Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1919-06-24
BRITISH PAPERS
SEE HUNS ACT
IN MANY WAYS
Some Call Sinking of Surrcn-
dcred Ships COwardly and
TreacherOus Move.
SETTLES HARD PROBLEM
FOR ALLIED NATIONS
Is Now No Question of Disposal OF
German Navy-Warships Sunk
on Orders of Commander
Reuter-.

regarded by most editorial writers
here as fresh example of German
faithlessness. There are many indlg-
nant denunciations of the act OF the
Germans. "A gross outrage "a de.
lberate violation of the armlstice"
and, trcachery,' are some of the eX-
pressions used by this mornings
papers.
1t is contcnded that the carrying
out of Admiral Won Reuters order
automatically annuls the armistice
and renders the admiral subject to
the death penalty and all concerned
to long terms of penal servltude,
some papers demand that the allies
exact fullest penalties, including im>
mediate payment of 70,0O0,0OO gold
as the value of the fleet.
Several writer's, however, express
the opinion that not withstanding the
Outrageous. act, tie allies are there
BY relieved of an awkward question
as to the disposal of the surrender
ed fleet, which owing to a divergence
of opinion between America and Great
British and the other European pow
ers might have developed On differ
ence difficult to compose. Those who
advocate this view, nevertheless, re-
gret that the ships were sunk while
the fleet was in Great Britain as she
had favored the sinking of the ships
in the face of continental opinion.
Some Germans Drowned.
Although reports have stated that
six Germans were killed and 10
wounded when the boats of the Ger
man fleet in Scapa Flow were fired
upon SUBSEQUENT to the scuttling of
the German fleet, The Daily Mail
says that others may have been
drowned and that some may possibly
have reached the Orkney Islands and
have not as yet been reported.
Admiral Ordered Sinking.
Admiral Won Reuter- commander of
the surrendered German fleet says he
issued an order to sink the ships,
the Daily Mail adds, and die so be-
cause at the beginning of the war
the German emperor directed that no
German war ships should fall in to
the enemy's hands. He says that he
believed from newspaper reports, that
the armistice had been ended.
Admiral Won Reuter- visited Ger
many some weeks ago, it being under
stood at the time that the reason for
his trip there was that he was i'll, but
he soon returned and it is believed
that at that time he circulated the
order to sink the German ships by
evading the censorship or making
signals to the various vessels, an act
which the close proximity of the Ger
man ships made quite easy. The
Mail quotes the admiralty as denying
that the German crews were periodi-
cally changed and saying that the orr
ginal crews remained on board the
vessels. There were from $50 to 20C
men on big ships and from 10 to 20 or
board the destroyers. Therefore
there We're nearly five thousand in
the water or in the ships bows when
| the fleet was sunk. Fourteen hun
dred were captured by the British at
Nigg Russhire, on the northern shore
of Cromarty Firth, They were plac-
ed in Hutments and are being held
, under military guard.
Sea Valves Opened.
From the behavior of the ships, ac-
cording to the Mail, it was evident
the sea valves had been opened and
in surprisingly short time the
vessels, big and small, began to set
tie down. Every effort was made by
the British naval craft to beach the
sinking ships, and in the case OF
destroyers considerable success was
achieved BY o'clock in the after
noon, however what an hour before
had been stately fleet riding calm
ly at anchor was an array of reel
ing rocking battleships the doom OF
which was written in their move
ments.
Here a destroyer would disappea,
amid a cloud of steam and there g
battleship would take her, last plunge
and disappear in cloud of spray
One would settle down by the sterr
and another would heel over until on
ly the keel showed above water. The
Berfflinger, Hindenburg, Won De,
Tam, Moltke and Seydlitz settled
down beside each other, the last nam.
ed turning turtle as she filled with
water. Her keel is still showing
where she capsized. The waters OF
Scarpa Flow We're dotted with small
boats full of men who had with dram.
attic suddenness settled the question
| of the disposition of the interned
ships.
Thought Peace Signed.
The Germans We're not aware that
the armistice had been extended I'M
til Monday and there was an almost
continuous heel clicking and salutine
as the officers of various ships greet.
ed each other on coming aboard. That
the Germans were ready for the event
was apparent from the amount and
variety of the gear they had with
them, some seamen staggering under