Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1918-06-24
SEIZED WARSHlP SUNK.
Passengers Give Details OF Former
German Gunboat's End.

An Atlantic Port, June 24.-PaSsen-
gers on an American steamship from
the West Indies, which brought here
Sunday Capt w. D. Wells and 215
members Of the Grey Of the U. S. 8.
Schurz, the former German gunboat
Geier. which was sunk off the coast of
North Carolina last Friday after
collding with the tank steamer Flor
ida, told a thrilling story Of rescue
after the 8. o. S. call sent out by the
Schurz had been picked up at o'clock
in the morning.
1t was dawn when the SchurZ and
Florida collided, and few minutes
later passengers on the rescue ship
wore startled by hearing cracking
notes from the wireless room and then
feeling the vessel leap forward under
added steam as she dashed to the res
cue.
Dressing hastily and coming on deck,
they saw in the distance the Schurz,
with deep cash in it's side lying low
in the water, while near by stood the
Florida unchanged.
After the vessel had picked up many
seamen, it took aboard others rescued
by the Florida. Just as the last sur
vivor was drawn from the water, the
Schurz disappeared under the waves
The Florida resumed its course and
the rescue ship headed for this port.
1t was in October 1914, that the
Schurz, then the Geier, first claimed
the attention of the world. With the
Pacific cleared of German naval bases
the little gunboat Of only 1900 tons
put out from Using Tau, China, to con-
voy the German steamer Lockson to
Honolulu, arriving there Oct Is.
| The next day came threat from the
United States government to close the
Marconi station at Honolulu for flash
| ing word Of its arrived and thereby
threatening Americas neutrality.
The Geier took many days to coal
and more to make engine repairs.
Meanwhile, the Japanese cruisers Rizon
and Asama were reported off the en-
trance of the harbor. waiting for it to
put out. and the Japanese embassy at
Washington was requesting that it
either be forced to leave or else submit
to internment.
| On Nov 8, 1914 having refused to
run the gauntlet the previous midnight,
the vessel was interned at Honolulu.
On Jan. /, 1916 the Geier was or
Edered conveyed to San Francisco be-
cause Of the mental ailments to which
the crew were said to have become vic
tins because Of the heat at Honolulu.
When. a few days later American
naval officers took charge, 1t was found
that the engines had been wrecked by
a fire said to have been started by the
crew. A few days later it was dscov-
cred that altho it's officers had been or
dered to turn over all their arms, they
had concealed aboard the vessel num-
Der of machine guns and a quantity
Of ammunition.
In June, 1917, it was announced that
the Geier was to be used by the United
States navy and that its name had been
changed to Schurz.
Last December came the revelation
that while the Geier was informed its
wireless apparatus relayed messages
to German agents in Japan, while Its
band played lively tunes to drown out
the telltale sound of cracking eaec-
tricity.
With the discovery of the diary OF
Karl Grasshof, captain of the Geier
it was learned that while Grasshof and
his subordinates were enjoying the
protection Of the United States and
while America was still neutral, they
had violated the obligations Of interna-
tional hospitality by assisting Coun,
Won Bernstorff in plotting trouble FOL
the United States and Japan.