Connecticut western news., 1916-06-08
GREAT BRITAIN
 STILL SUPREME
Nagger Rak Battle In No Way Decisive.
LOSS OF LIFE IS TERRIBLE

Nearly 5000 Men Sank With British
 Ships Destroyed-EneIand Lost Four
 teen Vessels, and German Loss Is Believed to Be About the Same.
 Yhe latest reports from the British fleet, from neutral vessels which wit messed parts, of the great naval battle tD the North sea and from survivors give reason to believe that the engage DTent was not so near defeat as a frst appeared and in no wise a disas ter 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 a much less aggregate Of tonnage
 British naval experts maintain that Great Britain continues to hold the su, Tremacy of the sea by a safe margin and that her enormous navy could bet ter afford the losses it suffered than could the smaller German establish meat The first reports of the heavy R<sss of life, unhappily, have not been devised. Great Britain mourns for more than 4,00O of her best seamen and the whole nation is oppressed with sadness.
 Few Saved Out of 5000.
 There were some 6,00O men on board the ships which sank. and only few hnndred have been saved. The hor, TOTS of modern naval warfare far eX- eeeding those when wooden ships fought and continued to float even when they ceased to be fighting units wene realized to their utmost. From five of the largest ships which went under with complement of more than 4,000 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 saiEs Sowerby, Gay and Prowse were lost, with many others whose names are not yet known because the Brit fsh government has not so far issued any casualty list There were no sur r@nders, and the ships which went down carried with them virtually their whole crews. Only the Warrior, which Tvas lowed part way from the scene of bastle to British port, was an excep- tion.
 Of some thousand men on board the Queen Mary only a cOrporals guard is accounted for. The same is true of the Invincible, while there ere no survivors reported from the Indefatigable the Defense or the Black Prime.
 r OfFicia. Reports Contradictory. Gt is impossible yet to construct any coherent account of the great battle, which lasted many hours, with the diff ferent units at times fighting scattered enga gements. The British and German reports contradict each other f1atly on the main facts. The British assert that the German fleet retired when the Brit fish battleships appeared, while the German official statement maintains that the German forces were in battle with the entire British feet
 The British assert that they had only kyo divisions engaged and that all the nBits of these were not able to partici- gate in the fighting and furthermore that Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, com mander of the grand fleet, remained in area of the battle after the Germans had retreated and swept it thoroughly 1n search of enemy ships or survivors.
 How far the Zeppelins contributed to the German successes is a matter of dispute. Only one airship came within sight, according to the British accounts. and she was soon badly damaged and withdrew. But the Germans lay stress oys Ghe assistance rendered by their air service, and neutrals report the pres. ence of six Zeppelins in the North sea. Tie popular belief among the British public is that scouting Zeppelins kept the German fleet informed by wireless of the approach of their enemy, of his numbers and formation
 From survivors come thrilling stories of the horrors of the terrible battle The" British destroyer Shark acted as deeoy to lead the German ships into the engagement She was battered to pieces by gunfire, and half a dozen sailors picked up clinging to a buoy by . Danish ship tell of her commander ata.T two seamen serving her only re n1ainfng gun to the last minute, when the commanders leg was blown off.
 There are stories of vessels sinking with a great explosion, of crews going down singing the national anthem and of merchant ships passing through ;l seq thick with floating bodies.