Arizona republican., 1916-06-04
Not So Near Defeat


 ports from the British fleet from neu- t tral vessels which witnessed parts of |
 the great naval battle in the North Sea and from survivors cause the |
 British public to believe the ,AenSage-
 ment was not so near @ defeat as at first reported anl in no wise a dis | aster. The British losses with all | the craft engaged accounted for, were
 three battle cruisers, three cruisers
 and eight destroyers.
 The German losses are believed to | have been about the same number Of | ships although of Q much less aggre- ] l gate tonnage.
 British naval experts maintain that Great Britain continues to hold the
 supreme command of the sea by a safe margin and that her enormous navy could better afford the losses it suffered than could the smaller Ger man establishment. The first re-
 ports Of the heavy loss of life unhap-
 oily have not been revised. Great ] Britain mourns for more than 1000 Of l her best seamen and the whole nation 1 is oppressed with sadness which is [ ItINAtltb' III lilt ltlSC9 oA %AlA tAiN SSiN-N | of London.
 There were some 5000 men on these ships which sank and only few hum
 dred have been saved. The horrors Of
 modern naval warfare, far exceeding those when wooden ships fought and
 continued to float even when they
 ceased to fight, were realized to their
 utmost. From five of the largest ships which went under with a complement
 of more than 4,OOO men, only seven
 junior officers and a few seamen were
 rescued.
 Rear Admiral. the Hon. Horace Lam
 bert Hood, second in command to Vice
 Admiral Sir David Beatty, and Cap
 tains Sowerby Cay and Prowse were
 lost with many others whose names
 are not yet known because the govern
 ment has not so far issued any casual ty list. There were no surrenders, and the ships which went down carried with them virtually their whole crews Only the Warrior, which was lowed part way from the scene of battle to
 British port, was an exception.
 Of some thousand men on the
 Queen Mary, only a corporars guard
 is accounted for. The same is true of | the Invincible, while there are no sur vivors reported from the Indefatigable, | the Defence or the Black Prince. It is impossible to visualize any CO., I herent story of the great battle, which II lasted many hours with the different Il units at times fighting scattered en- Il gagements The British and German II reports contradict each other flatly on Il sthe main fact. The British assert that Il the German fleet retired when the Il British battleships appeared While the Il German official statement maintains II that the German forces were in battle Il with the entire British fleet.
 II The British assert that they hao II only two divisions engaged and that al II the units of these were not able tt U participate in the fighting and further II more that Admiral Sir John Jellicoe II commander of the grand fleet, remained II in the area of the battle after the Ger U mans had retreated and swept it thor + oughly in search of enemy ships ant H survivors.
 II The kings message to Admiral Jelli III COG states that the Germans robbe III the British of the opportunity of gain MI ing decisive victory immediately afte llN the opening of the general battle. Ad HI miral Beatty commanding the battle HI ship squadron presumably on hls ol HI flagship, the Lion, was again in tn |ll thick of the action. Every arm of tn HI modern naval warfare was employed l battleships, battle cruisers, torpedoe HIN destroyers submarines and even Zer HI pelins. Whether most of the destruc HI tion was accomplished by gunfire lll torpedoes is not yet known. Brltls HIN officers say that the battle was fougf HI bv the methods known and practice lII by all navies. There were no surprise l|l and no new devices of weapons ( MN strategy.
 HIM How far the Zeppelins contributed HIM the German successes is a matter lIIl dispute Only one airship came With HIM sight. according to the British accour HIN and she was soon damaged. But u MIN Germans lay stress on the aid render' liI by their air service and neutrals r Ill port the presence of six Zeppelins lllI the North Sea. The popular bell lll among the British public is that scou Il ing Zeppelins kept the German He |N informed by wireless of the approa lll of the enemy and of his numbers al llll formation
 llll From survivors come thrilling stori lil of the horrors and inhumanities Of t |I terrible battle. The British destroy lih Shark acted as a decoy to the Germ'
 ships in the engagement. She was ba