Bisbee daily review., 1918-07-20

Cherry Grove seven miles east of that place.
 WASHINGTON, July 19.-Announce- ment by the navy department tonight that the armored cruiser San Diego had been sunk today off the Long Island coast, indicated that German submarines may again be operating in American waters. The cause of tho vessels destruction and the casualties that may have resulted were unknown at late hour.
 The vessel itself was not regarded as a serious military loss. If she was a victim of enemy submarines, it is obvious that the U-boats are in the transport lanes and close to the ent- rance of New York harbOr, for the San Diego went down ten miles southeast of Fire Island.
 Until the statements of survivors definitely establish that the vessel was sunk by a torpedo, there will be a possibility that she struck a drifting defense mine or was sent down by ac- cidental internal explosion
 The only formal statement issued by the department was based on first re- ports. It follows:
 ''The navy department has received reports from the third naval district stating that the U. S. S. San Diego was sunk ten miles southeast of Fire Island light at 11:30 o'clock this morn ing. One officer and two boats crews were landed at life saving station No. 2S on Long Island. Other survivors are in boats and four steamers are standing by.
 50 far as can be ascertained there appears to have been no loss of life. The cause of the sinking has not yet been determined. The San Diego was an armored cruiser of 13,6SO tons dis placement and carried a complement of 1114 officers and men,"
 Late today it was reported in marine circles that wireless calls for assist ance had been picked up from an American coastwise steamer plying be- tween Boston and a southern port The steamer usually carried passen- gers.
 The san Diego was bound from the Portsmouth, N. H.. navy yard for New York when she was sunk.
 Captain H. H. Christy was in com mand and on board were 51 officers, 1O3O enlisted men and sixty-three ma rines. The vessel had been under going repairs at the navy yard. Late tonight the navy department wound add nothing to this statement and officers professed to have no in formation as to the cause of the loss or the number of survivors. It was ap- parent officials were prepared to hear some lives were lost.
 The return Of raiders was not unex- pected. The San Diego was the first major war ship to be lost since the country entered the war. None but commercial coastwise ships fell prey to the submarines on their first raid and in the war zone none but destroy CTS, transports and small patrol boats have been successfully attacked. De spite reports of attacks on other ships and that warnings had been sent to coastwise shipping to keep close to the coast. naval officials steadfastly main tain they had no information on which to believe that the submarines had come again. The sinking aroused the war spirit in the capital more than the news of the great drive by Americans in France. which as a proposition O. military importance is of vastly more concern than the loss of comparative ly unimportant ship and the loss of probably very few lives if any. All agencies which the navy department has at its command for hunting the submarines are in action and officials are still entirely confident of their ability to protect the coast. lf another raid has been started with the object of a popular agitation to cause the return of American naval forces m the war zone it will undoubtedly prove in that respect a failure.