The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1917-02-06
MEN OF NAVY SEE
YELLED INSULT
in FIRE ON CEIER
Believe Officers Of Interned Ger
man Gunboat Violated Their
Paroles When They Attempted
Destruction Of Their Vessel

There is intense feeling in Honolulu
at the violation Of their solemn paroles
by the officers Of the Geier, both be-
cause of the yelled insult TO the navy
officers and because of the reflection
upon officers of any service.
The word Of an officer is regarded
as sacred, and that Of the Germans was
accepted as any other officers would
have been.
In the very act of internment, the
officers of the Geier bound themselves
not TO take any part in the war what.
ever. In the damaging Of their YES.
sci they broke this obligation. They
also made themselves responsible for
the crew, paroles Of the individual mem.
beers Of which could not be taken. The
violation is regared as all the more re-
prehensible because Of the very large
liberty allowed the crew. Captain
Grasshof, for example, once made a
trip to Hilo. The men were not expect
ed to depart from the Islands, however.
Navy Responsible
The United States Navy officers In
Honolulu were made responsible for the
Geier aud Iocksun when the vessels
VI
Geieb when they damaged the vessel,
said to the Americans:
We do not trust you to live up to
your part of the agreement; therefore,
we will damage the vessel oil we can;
making IL useless if yon seize Il. -.
But II win be recalled that reports
have come from the States that mem
beers of crews of German vessels in.
termed in Atlantic ports had broken
their paroles. Army and navy officers
are under restraint as to the comments
they may make; civilians, however, are
not, and they condemn the acts Of the
Germans. The merchantmen, of course,
were not informed, and their officers are
not guilty as the naval officers were.
lowed To Pearl Harbor tfr., 4,
The Geier and collier Locksun were
towed to Pearl Harbor by the United
States Navy tug Navajo yesterday,
leaving the slip between Piers q and 8,
where there was so much action Sun
day, untenanted except for the German
merchantmen Pommern. The Geier was
Ia n down in the morning and the
Geier and Loeksun will remain at Pearl
Harbor indefinitely. 4, = .. T. ..
3 IL was remarked on tine Waterfront
yesterday that some one had an eye to
eventualities when the Geier was
moved from the naval slip to that be-
tween Piers and s. The coal pile
across Allen Street from the slip was
a miniature fort, from which rifles and
machine guns commanded the gun
.boat-n situation quite different from
that that would have obtained had the
Geier remained where she was.
The Geier's crew when she was
seized Sunday was $50 men, or 102
more than she had when she entered
here. The increase is attributed to
German reservists joining the crew.
Some have come from Manila, it was
stated, and others may have joined
here-but the fact remains that there
was q surprising growth. .@
Some of the members of the crew of
the Loeksun are held at the immigra-
tion station instead of at military posts
with the others from their vessel and
those from the Geier. Immigration
Inspector r. L. Halsey said that he was
not at liberty to make any statement
as to their number or as to the future
disposition of any of the men.