The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1919-06-24
GERMANY AGREES TO SIGN UNCONDITIONALLY Y
SURRENDERED HUN SHIPS WERE
SCUTTLED AND SUNK BY ORDER
OF GERMAN ADMIRAL IN CHARGE

London, June 23.--Although reports
have stated that six Germans were kill
ed and 10 wounded when the boats OF
the German fleet in Scapa Flow wer,
fired upon subsequent to the scuttlinG
! of the German fleet on saturday, the
| Daily Mail says that others may have
been drowned and that some may pos
sibly have reached the orkney Islands
and have not as yet been reported.
The main force of the British fleet
was absent, exercising at sea, when
the German ships We're sunk, only some
drifters, small warships and patrolling
aircraft being ON guard over the in
termed enemy squadron.
Admiral Won Reuter-, commander of
the surrendered German fleet. says
he issued an order to sink the ships,
the Daily Mail adds. and did so because
at the beginning of the war the Ger
man emperor directed that no German
warships should fall into the encmy's
hands, lie says that he believed. from
newspaper reports that the armistice
had been ended.
Admiral Won Reuter- visited Germany
some weeks ago, it being understood
at the time that the reason for his
trip there was that he was in; 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 German ships
made quite easy.
The Mail quotes the admiralty as
denying that the German crews were
periodically changed and saying that
the original crews remained ON board
the vessels. There were from $50 to
200 men on each of the big ships and
from 10 to 20 ON board each of the
destroyers. Therefore, there were nearly
5000 in the water or in the ships
boats when the fleet was sunk. -Four
teen hundred Were landed by the Brit
ish on Sunday at Nigg. Rushire, on
the northern short of Cromarty. Firth
They were placed in hutments and are
being held under military guard.
Ships Sink Rapidly
From the behavior of the ships, ac.
cording to the Mail, it was evident the
had been opened, and in a
surprisingly short time, the vessels,
big and small. began to settle down |
Every effort was made by the British |
naval craft to beach the sinking ships, |
and in the case of destroyers consider.
able success was achiVed. BY o'clock |
in the afternoon, however, what an |
hour before had been a stately fleet |
riding calmly at anchor was an
array of reeling, rocking battleships,
the doom of which was written in their
Here destroyer would disappear
amid cloud of steam, and there a
Dattleshlp would take her last plunge
and disappear in a cloud of spray. one
would settle down by the stern and
mother would heel over until only the
keel showed above water. The Derf-
'linger, Hindenburg, Won Der Tam
Moltke and Seydlitz settled down be
side each other, the last-named turn
ng turtle as she filled with water. Her
Keel still is showing where she cap
sized. The waters of Scapa Flow were
iotted with small boats fun of men
Who with dramatic suddenness had
ettled the question of the disposition
# the interned ships.
The first boatload was towed along
ide of II. NJ. S. Victorious by drifter.
German officer in the boat ordered
lis men to cheer. They responded with
hree "hochs." Craft of every DISPOSE
fn1 r..
'arShip. each towing boatloads of Ger
lans who Were taken on board the
'ictorious, the decks of which soon be
anne crowded with men and bundles.
Makes Grand Stand PLAY
n German officer who came aboard
ore sword and seemed to wish to
lake an impressive ceremony by hand
X it over to an officer who had been
/ command of a division Of interned
eStroyers.
We are not bolshevki." he said
'eiIoe was signed today. We had our
'ders and have carried them out" [
The Germans We're not aware that !
le armistice had been extended until a
onday and there was an almost con ID,
nuous heel-clicking and sauting as
lie Officers of various ships greeted =
-ch other on coming aboard. That e
e Germans were ready for the event
as apparent from the amount and o.,
'riety of the gear they had with
EN-, some seamcn staggering under -
e weight of bundles bigger than q
emselves, the salvage representing
erything from banjos to pet dogs. x
9TH the officers and men seemed very o
lXious that none of their ships T.
ould be saved. II
The officer, who wore the iron cross. IL
inted to the sinking ships and said: OF
See how the German navy goes
wn with its flags flying" Z
Such, however, was not the cause. A
British sailors had bombarded most W
the German ships and had hauled IN
wn the flags before the vessels went
der. III
May Salvage Few Ships tn
The prospect of salvaging a few NJ
ps is fairly hopeful, the Mail says. m
ne has gone down in really deep 10
ter. The Bleaching of the sinking at
ps proved n difficult and at times pa
dangerous matter. One DESTROYER Tn
lk heinz tnx,,a1 f,t