The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-01-07
HAD FACES
OF PUTTY
German U Boat Crews Show No Ex-
preston, Joy or Sorrow In
the Masks They
Wear,
by Edwin Hullinger, United Press
Staff Correspondent

by Edwin Hullinger, United Press
Staff Correspondent
fIARWTCH, Eng, Dec. Is = (By
Maid What kind OF fellows per-
sonaIly are these German submarine
sailors-they who used to go about
sinking passenger and hospital ships
without warning?
This is question every American
has asked himself at some time.
From a British launch today l saw
hundreds of DEMONSTRATING IN gro
tesque groups on the q boats decks,
tumbling from the submarine into
the launch, and leaning against their
kits as the launch hurried them back
to their trans2ort-+and I talked per-
sonally with dozens of them.
The first personal impression as
your launch draws up beside sub
marine is the boyishness OF the faces
before you. Many seemed from ID
to Is. Several admitted they were
Is. one II.
The next is the remarkable ex-
pression1essness of their features.
You had expected to find sulleness,
or detection, or spite. Instead you
find yourself looking into group OF
absolute masks, registering neither
Joy nor sorrow. relief or strain, pleas
ure nor hate-absolutely nothing Civ
ing the faintest hint as to what is
going on behind You never realized
before the capacity Of the German
physiognomy to conceal feeling.
You came to find desperate men
You found Strengthening boys, in
grotesque nondescript uniforms.
Some wore the conventional gray
ish jacket worn by locomotive and
stationary enginemen in the states.
others combined the regular blue
jacket of the German navy with
pair of olive khaki trousers. Still
others had their engineers jacket
over an ordinary dark brown or
black pair of civilians trousers. All
had the little round blue cap OF the
German jackie.
As the crew swarmed off the sub
marine into the launch it became
apparent all were not boys. Here
and there was a man OF 30, bristling
in a four or five days growth of
whiskers Here was chap of 26,
looking as if he had just come out
| OF a machine shop.
Once aboard, the masks dropped
/ from their faces, and l wes soon
/ surrounded by a ring of eager, smil-
/ ing German boys with fat cneeXs
and friendly blue eyes, all trying to
answer all questions al once.
The element of bitterness seemed
10 De gone from the situation from
their point OF view. The surrender
had wiped that out" And now they
wanted to begin over again and be
friends.
They were not seafaring boys
never had been and never would be.
The one at my elbow was from Ber-
lin, the one beyond from the Rhine
land; another from Dusseldorf.
They were mostly inland boys
They knew nothing OF the tradi.
tons Of the sea Several years ago
they had never seen salt water.
Which probably partly explains the
absence OF depression. They were
not SO much concerned with the fact
that the German navy had been the
first navy in history 10 deliver itself
almost intact TO an enemy in surren
der BE they were concerned that this
was the final act necessary to end
the war.
Occasionally, of course, a sober
face told q different story.
1t seemed sucl an incongruous
picture-that OF these youngsters
scurrying down the steel ladders
swapping shut the matches and rush
Ing to the torpedo tubes to commit
murder of the worst kind. Stand
ing there right at your elbow, they
looked so harmless.
The officers, however, were of a
different stamp. There was one IL
particular. 20-year-old lieutenant
from Hanover He was a fine-look
ing chap, light hair, clean features
friendly blue eyes and an easy smile
(which served to accentuate the per
version and bitterness of his point
of view.
How incredible it sounded when he
replied, with a smile, Certainly, sub
marine commanders willingly carried
out orders TO sink passenger .silips
with women and children aboard
e They were glad to do it. That i!
? war;"
i 1t seemed SO incredible, from {
: fellow like that, | asked him to re
peat. He said the same thing oyel
. again. slowly, with the same smile
| and seemed TO see nothing odd il