The Hawaiian gazette., 1918-09-24
ENEMY SABOTAGE
CAUSE Of LOSS Of
VESSEL IS BELIEF
Many Young Merchant Marine
Cadets Ihoupht To Have Gone
To Bottom Electromagnetic
FORMER GERMAN CREW :
Is UNDER SUSPICION
Craft Left San Francisco For
Manila Long Time Ago and
Has Not Been Heard OF Since

Enemy sabotage efForta- are. halIeysd
to be directly responsible for the prob
able loss of the lives of twenty five
or thirty young merchant marine
cadets and crew Of about twenty
seamen and officers on the four mnstcd
bark MOnOngahcla, formerly IN the
Hawaiian service, which has faIlCd to
reach Manila after voyage of more
than l6O days
The MOnOngahcla is the former Ger
man bark Dobck, later known as tho
Red Jacket, which was taken over by
the government at Manila following
the declaration of war against Ger
many.
Honolulu shipping men attribute tn"
loss of the Monongahcla to a belief
that her main beams were sawed
through by her former German crew
or other pro Hun sympathisers, so she
quickly fOundercd when she was hit
byra typhoon.
since the MOnOgahela sailed from san
Francisco four months ago it has been
aseertalned that the crews of other
former German sailing vessels had used
this method Of partly destroying their
ships so they would be rendered use
less to the American government and
would sink when struck by heavy seas.
1t has not been definitely decided, but
it is believed the partial destruction
OF the German sailing vessels occurred
at the same time when the machinery
Of former German steamers was demo
lished, subsequent to the severance of
diplomatic relations with Germany
Given Up As Lost
News Of the loss of the MononIahpla
reached Honolulu on steamer from
Manila. When this steamer left Ma
Mia twenty days ago the bark Monon
gahela had been given up as lost with
her cadets, crew and officers as she
was then l42 days out of san Fran
cisco. On even a voyage of more than
ordinary delay through bad weather
she should have made the voyage to
Manila from San Francisco in sev enty
five or one hundred days
The only other possible reason as,
cribed for the non arrival of the Mo-
HOngahela is that she has been cap
tured by an enemy raider, but as there
has been no recent report Of raider
activity in the Pacific the belief is
more generally held that the bark went
down in a typhoon.
The steamer which brought the news
of the loss of the Monongahcla to Ho
nolulu went out to Manila last July ard
encountered two big typhoons on hr'
outward voyage and passed through
three more on her return voyage. She
managed to weather all but the last
with little damage
In the last typhoon this steamer had
nearly all the glass of her doors and
windows smashed in hv waves and wind
and Purser Burgctt had narrow cs
cape from being carried overheard
Purser Is Battered
The pursPr left his quarters in the
after section of the main dcrk Just
when big wave swept over the steam
err He was carried off his feet and
back against the supports of thc poop
deck. Here he managed to save hIm
self, but was badly battered about his
head before the wave passed over him
Loss of the MonOngahrla j. IN" more
tragic because Of the marine cadets
who it is nearly certain went 10 wat"rv
graves on their maiden Nuvnyr. Those
were boys who had responded to the
patriotic call on the mainland to- pr"
pare Themselves as future officers nf
America = new mcrrhHut murIu" \"Hr
lv all of them were recruited in San
Francisco and nearby California rrti"S
when the Mouongahrln was last in
Honolulu she was in command Of Cap
tain Rasmussen an uncle Of James Ra~
mussen the chief officer Of tn" Mntso
MIA. Captain Rasmussen Ie belle, rd TO
have been still in command Of tn" Mo
nongahela when she sailed from San
Francisco for ManIa
The MOnongahcla mad" s">r rral vow
ages early this year to II"u"lulu With
coal caTgOcs for the lu'rr Island. re-
turning to the mainIauI with sugar and
pineappIes. She had Il cnrgo rHpHrltv
of about 1900 tons
W S. s.
j. ?. Foster OF PaIa. MaW VA an
arrival on the Mauna k"a yesterday
and is a guest Mt the Young Motel.