The Penn's Grove record., 1919-08-22
Americas Debt To Them

cans TO contribute to the fund for
Polish merchant seamen which is be-
!, o IA sed in Great .itain and her
colonies. but most Americans have a
bazv idea of the services and deeds of
! tha men of the British merchant ma
rine during the war. These Americans
wonder why they should be asked by
co1ntrvmen of theirs-the appeal hoes
not come from the other side-to swell
a fund that is to be used for the bene-
fit of 10000 British civilian sailors who
wore disabled on the high seas or need
a helping hand. There is at least a
sentimental reason why Americans
should respond, if they can. and there
is scarcely any one who cannot give
his mite. Seventeen thousand British
sailors of the merchant marine lost
their lives in the W nearly three
times the number of men of the British
Navy who were killed in action. and
these civilian sailors played a part in
the war. on patrol duty, on mine sweep
ers. on auxiliary cruisers. on trans
norts and cargo carriers. in many other
s. capacities. that cannot be extolled too
much. The American Ambassador in
Great Britain has said:
Ihere Is no 6lOli u Pd6S III
the history of the war than that con-
tributed to their bravery and self
sacrifice in the face of known and con-
slant danger. all the more terrible be-
cause it could not be foreseen. They
made it possible to transport the
armies of Britain and the United States
to France and to provision them when
there. They kept the commerce of the
allied world alive n brought, not
alone munitions to troops, but food and
fuel to the people of the allied
tries. They are the men who de1ed
and defeated the base ~iniquity of the
German submarine campaign, and it is
not too much to say that without their
brave devotion the world war would
not have been Won.
Admiral Sims. Chairman of the hon
orarv committee of Americas tribute
to British Merchant Seamen. who never
gives praise when it is not due nor ever
fails in his duty to our allies, has said
that without the British merchant
"seamen our army and navy would
"have been helpless" 1t is not neces-
sary to quote British testimony, but it
may be said that the merchant seamen
have no greater admirers than Adj
miral Lord Beresford, Admiral Jelli-
eoe. and Admiral Beatty. From Cap
tain Daniel Dow of the Lusitania and
Mauretania, whom Americans know so
well for his skill and intelligent cour-
age. down to the humblest fisherman
engaged in m~ine-sweeping, the British
merchants sailors proved themselves of
heroic mold from beginning to end of
the war.
The spirit of these men was always
like that Of Commodore Dance of the
East India Company's service, who
formed his merchant ships in line of
battle and actually beat off tbs squad
ron of Admiral Linois in the Indian
OCEAN. To see a submarine was to try
to ram it, or to exchange shot for shot
and go down sometimes with colors
flying. with our mercantile ma
''rine, the navy, indeed the natien,
could not exist" said Admira Jellicoe
could not exist" said Admiral Jellicoe
When one thinks of the innnumer-
able cases of unarmed ships being sunk
by torpedo or gun fire far from land,
in heavy seas, with the ships company
dependent upon boats alone for their
SdltN. one - IOSl ia az w
spirit of heroism of those who not only
endure dangers and h%ardships without
complaint, but are ever ready to take
the risks again and again in repeated
voyages in other ships.
And for the most part these brave
men We're unsung heroes. They did
their duty without expecting deeora-
tions or even mention. They were
satisfied to do their bit in helping to
heat the enemy, and when they could
fight him they never let the opportun-
, iIy pass. They had a heart for any
fate. In the mass they were like the
! sturdy master of the Clan Macleod,
who summoned on board the German
submarine tina shelled his crew in
boats replied to the charge of the
submarine commander, You are assist
ing my enemy" by saying dauntlessly,
II am your enemy" Some one has
said that "if for these men there is no
WESTMINSTER Abbey at last, let us at
least know them and be able to take
"off our hats to them in their life"
They We're killed by thousands, they
were killed or disabled for life in
greater numbers, they knew the dan
ger and never quailed before it. With
out them the submarine patrol would
have been overwhelmed by the enemy.
Without them American warships as
well as British warships, American
liners and cargo carriers as well as
British, would have been destroyed by
floating mines. The American Expe-
dictionary Force at sea owed its Sc
curity largely to them. Gratitude cam
4 ~ fo,l g .%oatf -, xyf11inp ROn-
tributions to the fund for the relief or
the disabled and the care of the
, crippled.