The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-01-17
BRITISH CAPTAIN
 LEAVES CREW OF HUNS TO PERISH
Suffering From the Delus- ion That He Had Been Poisoned He Afterward Died From Sheer Fight; Letters Threatening His Life Were the Primary Cause Added to the Fact That He Was Made Ill From a Cigarette Sent by Mail.

London, Jan. 17.---(Corresp spondence of The Associated Press)---Captain William Martin, of the British trawler King Stephen, who, from fear of treachery, refused to take off the crew of the disabled Zeppelin L-19 in the North Sea in February, 1916, died Il months later of nervous collapse caused by the mistaken belief that he had been poisoned. This and other fac. concerning the incident now are available for the first time and it ia possible to tell the story in detail. It Is believed here that the IS Germans composing the crew of the L-19 per ished.
 The action of Captain Martin evoked denunciations of alleged Brit izh inhumanity" in the German press i which compared the affair to the eel e5rated Baralong case. It Is claimed | here that public opinion upheld Cap tain Martin in his position that if he had taken the Germans on board the trawler they would have captured the vessel and his unarmed crew of ten men. It will be recalled they Rev.
 Arthur W. Ingram, Bishop of London,
 publicly declared, We ought to stand
 by a skipper. The Germans have killed chivalry In war time
 Because of his action, Captain Mar ton, 1t is learned, received 8 number of letters threatening his life. About II months after the North Sea incl dent, he became III after smoking a cigarette from a package sent him by mail and he was convinced that the cigarette contained poison. Analysis
 of the tobacco proved that his fears
 were unfounded but he never recov-
 cred from the shock. The verdict of
 his physician was that he died from
 sheer fright.
 The L-19 had taken part in a raid
 eve. the midland counties of England
 in which 67 non-combatants were
 killed and 117 injured. The Zeppelin was damaged by gunfire and com pelled to descend to the North Sea where Captain Martin of the King stephen found her resting in the wa ter. According to Captain Martins story the Zeppelins commander of. fered a reward if he would take of the German crew but Martin refused 2 saying, "I don't trust you"
 4 T had talked it over with Georg, Denny, my mate," Captain Martin i. H quoted as saying. "and we agreed tha E if we lowered a. boat and sent some o the crew to the Zeppelin they wouk \ be kept prisoners until we did as tn, B Germans wished which would prob 5 ably be that in the end we shouIt \ have them take charge of the ship they came on board, or if we refused to fetch them off they would carr, I the crew of our boat Town with them ! 1 was deter nined to take on risks know what the Germans had done t
 our class in the North Sea, and, be
 sides, Zeppelin crews dropping bomb
 on houses and killing women an
 children didn't appeal to me. Ther
 were IS Germans and only ten of Il
 and you could scarcely imagine thei
 allowing rus to take them as prison
 CTS. There were two to one.
 s So l told the commander plainI ' that nothing he could say would in B duce me to rescue them. It was nc < nice feeling to leave IS men | g drown even If they were your enc Inies When the commander saw " were leaving and that there was II 6 chance of being rescued, he ant tn f others set up howl Their rage WIZ f awful. Shaking their fists in despai Ei they kept shouting out, 'Gott. stra1
 England. And they kept shoutin
 this again and again as long as W
 were within hearing. The weatht
 had been steadily growing worse ar E as no other vessel was in sight E knew the Germans were doomed. b, E l felt that I had done the right thi1 R under the circumstances"