes.

ASSOCIATED Press Correspondence
Christiania, Norway, Nov. 4.-Nor-
way with the third largest mercantile
marine in the world, has suffered Sc
we're losses. Up to date they have |
totalled: One hundred and fifty steam
ers of $4,000 tons, insured by the
war Insurance Association" for $685.
0O0,0 900, sailing ships aggregating &C.,
900 tons, and insured for $1,8SS.00
and many sailing craft loaded with
lumber and pit props for England
which were not insured. One hundred
and fifty sailors have lost their lives, |
fifty of them by German torpedoes
from submarines and the others when
ships have been destroyed by mines.
Beside these many boats have been
taken by belligerents and confiscated
after prize court proceedings.
Germany, after a few months rest,
suddenly started submarine warfare
against Norwegian ships last Septem-
Der much sharper and more mercileSs
than ever beforc-eXpoSing the lives OF
many sailors to the dangers of the
arctic storms. At the same time, 1t Is
declared, a hostile campaign against
Norway was launched in the German
press, all of which the Norwegian peo-
pie have been unable to understand.
The more Norway has tried to pre-
serve it's neutrality the more dissat-
isfied, according to the Norwegian
viewpoint, has the German chauvin-
istic press been and papers such as the
koelnische Zeitung and Frankfurter
Zeitung very often have threatened
mercantile reprisals after the war.
Nothing seems to have created a
greater bitterness in Germany against
Norway than the governments ordi-
nances prohibiting the export of GER
tain foodstuffs, which Norway needs
for itself-especially the ordinance of
last August prohibiting export of GER
tain kinds of fish. Although fishing Is
one of Norway's main trades yielding
a great surplus for export, since the
war so much fish has been exported
that there has not been enough left for
Norway itself and the country has
been deprived of one of its main food
stuffs. The export to Germany has
been increasing to such an extent that
the people demanded that the govern
ment should take steps to provide fish
enough for the home market.
After the torpedoing by German
submarines of Norwegian ships in the
Arctic ocean and along the coast this
fall the ordinance of October 10 was
passed, which like the Swedish forbids
belligerent submarines the use of Nor
Wegian waters.
The Germans themselves declare
they do not need and never used Nor
wegian waters in their warfare.
Everybody here then asks how the
! aria
alone directed against Germany and
how it can be taken as an attempt to
tamper with the Germany machinery.
The press-except the socialistic
papers-unanimously stand by the
Government in this case and will sup
port it's upholding the right of Norway
to keep the sovereignty on it's own ter
ritory.
The German press lately claimed
that no Norwegian sailor had been
killed by German torpedoing of Nor
wegian ships. The Morgenbladet re-
calls that the Norwegian steamer
Svein Yorl, On June 9, 1915 was tor
peoded when bound for Norway with
cargo of coal for the steamship line it
self. Twelve of the crew lost their
lives and Germany has recognized it's
The steamer Lougli-in ballast was
torpedoed without warning and one
man killed; and in all about forty Nor
wegian sailors, are declared to have
directly lost their lives of German tor
pedoing.
The Morgenbladet continues: "If the
German press believes it can mislead
opinion in Norway and deprive the
government of the necessary support
it is greatly mistaken. Nobody here
loving the fatherland-wil in a serious
situation help overthrow the cabinet
by disclaiming Norway's right and
duty to protect the lives and property
of it's citizens to the best of our abil-
ity. We do not want to wrong any
body, we do not want to injure foreign
life or foreign property-We only want
to live by ourselves, our own national
life without being Inundated or treat
1