The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1917-07-13

She was engaged In the maneu-
.Vers at. the time. Two explo-
sions were heard, almost stimuli
taneously. The ship Is entirely
destroyed, though a portion OF
the crew were rescued. Two hun
dread seRmen and twelve officers,
among them Admiral Won chel--
mann. are dead. The cause Of dis
aster II unknown.
The admiral let the paper fall -
the table and quickly took up an
other.
The silence was only broken by
auditors and the crsaking Of lie Ksr.
bellac's chair.
The admiral went on quickly.
Paris. EineI Tower. Feb. .. 7:30 al
Yesterday morning, FebruAry.2,
at s o'clock. the English battle
ship Exemouth. was blown up ID
the Bay OF Portsmouth. She was
returning from might signal prac-
tice in the open sea Two almost
simultaneous explosions were
heard by the men aboard the ac-
companying torpedo boats.
The Exemouth was broken into
three pieces and sank at once.
The torpedo boats rescued 1s5
wounded sailors. the rest OF the
crew Of $50 souls having perishsd-
The cause of the disaster is un-
known.
During the reading Of this appal-
ling message several OF the officers
had risen in great agitation Their
chief signaled them to be seated. and
in the midst of q deathly silence, he
spoke:
The Worst OF All
Gentlemen, here Is the third and last
dispatch. II 1t is the longest. it 10
also the least shocking. but 1t is also
the only one which closely touches
our beloved country"
Now. unspeakabls anguish was
written in the faces OF most of the
trembling officers.
The admiral read, but this time
with an emotion which he made No
effort TO conceal:
Paris. EIneI Tower. Feb. 3. Gam.
Yesterday, February ?. at noon.
Fort Chavagnae. In st. Anne'B
Cove, Cherbourg Harbor. was
blown up. Five reports were
heard. Nothing OF Fort Chavag-
nae and the rock on which IL
stood remains at high tide but .
few jagged rocks.
As most OF the garrison were
on land, there were but three vie
tins, the gatekeeper, the sergeant
on duty, and a sentinel.
The catastrophe Is terrifying In
the light of Its suddenness and
the circumstances surrounding II.
The only access to be had to the
harbor OF Cherbourg Is by way o.
the eastern and western channelR-
Only the day before. wire nets
charged with electricity and SUBJ
merged had been placed across :
these channels by order OF the
ministry, In preparation for cer-
tain squadron maneuvers.
These nets were constantly pa
troHed by torpedo boats. and the
smallest of submarines could not
have passed through undiscovered.
since the nets were stretched from
the surface OF the water to the
bottom OF the see, and were con-
nected by electric bells with the
forts guarding the channel. The
fact that none OF these bells was
put in action Is proof that the
h0N1 ASN NSAN-CA 1Lg
point
II the destruction Of Fort Cha
vagnac Is attributed to the same
cause as that OF the Kaiser Fried e
erick II and the Evemouth. Il IL
impossible to think that this cause
Is a submarine, no matter OF what
rapidity and power. Therefore,
we are reduced to conjectures.
The admiral was silent
A murmur OF bewflderment and
despair ran through the room.
The officers looked dumbly at one
another. and tears stood In the eyss
OF some.
None dared speak. and. indeed.
there was nothing to be said.
Anguish tore their hearts. and 70
was all the more tragic because at
the bottom OF IT all was that same
jeered-at mystery OF the day beforsi