The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-06-12

s~OgSS
Although the German Admiralty
has now admitted the sinking Of the
battle cruiser Lutzow and the small
cruiser Rostock in the Skagerak fight.
In addition to the battleship Pom
mern. the cruisers Wiesbaden. Elbing
and Frauenlob. and five %destroyers
previously reported. a doubt must still
exist concerning the number and de-
scription Of vessels lost by the Ger
mans. As the sinking Of the battle
cruiser Lutzow and the third class
cruiser Rostock was concealed "for
military reasons" 10 quote from the
latest report Of the Admiralty. what
assurance can there he that the whole
story Of losses Ia now told?
The irst report Of the battle. which
was oficially published on June 2,
limited losses to the battleship Pom
mern and the cruiser Wiesbaden.
while the small cruiser Frauenlob
and "some torpedo boats" were said
W NC HIISSIIIk. u uutiCtiu WI Nv
tory ended with the statement: "The
High Seas feet returned to-day
Thursday into our port" This was
not true. At least one battle cruiser
Of the Derfiinger type $4,000 tons.
main battery Of eight IL inch guns)
and the Rostock. a swift light cruiser
- nAa,,, z mn <or- u.oro , c~ovo%cd
for. II the German Admiralty de-
libcrately falsifed its report of June
3 credulity will halk at accepting as
final the bulletin Of June g. which
adds these two ships to the previous
list of losses.
On the night Of June . the British
Admiralty In a second bulletin as
serted that either the Dcrflinger or
the Lutzow was blown up during the
action: that the other battle cruiser
twas seen to he disabled and 10 have
stopped': and that still another Ger
man battle cruiser was observed to
he seriously damaged" II was added
that n light cruiser Of the Rostock
type had heen sunk, together with six
destrOyers and q submarine. the last
Of which was rammed. The British
Admiralty was partly right In It's
estimate Of German hattie cruiser
losses, and II Ia 10 he noted that as
to two Of the enpmy's ships the ON
clal report merely stated that they
were put out Of action. The dread.
no,ight h%attlcship" declared to have
been "blown up In nm attack ny de-
stroyprs" may have been the Pom
mern. which was not a dreRdnought
but n modern vessel (19O6-OS) of the
deutschland class $1,000 tons. hat
teries Of four II inch and fourteen
81 inch guns).
The British also expressed a belief
In their second bulletin that a dread
nought battleship of the Kaiser class
(24,3nW tons, main battery Of ten
t. inch guns, had been sunk ''by gun.
fire." The form Of the statement i'm
piled n doubt In their own minds. II
has been asserted by the British
Admiralty that the German dread
nOught battleship Westfalen of the
Nassau class nS,6OO tons, main hat
terry NJ twelve ~ inch guns was de-
stroyed. Although n report that she
was sunk is persistent. the German
Admiralty has made no statement n
way or the other.
The British In their first bulletin
Of the fight announced that the battle
cruisers Queen Mary, interchangeable
and Invincible and the armored
cruisers Defence and Black Prince
had been sunk. and that the ar
mored cruiser Warrior had been aban-
doned in Il sinking condition by her
crew. Apparently they concealed
nothing for military reasons" and
have moi had to revise their list Of
losses in any essential particular. We
know now that the Skngrrak fight
was not a great victory for either
side. II any victory nj oil. Certainly
IL the British feet suffered n damag-
ing blow and ran for Its base It
would he sound tactics for the Ger
man High Seas feet to come out
again. But II IL undergoing repairs
| by admission Of the Admiralty. and
under cover, for the navy yards are
| TO be closed for two months.