THE BEE: OMAHA. SATURDAY, MAY 14, 15)21.
7
Daring Destroyers of United
Navy
Were
Declares Former Secretary- Daniels
By JOSEPHUS DANIELS
rwmr Swntvy tht Niy III to 1121.
CvHht. 1121. ty John r. Olllt. Crlhl ky Natlanal Nnmnr S.rvlct. Cayrfaht In Gr.f Brlt
tll, Ciaill lit thrwaNt Frnitt. All nihil mtnti. ItieMKl trimUtloii Into faraltn
UfWtMi latltllii tht SifillM. Uatuthorlu raprlntlni lor y urpoi torbHdi.
Making its way across the North Atlantic a convoy of troopships
was ctilt nearly 500 miles from land when a fledgling army officer who
wii making his first trip across, remarked: "All you can hear about now
adays is the navy; the navy this, the navy that; but as far as I can see,
the navy is not doing much in this war."
" One of the civilians in the party rose to his feet, pulled out his
watch and said; "In 10 minutes six United States destroyers will meet
this convoy " ' .
"What are you talking abouf?" said the officer; "how do you know?"
"Well," returned the civilianJ'it is now 4:05 o'clock. The destroyers
are ordered to meet this convoy at 4:15 p. m., and they will be here."-
The party went put on deck to
natch and to the minute, at 4:15,
there hove in sight six destroyers.
Swinging into line on each side of
the convoy, the saucy little vessels,
hjtaving foam and spray from bow
tJ stern, spanked along through the
heavy seas.
"Good heavens," exclaimed the
officer, "if these little destroyers can
csme 500 miles to sea in any kind of
weather, keep their schedule and
locate on a convoy on the dot, I will
believe anything I hear regarding
the navy.""
1 Backbone of Convoy System.
That story was told me by a man
who was on that transport, and
nothing could better illustrate the
efficiency of these splendid grey
hounds of the sea. They went out
afcd stayed out in all kinds of
w.eathcr, performing ' their duties in
sun and storm, guarding troopships
aid cargo- transports, liners and
Merchant vessels keeping open the
sea lanes for the flow of troops,
munitions and commerce. They were
tlje backbone of the convoy system,
far they were the escort through the
clanger zone.
JThe deadliest foe of the submarine,
tlje very presence of destroyers was
uiually sufficient cause for the U
boat to submerge and scurry away.
For every subnarine encounter there
were a score of, submarine avoid
afices. tYet our destroyers in Euro
pean waters were credited with 256
aCtacks on tl-boats, and there were
not a few exciting eucounters.
In all the annals of the war there
5 no more striking example of
pjompt action and quick results than
that of the Fanning and Nicholson
on November 17, 1917.
Gets. Glimpse of Periscope.
. These destroyers' were escorting a
6nvoy hi British waters when at
4jl0 p. m. Coxswain Loomis, lookout
on the Fanning, caught the glint of
a pcriscopev I' was a nnKer Per'"
sJope. a tiny thing only an inch and
ajhalf in diameter, no larger than a
walking stick. It was lifted far only
a!few seconds, but the keen eyes of
Lpomis caught a glimpse, of it, and,
he estimated its distance and loca
tion three points on the port bow,
4Q0 yards distant, moving across the
bjw at two knots speed. ;'- j
Thc Fanning headed for 'the. spot,
full speed, and as if crossed the
course dropped a depth bomb, lhc
.Nicholson changed course and was
dashing across to drop another
charge when the conning tower of
the submarine appeared. The Nich
olson headed for the submarine full
speed and the Fanning turned in her
wake to attack. The . Nicholson
dropped a depth charge alongside
the U-boat and turned, firing from
her stern gun. The sub's bow came
up rapidly.. She seemed to- be down
by the stern and " was evidently
damaged, but tried to right herself
and increased her speed. As the
Nicholson cleared the Fanning
opened fire with her bow gun. At
the" third shot the "German crew
came . on deck and held up their
hands. - At 4:28 the submarine sur
rendered. It had been only 18 min
utes since ' Loomis had sighted her
eriscope.
Scuttle Surrendered Boat.
'The destroyers got a line to the
crippled craft, preparing to take it
in. tow. But two ofiti crew disap
peared for a moment. They scuttled
tnt boat.. As it sank the Germans
jv.nipcd 5nto the water and swam
for the Fanning. Heaving lines were
thrown to them, and all but one
managed to get aboard. When it
was seen that he was sinking, two of
th.e Fanning's men. Chief Pharma
cist's Mate Elzer Harwell and Cox
swain Francis G.' Connor, jumped
overboard to rescue him. They got
him aboard the Fanning, but in spite
of, all efforts to resuscitate him he
died.
:The Germans were eiven hot cof
fee, sandwiches and cigarets. Men of
the Fanning loaned their warm cloth
ing, and no prisoners were ever bet-
boats that were to take them ashore
they cheered the Farming and its
crews. . .. " ! - '
The O'Brien, Trippe. Warrington,
Tenkins. Wadsworth, Cummmgs,
Wykes, Benham, Parker, Jacob
Jones, McDougal, Davis, Conyng
ham, Allen, Reid, Stewart, Porter,
Pattersoif, Beale, Burrows, Allen,
Sterrett and Tucker were officially
credited by tihe British admiralty
with successful attacks, and there w ere
others which probably deserved it,
bt were not able to present such
clear evidence. For the authorities
over there required pretty good evi
dence, before they gave any credits.
i'The gallant destroyers did most
tj combat the submarine menace.
