The Green Forest tribune., 1916-10-13

of the torpedoing and were slowly gathering additional facts, were sud denly closed to the press by an order from the Navy Department at Wash ington. It was explained that every 1 thing learned by the government sta tions must first be transmitted to the Navy Department before being made public.
 Particulars of the attack, however. 1 continued to come from merchant vessels to commercial wireless plants and through marine observers on shore.
 The U-53 which anchored for three hours in Newport harbor. while Com mander Hans Rose sent ashore cor respondence from Germany for the German ambassador, Count von Bern storff, and exchanged official calls with Rear Admiral Gleaves and Rear Admiral Knight, commandant of the Narragansett Bay station, slipped out of the harbor and submerged just in side the three-mile limit.
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 At daylight she turned up south east of Nantucket and got in the way of the American steamer Kansan of the American-Hawaiian Line, bound from New York for Genoa by way of Boston, with freight. The Wansan was flying the American flag. She was stopped by the submarine. As sured that the kansan was an Ameri- can owned vessel, the submarine later allowed her to proceed.
 Captain Smith of the Kansas re- ported in a wireless message to the captain of the Nantucket Shoals light ship that he had been stopped He said the submarine showed no colors, but from his meager description of the craft naval men were satisfied that 1t was the U-53.
 half hour later the submarine en- countered the Strathdene, command ed by Captain Wilson and under char ter by the French Line. A subse- quent message from the Nantucket lightship stated that the Strathdene | of 20 men were on the lightship. The steamer carried a crew of 34. so there was some doubt as to whether the lightship had picked them all up or had correctly reported The Strath- dene sailed from New York for Bor- deaux. she was of 4,321 tons and 375 feet in length. She was built in Greenwich in 1900 and was owned in Glasgow.
 Pursuing her hostile course. the submarine next came up with the West Point. bound from London for Newport News. The fate of the Brit. ish freighter was told in the follow. ing wireless dispatch from her com mander, Captain Hayden, to the naval radio station:
 British steamer West Point stop ped by submarine and fired upon getting boat ready Position 4O:2E north 69 west. Get cutter"
 West Point Was Sinking.
 Later messages gave further de tails. One stated that the steamer was being shelled by the submarin, xS <e. Q e message was sent at 11:1 a,Ss .$A third md Aage said that thu vet+set was attack Alrra0:45 !2'clocI :, Ke Kyt qpaaitss- -serne disputed line vas to message caused confusion regarding the exact position of the freighter The steamer Kansan picked up the distress signals of the West Point and proceeded to her assistance Then the Boston Navy Yard, at 1:30 o'clock, received a message from the Kansan Gstating that the West Point was sink. ing and that the Kansan was going to her aid. The disabled vessel was was making 12 knots.
 Later a private dispatch added the information that the submarine, after stopping the West Point, ordered the crew into their small boats. The crew abandoned the ship, which was then torpedoed. It was in a sinking condition when last reported.
 Menatime the American line steam ship Philadelphia, which left New York for Liverpool, had gotten within the war zone and an s. o. S. wireless message was received by her com mander. He held his course for the east
 | During the day no word came from the British and French patrol vessels which have been watching the Allan 1 W nj O entente allies with munitions of war have daily set out. A message was sent to Halifax asking for the press information as to what was being done l to protect British and French ship ping from the submarine. The reply came that the British commander in l chief of the Halifax station, which is directing the patrolling feet was con sidering whether any statement by | him was advisable.
 Many rumors were afloat, including one that a fleet of German subma- rines were off the coast. Another had it that the Germans had estab- lished a submarine base on the Cana dian coast.
 Another speculation was that supply ships were cooperating with the U-53. These who held to the latter opinion pointed out that the submarine, after ostensibly crossing the Atlantic unas- sisted. arrived at Newport fully prov- Cp wi