The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1916-10-12

Boston, Mass.-The submarine arm
Of the Imperial German navy ravaged
shipping about 80 miles off the eastern
coast of the United States. Four Brit
tsh, one Dutch and one Norwegian
steamers were sent to the bottom or
left crippled derlicts off Nantucket
Shoals. Under the light of the hunt
ers' moon, the destroyer flotilla of the
United States Atlantic fleet was pick
ing up passengers and crews of the
destroyed vessels and bringing them
into Newport, r. |. So far as known
there was no loss of life, though at a
late hour the crew of the British
Kingston had not been accounted for
A submarine held up the American
steamer Kansan, bound from New
York for Genoa with steel for the
Italian government, but later, on es-
tablishing her identity, allowed the
American to proceed. The Kansan
cam into Boston barber late for her
usual call here.
The hostile submarine is the U-53,
which paid call to Newport recently
and disappeared at sunset. Some
naval men, however, declared that at
least two submarines are operating
close to the American shore, though
outside the three-mile limit. The rec
ord of submarine warfare, as brought
to land by wireless dispatches, fol-
lows:
The Strathdene, British freighter,
torpedoed and sunk off Nantucket.
Crew taken aboard Nantucket Shoals
light ship and later removed to New
port by the torpedo-boat destroyers.
The Strathdene left New York for
Bordeaux, and was attacked. The
West Point, British freighter, torpe-
doed and sunk off Nantucket Crew
abandoned the ship in small boats
after a warning shot from the subma-
rine's gun. officers and men were
taken aboard a destroyer. The vessel
was attacked at 10: As a. M She was
bound from London for Newport News
The Stephano, British liner, plying
regularly between New York, Halifax
and st. Johns, New Foundland, torpe-
doed southeast of Nantucket, while
bound for New York. Passengers and
crew numbering about 14O were pick
ed up by the destroyer Balcn and
transferred to the destroyer Dayton
and brought to Newport. The King
ston, British freighter, torpedoed and
sunk southeast of Nantucket. Crew
missing and destroyer searching for
them. This vessel is not accounted
for in maritime registers, and may
be the Kingstonan. Bloomersdiik,
Dutch freighter, torpedoed and sunk
south Of Nantucket. Crew taken
aboard destroyer. The steamer was
bound from New York for Rotterdam.
The Christian Knudsen, Norwegian
freighter, torpedoed and sunk near
where the Bloomersdijk went down.
Crew picked up by destroyers. The
vessel sailed from New York Saturday
for London. The sensation created
when the U-53 quietly slipped into
Newport harbOr and as quietly slipped
away three hours later, was less than
the shock in shipping circle when
wireless reports of submarine attacks
began to come into the naval radio
stations just before noon Within a
few minutes the air was literally
charged with electricity as wireless
messages of warning were sent broad |
cast along the coast. The submarine
or submarines had taken a position
directly in the steamer lanes where
they could hardly miss anything
bound in for New York or bound east |
from that port.
Vessels of the entente allied nations
and neutral bottoms carrying contra
band of war scurried to get within |
the three miles limit of the American
shore. Several that were following
the outside course shifted and made
for the inside lane. The Stephano, of
the Red Cross Line, however, was
caught outside the neutral zone.
Later reports gave further details
OF the attacks. The Stephano met a
submarine six miles southeast of Nam
tucket Lightship and was attacked by
guntire and torpedo. The West Point
went down 10 miles south of the Nan
tucket Lightship. The Strathdene was
attacked "off lightship," the report
stated, and the Bloomersdijk was sunk
three miles south of the lightship. The
American steamer Kansan was held
up thre miles east of Nantucket Light
ship. The first wireless warning of
the presence of a hostile submarine Ill
the steamship lane was given in the
distress signals of the West Point,
which reported that she had been tor
pedoed 80 miles southeast of Nam
tucket light. This message apparently