Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-08-16
SANK LUS|TAN|A,
WRECKED GERMANY
U-Boat Captain, Now Reported
Dead, Was Pioneer of
Empires Ruin.

1t is reported from London that the
| German Admiralty has admitted the death
| in September 1917 of Lieut.. Commander
| Schweiger, captain Of the submarine that
sank the Lusitania In command of the
U-boat SS, he is said to have run into a
British minefield in the Blight of Heligo-
land, and his boat to have blown up,
There is a certain plausibiity of poetic
Justice in his end but if he had been
human and not n German machine, he
should have lived until he made away
with himself or, his mind broken with
intolerable rememhrances, he should have
passed long years IN madhouse. But he
was only n German. He only obeyed or
ders To do the arch-doed of pitilcss
savagery was to win promotion With
what delirium Of rejoicing, ahoehorn to
what endless bumpers was that exploit
celebrated hy the German tribes,
Schweiger being only = German, we
cannot hope that any doubt, much less
any rcmorsc. ever intcrfcred with his self
conpIacencV We cannot imagine that
in the swift surge of memories IN the brain
of drowning mCn he saw his victims
struggling IN the sea soon 70 Ec.his grave,
that he heard the crlCS Of those babies
those children. those women; that, III the
dark closing round hIm. he feared the
straugling hands Of those nigh 500 ghosts
4 fat score If murder his. but what IS II
compared with the millions that Germany
has murdered
Vet this humble agent of tho German
Death merits place conspicuous among
all her lnnumcrallc dcvlsCrs of dCstruc-
tion The horror Of his act is unforgct-
table even in the procession of genuine
German deeds Il was the pioneer Of
German rum II laN breeding bitterness,
IN the American consciousness II was
the seed and prelude ut american entrance
INTO the war. There is torpedo coming
sir. = said the second officer 10 the captain
that Nav afternoon uiT the Old Head Of
klnsalc II did its work well II did nm
infinitely greater work II WAS the signal
of German downfall SchwcIgcr should
nave lived To sec tho sequel. 10 sec tho
drawers Of the sword perish by the sword
He should have lived 70 500 those 1T
American dead nf thu Iusitania avenged
" ell he wcut 10 his place last fall His
cid principal. Won Iirpttz knows what
ever prctcnsc~ hc keeps up ihat tho sub
marine. dWindlng and futile Ms i is, was
the fatal briugcT ot diSastor to Germany
IS for lleut commander SchWcigcr
kaiscr lie i, Il ncurotIc. With an ImaEina
tion IS defeat thIckcuS aS ultimate rum
gathers visiily around hm what eeascl,~>
gnaving regrets what ~lc,plce~ fears for
his precious house, mtist bcsot hlm lie Is
no fool lie can suffer " hat docs, he
tmnk of the l1lsltauia. II his whole sub
marine fec-faw fun Wha' docs hc think
% - Helena as an imperial all-thc-ycar
villa N,s the halSer is ucllrotlc When
doubts ~ lis divinity occur - the god
who shall salvc his vanity When q
woTl-dominator finds the world lndon,-
itallc against him how Is he a. get ont ~
the scrapc' Ncmav assume that Schweig
er waS >tolid Tie kmser not from re-
mcr~c hut from disappointment IS hkclN
enough to get mere than Il litle install
mcnf 81 punishment pridc ai7ascd swol-
len ambitions prickod, something like
Hell on earth which is lucky FOR HIM
The Prince of Darkness. as > gentleman.
has to draw the line somewhere Pre-
sumahly he has LAID ont . No Mans
and for German shadows After all
one has reputation and tries Is keep a
respectable house New Nark Times