The Republican journal., 1918-07-04

miles. The course is what is known as a
zigzag course, the idea being to battle the
U-boat as much as possible so that it can
not launch its torpedoes with any GER
tainty of their reaching their destination.
The wireless was not in operation for
sending. We received the messages con-
stantly which our operator picked out of
the air, but we sent no messages because
the sending of message is one method
of notifying the U-boat of the presence
of the ship. So the ships ply their way
across the Atlantic doing no sending
whatever. They do however keep their
receivers open because they frequently
hear of U-boat attacks and thus are able
to change their route to avoid them. We
heard of several alarming incidents as
we journeyed across the Atlantic. Sixty
miles off our port side a ship was sunk by
a U-boat when in mid ocean, thing that
was rather rare in the experience of u
boats it being the general experience
that the U-boat has radius of only some
! five or six hundred miles from shore and
does not often 60 so far into the Atlantic.
When we were about eleven or twelve
days out we were joined by eight British
destroyers and we felt great satisfaction
! in their approach. There had been GER
tain nervousness all the way across the
Atlantic because our lights were abso-
lutely dimmed at night, except in the
stateroomS, where we were allowed to
have light. But our port holes were all
painted black and there was feeling of
gloom about the ship that gets on your
nerves after a length of time. So that
morning when these British destroyers
showed up with bone in their teeth, as
the expression is, for the little waves of
foam about the Prov, | tell you they
looked mighty good to US.
We Americans are very prone to boast
funess. 1t is the national vice. 1t is a
mighty fine patriotic thought that lies
back of it, but my friends, it sometimes
does a grave injustice to our friends and
associates across the sea. l want to point
out to you that we were sailing in a
Scotch ship. We were conveyed across
| the Atlantic by a British cruiser and we
were finally met by eight British Destroy
ers Not from the time that we left the
dock in New York until we landed in
Ireland did we see the Stars and Stripes.
That means simply this: That this great
war which we entered with so much
buster and braggadocio found US utterly
and absolutely unprepared, and so at the
very outset of transporting our troops
across the world, even to get them where
they could fight, we had to lean upon the
strong navy of Britain, and thank God,
that wonderful navy has served us mag
nificently. (Applaus>)
On the afternoon of the 18th day out
we had the first real entertainment aboard
ship We had boxing contest on the
after deck and it was sight to fill the
heart of real, red-blooded fighting man
with pride to see those fellows strip for
the fray. They were clean hmbed, fair
fighting Americans That is the spirit of
America fair play in fair sport. We be-
leve that those same men who have
always been taught to play fair are going
to fight fair across the the world, even
though the foe they are to fight is the
drtiest, the most dastardly and the most
despicable foe that the world ever has
known. (Appla use)
| think perhaps that bout that after
noon on the after deck was n unfortunate
thing for us because it called out on our
ship a great assemblage of boys dressed
in khaki. The deck presented a wonder
full sight. Every available inch of space
was taken by these American lads in their
khaki uniforms. They filled the yard
arms. They filled the lifeboats They
stood in every available space, and they
made great, brown blur all over the
ship.
Now, it is thought that when the de-
stroyers left their Scotch or Irish base to
come out to convoy us they were prob
ably followed to sea by U boat. And SO
she picked US up and probably she lay
some place off mile or two distant with
her periscope just showing above the
water and probably saw this ship, the
Tuscania, which stood out most promi-
nently of all in the convoy. Ahead of US
was the Baltic, which was much larger
than our ship. We were but $4,000 tons
and the Baltic was 10000, but they kept
their men indoors. We saw hardly any
thing of the passengers of the other ships
that were in our convoy. But this day
we seemed to throw discretion to the
winds and it was a disastrous thing for
us because we were nearing the most
dangerous waters of the world, the waters
of the Irish Sea. In fact it was not very
long before somebody on the ship called
out Gland Hop and soon we saw the
coast of ireland and a little while after
the coast of Scotland came into viow and
we were coming nearer and nearer to the
m Jst dangerous part of the world, the
home of the submarine.
1t was about $50 in the evening when
took little walk about the deck, and
standing up forward had little CONVEX
sation with young fellow, Lieutenant
Binney, big, fine, outstanding fellow.
never saw anybody that | thought was
better able to look after himself than
Lieutenant Binney. He told me this was
his thirteenth trip across. He said: "You
know, am not superstitious, but l will
feel mighty glad when we dock" He
said: 81 have had quite a good deal OF
anxiety during this trip" Poor fellow,
he was lost that night, merely an ex-
ample of how some of US, much less able
to take care of ourselves than these splen-
did boys, escaped death, while some Of
the finest fellows aboard the ship went
down to a watery grave.
had gone about the ship three or foul
times when l came forward and Binney
hailed me again. He said: "Weil, we are
safe now. 1t is SO dark that the U-boat
could not possibly see to hit US if he tried
now" 1t is just at the dusk and the
dawn the two hours that the U-boat Sc
lects for it's task because then the ships
stand out with vividness on the horizon
while the periscope of the submarine
cannot be discerned at all, and Binney
felt that we were then in a zone that was
SO dark that it would be impossible fol
us to. be seen. l said to him, ''You are
mistaken, Lieutenant have just come
from the starboard side and in the dull