Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1918-06-06
FOUR SHIPS SUNK
BY U-BOATS OFF
JERSEY COAST
U. S. Destroyers and AirpIanes
Hunt Submarines.
Is VESSELS MAY BE LOST
American Warships Reported to Have
Sent Diver to Bottom and Cap
tured Another-SurVivors Res
cued and Taken to Port
Big Passenger Steam
er Missing.

An Atlantic Port, June 4.-The long
! threatened German U-boat offensive
against the American Atlantic sea-
| board has started. It is being carried
out by at least two, probably more,
! submarines of giant construction and
| more heavily armed than any under
water raiders encountered before.
The zone of operations seems to
center on the strip of water off the
highlands Of New Jersey. The vic
! tins thus far accounted for have been
| cOaStWiSe vessels, no transatlantic
ship having been attacked at last ac-
! counts.
Fifteen Ships May Be Sunk.
-Four vessels are definitely known
! to have been sunk ;; two others are
reported to have been destroyed, and
one more, a large steamer, is long
overdue and is feared to have been
| lost.
Reports from many sources, none
Of them officially confirmed, place the
4 number of vessels sunk as high as 10.
| It is believed this number is 0veres-
timated.
TWO U-Boats Reported Lost.
| There also are reports that the u
boats have been accounted for by the
American destrOyers and other de-
fense ships which were rushed out to
sea at the first alarm. One report
says that one OF the raiders was sunk,
and another report asserts that sec
ond of the underwater craft was cap
| tured.
This latter report said that the
crew of the raider was being brought
into an American port on board a de-
stroyer. Neither OF these reports can
be confirmed officially.
Officers of the naval intelligence
bureau were understood to be trying
to confirm reports that an engagement
| took place between American Destroy
erS and German submarines off the
Virginia coast.
Fear Big Steamer Lost.
Gravest fear is expressed for the
New York and Porto Rican line
steamer Carolina. The Carolina was
bound from West Indian port for an
Atlantic port, carrying 22O passengers
and crew of 120 members. Wire
less reports for help are reported to
have come from the vessel saying that
it was being attacked.
Survivors Reach Port.
Hbo+ tI1o rin haua bpnn on.
Grating for long time was indicated
when Is survivors Of three vessels
some Of whom were reported to have
been held prisoner eleven days on a
U-boat, reached port on an American
steamship which picked them up after
the submarine set them adrift.
The Is men were survivors of two
schooners and an Oil tanker, it was re-
ported.
Atlantic Ports Closed. :
With the first reports of the reid
orders were issued to close all the At.
lantic ports to shipping from Newport
News as far north as New England
All outward bound ships were forbid
den to leave and close inspection was
kept on all incoming ships,
Several hours later the port of Bos-
ton was again opened for traffic, which
indicated that the danger was over in
the northern section of the coast at
4 least.
AirpIanes Patrol Coast.
Fifty or more airplanes, REINFORCED
by hydroplanes, are patrOlling the
Long Island coast, every observer
keeping a sharp lookout for hostile
submarines.
Statement by Daniels.
Washington, June 4. = Secretary
Daniels issued the following state
ment:
Reports received by the navy de-
partment show that the following YES
sells have been sunk:
"Jacob III. Haskell, schooner, 1862
tons, from Boston for Norfolk, II In
crew. No passengers.
'Tsabel B. Wiley, in ballast, tonnage
Gil, crew eight.
4 "Hattie Dunn of Rockland, Me-, ton
mage 365, in ballast, for Charleston.
Edward Ell. Cole, Boston, tonnage
1895, in ballast, for Norfolk, crew of
IL.
Herbert L. Pratt steamship oil
tanker, sunk about five miles south of
Overfalls Lightship, Delaware Capes,
SO on board Thirty-seven Of the crew
landed at Lewes one lost.
"All the crews of the above-named
vessels except one man lost from the
4 Pratt were rescued.
\ 'Tt appears that the schooner Edna,
u which was found bottom-side up sew
eral days ago and towed into Lewes,
. L IL ofi ofA