New-York tribune., 1918-06-02
Naval Men BelieveCyclops
MysteryNever WiuBeSolved
Many theories Advanced for Disappearance but Loss
Storm Idea FINDS Most General Acceptance-l7 Other
U. S. N. Vessels Have Vanished Since 1881
WASHINGTON, June 1.-what be-

WASHINGTON, June What be-
ZANE Of the missing collier Cyclops?
Ia she prize in some German port
,he victim Of treachery? Does she lie
disabled in some unfrequented cove Of
The tropical seas driven there and
helpless by accident?
Or has she made her last voyage and
Nth more than 800 souls turned up
N Port of Missing Men to join seven
teen other ships of the American navy
which have disappeared just as mys-
teriously since 1871?
Sailing from Barbados, in the West
indies, March 4. with a complement of
sss men. the great 19,0oO-ton naval
collier has not been sighted since or
reported. Ry order of the Navy De-
oartment all available navy craft in
southern waters have been making a
dragnet search for the vessel, but daily
lie conviction among officials grows
sronger that the great modern mys-
ery of the sea will remain unsolved.
But the search for the ship still is
maintained with undated intensity.
Cruisers and destroyers have retraced
her route. Every island among the
scores that dot that portion of the sea
is being carefully scrutinized for any
clew But the unremitting anxiety of
the searchers has failed to disclose
any trace Of snip apparently plucked
in q day from the busy lanes of the
South American trade routes.
Many Theories for Disappearance
To account for the disappearance of
the Cyclops there have been suggested
many theories-all possible. none en-
tirely plausible.
Was she blown into fragments by a
heavy charge of explosives placed in
her hold before she left port? This
explanation is hardly acceptable be-
cause wreckage would have covered
the sea for many miles around.
Was she torpedoed and sunk with
out trace" by German submarine
that had crossed the Atlantic to prev
upon comparatively unprotected ship
ping? That theory is discounted, be-
cause in such a case at least a few
S. o. S. calls could have been sent out
before the Cyclops went under. More
over, floating wreckage certainly would
have been found.
Was she attacked and captured bv a
maraudirg enemy raider that had
slipped into the Atlantic after eludine
the British fleets? Even if attacked. it
is claimed, the Golfers wireless would
have put her in communication with
other naval vessels or merchant ship
ping.
Did enemy agents, carefully "plant-
ed" among the ships personnel, seize
control Of the Cyclops in the night and
dlsmantle the radio to make wireless
communication with the outside world
impossible! This explanation has but
little support because it is claimed that
small enemy force hardly could be
expected to reduce to prisoners a force
OF nearly zoo men, many of them naval
YeseYvsts.
Naval Men Blame Storm
Again, if taken by an enemy force
abroad where is the Cyclops now
Every bay, every inlet capable of ad-
mitting vessel of her draft, has been
carefully searched. She had not enough
eooa III mex DunherS TO make the trans
atlantic trip to some German port
Moreover, one engine was out of COM
mission, cutting down her speed TO ten
knots. Even if additional coal
had been procured, she hardly could
have slipped past the British patrols
INTO some German port. Her limping
gait would have made her an easy VIC
tim for the fast Allied destroyers or
cruisers.
Did the crew succumb to the effects
Of poisonous gas given off by her
cargo of manganese? Hardly, it is
thought, because all shipping men used
to cargoes of that character take pre-
caution to eliminate the danger.
Did the big vessel of 10 900 tons dis
placement, constructed with a view to
outstanding the heaviest weather,
founder in a severe tropical storm
This theory sounds unreasonable to
many who believed the ship capable Of
riding safely out of any storm she
might encounter, yet in view Of all the
Known circumstances the explanation is
accepted by most naval officials as the
most probable account for the disap-
pearance