Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-01-14
ESTABLISHED 1866
GREATEST NAVAL DISGRACE
Story Of the Surrender OF the Big
German Fleet
EVENT DESCRIBED BY SPECIAL WRITER
Here Is the Human Interest Side OF
the Most Remarkable Naval Collapse
the World Has Ever Known-Won-
derful Victory Without the Firing of
a Shot.

derful Victory Without the Firing OF
a Shot.
"One may have been around this
war from Lapland to Bagdad and from
St. Nazaire to Moscow, as l have
been," writes a staff correspondent OF
the New York World in a dispatch
that adds human outlines to the mea-
ger cabled accounts of the stran5est
naval surrender in history. "One may
have seen the most impressive hap
penings; but the few minutes follow
ing s.15 on the morning of November
q on the bridge of the Texas. will al
ways remain the most unforgetable."
1t was q day, as seen by this corre-
spondent, primarily Of "shattering hu-
man humiliation" Even among the
British and American sailors there
was little Of the rejoicing and uplift
of heart that might have accompanied
a sea victory bought and paid for in
the old way British and American
seamen felt as If their own profession
was being held up to ignomy," writes
the correspondent, "and they them
selves indirectly compromised" For,
as the sea-fighters' logic ran:
There has never been any naval
surrender in history like this. Span
iards, French, Russians-all came out,
in similar circumstances of certain
doom, and fought their ships to the
end. They might have fought these
ships, they might have scuttled them,
a few brave souls might have put up
a death -or-g glory SHOW in the waters
of the North sea- But no. There's
no use in it. 1t won't help us. So
don't let's do it," they may have ar
gued.
The correspondent, on going aboard
the Texas the evening before the day
Of the surrender, discovered that the
attitude of the American feet toward
the Teutonic debacle was unconcern
mixed with contempt. He writes:
The FIVE United States battleships
forming the sixth battle squadron of
the Grand Fleet New York, Texas,
Arkansas, Wyoming and Florida,
clearly distinguishable from all other
dreadnoughts by their lattice masts,
lay in the Firth of Fourth very nearly
under the giant bridge spanning that
waterway. AS far as the eye could see
in every direction there were dotted
warships, while in and out courseG
pinnaces and launches. Arrived at
the top of the accommodation-ladder,
the executive officer led me to the ad-
mirars cabin-there being no admi-
raj aboard.
Make yourself comfy and ther
come right along to the wardroom
We're having a sort Of a hop" / ex-
pected a score of officers, British ano
American, bunny -hugging" to a pi
ano. Instead I came upon a score O.
pretty English women, officers wivec
and daughters. fox-trotting with Brit.
ish and American officers to the
strains of jazz band. In one corner
lay spread out the most ravishing pre-.
war tea of cream and sugar and but
ter and white bread and delightful
cakes and dainties. And so we
. trotted to jazz for the rest of the even
ing, on the Texas, while the Germans
in one winding cortege twenty miles
long, were mournfully finding theil
way towards us, now guided clear OF
British mine-fields by wireless, now
hesitating at mine fields of their own
long since swept up by us. The Duke
of Richmond's ball at Brussels the
night before Waterloo was nothing to
this. One lived each moment of each
minute. The dramatic note was apt
to be intense. What were those Ger
mans doing, saying, thinking, out in
the North sea that night as we toasted
Der Tag at dinner. and then repaired
to a cinema show aboard? To get an
gle, one must bear in mind that q
mans ship is his home. his life, his
all. The sailors attitude to his ship
is one of awed affection; his primitive
instincts impel him to defend her as
lioness defends her cubs. And here
were the Germans sailing on, on, or
to surrender, to degradation, to Mem
esis-while we jazz-trotted in uncon-
cern.
Beatty's famous operation order
No. o." showing that the British COM
mander was going to take no chances
with German trickery, was received
and commented on. A young Ameri-
can officer explained to the correspon-
dent:
What we fear most is stunt by q
submarine manned entirely by officers
They might easily get couple OF oul
ships before being done in themselves
Any battle squadron that should be
attacked has orders to scatter. The
rest of the line will continue as II
nothing had happened. But II soil
tary gun -turret moves on the German
surface ships, why the whole burned
lot will be blown out of the water
The whole business makes you want
to sit up and rub your temples. First
people I've ever met who couldn't be
even kicked into a fight"
Five minutes later we were watch
ing "a Princess Of the Blood" on the
cinema and discussing movie stars
But this night Of nights it was i'm
possible to get away from the business
In hand. "One of our patrol boats has
picked them up one hundred and fifty
miles east of May island. Quite be-
having themselves" announces new
conner from the bridge. And ones
thoughts going wandering again. Here
was the kaisers dream vanishing ev'
cry minute into the Scottish mists. =
dying navy-a navy that had kept Eu-
rope from sleeping peacefully in It's
bed for nigh twenty years-a nav!
built for trouble complete from its IN
tricate U-boat microphones to its
pretty women agents dotted around
the capitals Of Europe. And this was