The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1917-09-12
Warfare ON THE
GERMAN U-BOATS
I. BEING PUSHED
Six Under-Sea Craft Attack Fleet
Of Vessels OF Coast of France
XIV Ono U-Boat Sunk.
TWO MERCHANTMEN LOST
First Reported Six Submarines Sunk
but Error in Transcribing
Statement Discovered.

an official report to the Navy Depart
mcnt made it appear that six German
submarines probably had been sunk
off the French coast when they at
tackled a fleet Of merchantmen in
cluding at least one American ves-
sci. The facts are, so far as known
tonight, that one submarine probably
was destroyed and two of the steam
ers went down. A corrected state
ment was issued by Secretary Dan
iels as soon as the error was dis
covered.
The department has only meagre
account of the fight and additional
details have been asked for by cable.
The report came from the American
tanker Westwego, through Paris.
The names and nationality of the
two ships lost were not given.
Under Naval Convoy.
The Westwego was en- route to
Europe, and from the fact that she
was cruising in company with other
merchant crafts, navy officers as
sumed that the fleet was under con-
voy Of naval vessels, probably of
American destroyers.
The tanker's report is dated Sep
.ember 8, the fight having occurred
September s.
The Westwego is an armed vessel.
In preparing for the press in the
bureau of operations of the Navy
Department statement of the con-
tents of the dispatch it was written
that all of the six submarines prob
Sably had been lost. Later, on check
inE over the message and the state
ment issued to the press, it was
found that the word was zone" in
the dispatch.
OF Special Interest.
Officials were interested in particu-
lars of the fight, since the vessels
were under convoy, and if either of
the two steamers lost were American,
the first conveyed American merch-
ant craft has fallen victim to the
submarines.
The fact that the submarines at
tackled the merchant fleet in such
force led to the conclusion that the
German commander enormously
thought he had to deal with troops,
transports or with army supply ships.
Daniels Statement.
Secretary Daniels issued the fol-
lowing statement:
oily attention has just been called
to serious error made in transcrib-
ing the report Of the attack made on
the Westwego and other vessels. I
gave the report to the press this
morning exactly as it was presented
to me, stating that 1.-TWO of the
steamers attacked were sunk and
Probably all of the submarines were
lost" The cablegram, now find,
Stated that 'one' of the submarines
was probably lost"
Earlier Statement. ...
The earlier statement by the Navy
Department read as follows:
"The Navy Department has rcceiv-
ed report from Paris which states
that the steamer Westwego reports
on September 8 that while cruising
with several other ships they were
attacked by massed force of six
submarines off the coast Of France
on September 5, the result of this
attack being that two Of the steam
ers attacked were sunk and probably
all of the submarines were lost"
1t was announced recently that q
policy Of conveying fleets of mer-
chant ships across tho Atlantic had
been adopted and since the Westwego
and the other merchant craft which
we're the objects of the submarines
attack were bound for Europe, it is
I regarded more than probable that
American warships guarded the mer-
Achant ships on the way across.
American warships have all been
equipped with depth bombs for fight
ing submarines. This weapon has
been highly perfected by American
!. ordnance experts and proves very
aleadly.
a The West&ego had an experience
with a German submarine before the