Grand Forks herald., 1917-03-02
AGAIN
BUSY ship POINT
Such Scenes Have Not Been
Known Since Old Packet Days
More Than 100 Years Ago.
German U-Boat Declaration Has
Sent Many Vessels Scurrying
s@ '',' Into the Harbor.

Falmouth, England, March g.
These are stirring days in this remote
shipping outpost. The harbor is
crowded with American, Dutch, and
Scandinavian craft of all kinds, great
liners of some Of the transatlantic
companies, freighters, tankers and
tramps in all rigs and flags. 1t is the
busiest shipping time Falmouth has
seen since the old packet days, almost
f1ourished and then died down until
the port was considered pretty dead
from a shipping standpoint. Just now
the declaration of the German war
zones has sent more ships scurring
into the harbor. for the memorandum
to the German note even specified
Falmouth by name as offering some
possible exemption from the scourge.
Falmouth more than any other
changing trade routes and trade
ports, particularly along the channel
where the submarine menace has
practically closed the old ports for
transatlantic travel, notably at Cher
bourg, Havre and Boulogne on the
French side, and Southampton and
Dover on the English. And even
Bordeaux has fallen in the danger
zone under the new menace. So that
Falmouth, while having no actual ex-
emptton, has none the less reaped the
advantage of it's geographical position
in absorbing the shipping closed out
from many other ports.
The port is at the very tip Of south
west England. just abreast Of the
rocky headland Of Landsend, and
about the first land sighted in coming
across the Atlantic. 1t is just east
Of the Lizard. from which point the
arrival of liners is first reported, the
same as from Sandy Hook. 1t is adj
station which from this outpost sends
its wireless across the Atlantic and
to ships at sea. Nearby is Penzance,
where the pirates lived and further
on Is the house of Drake.
Thus located at the very jumping
off point of England and the western
most harbor Of the channel. Falmouth
has a minimum of submarine danger
and at the same time is. something
like Montauk Point, Long Island, in
reaching far out to sea and thus per-
mitting quick emergency rail counec-
tions with the metropolis lying fur
ther inland. These various advan-
tages have combined to bring back
Falmouth to its old-time shipping
glory and to crowd the harbor with
the ships of all nations save those
VI IlS cuculy.
One of these newcomers, an Amer
lean tanker, has just gone ashore in
the outer harbor and Is slowly going
to pieces before the heavy surf There
has been no loss of life, but Falmouth
Is deeply reused. for scum Of Amer
lean oil has spread over the surface
Of the water.
Its one Of the worst things ever
happened to u.s." said an old author
ity Of the port "The oil has got into
our oyster beds, among the best in
England. and probably killed them
for good. It has also killed off all
the fish. and even the fish that are
living can't be eaten, they taste Of oil.
We've had big boom from the war.
but this oil on the water has set it all
back. It's serious danger, too, for
at some points 1t has caught on fire
and spread q sheet Of flame far over
the water" ta-t
This. however, is only one Of the
passing incidents Of the strenuous sea
thing for Falmouth is the great Inn
ships from all over the world now
heading 1t in and out Of the port The
rush has been so great that the port
authorities have put on very rigid
rules against crowds Of strangers In
vading the town at night. Only the
master of the merchant craft come
ashore at any time; all the crews are
narooned aboard, day and night. No
small boat from the Visiting ships
can be afloat after s o'clock in the
afternoon. Any master or other per-
son from the ships In town after that
. subject to arrest