Arizona republican., 1916-06-06
A PROLONGED Naval BATTLE


If the British fleet had fought valiantly in the
battle of the North Sea Thursday as the British
official press bureau and the British admiralty have
since fought that battle there would be nothing
left of the German Four days after the
gagement. the bureau and the admiralty turned
shocking disaster into a national victory. But
neither the world the British people are likely
to be impressed by the beated offerings of the ad-
mralty and the press bureau They have not for
gotten the manner in which all previous disasters
have been misrepresented to them. They have espe-
cally not forgotten the wholesale slaughter of British
troops at Neuve la Chapelle the succeeding silence
of the press bureau of the disaster more
than week later reached London by the way of
New York. Then the official explanations"
and statements where upon the indignant London
accused the office and the official press
lying, the last more foolish since by that time the
yin the last the more foolish since by that time
world and the British nation knew that it lying
The facts regarding the of the battle of the
North Sea are these: The news could have been
from London the evening of Thursday. Yet the
first ntimaton that there had been such a battle
for which the whole world had been awaiting was
given at the first German opportunity from Berlin
on Friday by wireless to Sayvle. New Jersey. This
story included a statement of the German losses so
far they then known; the sinking of the first
type and the probable loss of the Frauenlob which
when last by German sailors was listing badly
There were some smaller vessels, torpedo boats and
destroyers, how many were not known
The British losses according to the German ac-
count the warspte of the Queen Elizabeth type
the Queen Mary, the Invncble the interchangeable three
battle cruisers and armed cruisers their names
unknown to the Germans, though the class of them
was mentioned Ten British torpedo boats and des-
troyers were said to have been sunk On the state
ment of British sailors from one of the sink
ing ships, the Germans said that the batteship MARI
borough had been torpedoed and probably sunk But
Of this the Germans claimed have no further in
formation.
After Withholding all for some hours after
the German wireless was published the British Off
cial statement practically confirmed the German re-
port as to British losses except to the Warspite
aud the Marlborough which, it was said had returned
to port dhe name of the port has yet been given
The next day it admitted that the Marlborough
had been hit by torpedo that the Warspite had
been damaged by gunfire The extent of the damage
to these two ships is not known and the British peo-
pie having only the official statement have no way
of finding out, since the of the port where
they said to be- has been concealed whether they
were not actually sunk
The next day, thirty-sx hours after the battle the
oftlclai press bureau spurred on by the admiralty
began ruthessy sinking German ships until now
including those lost in the engagement the dreadful
tale Is eighteen. There is the strongest ground"
says the admiralty statement, for believing" that
many were lost. But the nature of the strongest
ground" Is not mentioned anywhere in the statement
The most nearly definite information the admiralty
claimed to have rumor FROM Hamburg via a
dispatch from Copenhagen that another German
battleshp and battle cruiser had been lost
In many respects the various admiralty state
ments do not hang together we'll. was claimed at
first that the engagement was between a small de-
tachment from the Grand Fleet and the entire Ger
man navy and denial made of German state
ment that the entire Grand Fleet was engaged In
Sundays statement the presence of the Grand Fleet