They were the bully boys who al
vftys kept the subs on the run. At
sf a two-thirds of the time, they
escorted three-fourths of the trans
ajiantic tonnage in and out of Eu
ropean ports. Some of them made
astounding records. The first year
after we entered the war at least
three, the Porter,. Davis and
Gonyngham, steamed about 65,000
rtiles each, nearly three times the
distance around- the globe, while
the Caldwell for some time aver
aged 8,500 miles a month, over 280
miles a day. No class of ship, big
or little, ever excelled this record.
"Cnt Him Anything He Wants";
Regarding the Caldwell, I must
tell you a little story about Com
mander Byron McCandless. At the
beginning of the war he was my
nval aid, and when he begged to
go to sea he was assigned. to this
destroyer, then building at Mare
inland. He reached the California
nvy yard not long after the keel
ufas laid. Impatient to get his ship
finished, he wa.s on the job day and
sight He banged away, at it so
Deadly Fear,
persistently that the workmen called
him "Capt. King-Bang."
One day the acting chief of naval
operations came into my office with
a telegram from McCandless ask
ing that' a laundry be installed in
the Caldwell. He handed me a
letter he had prepared disapproving
the request. "Hold on there, now,"
I said, "That officer is working
overtime to get his ship done. Give
him anything he wants, and send it
by express." Then the acting chief
held out his other hand. It con
tained a dispatch approving the re
quest. "I knew you would want
this dispatch, Mr. Secretary," he
said, "but I thought I would see
first what I could do with, the let
ter," Makes Double Record.
McCandless finished his ship in
record time and for his trial trip
made another record by making the
run from San Francisco through the
Panama canal to Hampton at a
speed of 30 knots an hour. After
a short rest he took her across the
Atlantic and made another record
in the war zone.
Their skill in navigating, in locat
ing convoys or vessels in distress or
boats containing survivors was posi
tively uncanny. When the President
Lincoln was sunk 500 miles at sea
the Smith and the Warrington hur-1
ried to the rescue. Other snips in
the convoy had sent by wireless the
location as they hurried away to es
cape the submarine. The two de
stroyers were 250 miles from the
scene. That, wireless message was
all they had to steer by. The Lin
coln was sunk about 9 o'clock in the
morning, and it w.as 11. o'clock that
night when the rescuers reached the
locality. But so accurately had the
destroyed oftkers estimated the drift
that in the darkness they almost ran
into the rafts. Can you imagine a
nicer piece of calculation than that?
Drop Bombs on Sub.
As they speeded toward Brest,
1512 DOUGLAS STREET
Beauty of Style Commands Attention
in These Dainty Organdie Frocks
WITH . their special pricing,
their freshness in appearance,
rich new colorings and won
derful styles these exquisite Organ
die dresses are bound to win many
friends here Saturday.
Stunning New Sport
M
AKINGr
that : has . ever been this store's
privilege to show. .
new Tricolettes in the richest of color
ings. Wonderfully embroidered, braided
and lace trimmed creations.
Unusual
FRESH from their packings we offer
for Saturday these striking new ar
rival sport skirts, novel checks, silk
faille, wool stripes and plaids. iYou'll
readily recognize them as being worth
decidedly more than
May Sale of Silk Underwear
Now is the time to lay in your complete
supply
-at $1.95
Fine
Silk Jersey
- Vests.
Several Styles
States
of U-Boats,
their decks crowded with the hun
dreds of survivors, the Smith and
Warrington discovered signs ot a
submarine. Rushing to the attack,
they dropped depth bombs all around
the location. They had estimated it
so accurately that though the sub
descended to so great a depth that
the water threatened to crush in its
sides, the depth bombs shook it like
an earthquake. And that undersea
craft hiding beneath them turned
out to be the very submarine that
had sunk the Lincoln, the U-90. It
got away at last, but that German
certainly had a narrow escape.
A thrilling example of the courage,
quick decision and prompt action
that characterized the destroyer
force was that of the Shaw, October
11. 1918
Escorting the big British transport
Aquitania, the Shaw was just com
pleting the right leg of a zig-zag that
brought it close to the convoy when
its rudder jammed. As the huge
transport turned the destroyer was
aimed straight toward its side. Com
mander William Glassford, captain
of the destroyer, realized that a col
lision was ; inevitable. Either de
stroyer or transport would he sacri
ficed. If the sharp prowed destroyer
struck the Aquitania, the big
transport, with 8,000 men aboard,
might be ripped and sunk, with heavy
loss of life.
Captain Sacrifices His Ship.
Glassford decided instantly to sac
rifice his own ship. Unable to turn
it aside, he gave the order, "Full
astern? A moment later the
Aquitania struck the destroyer and
sliced it almost in two, passing
through it without even slowing
speed. Striking just forward of the
bridge, the Aquitania ' cut off 90
feet of Shaw's bow and raked the
whole length of her side, stripping
open- tne torwara Doner room ana
tearing out the mainmast, which, in
falling, jammed the starboard en
gine. . -
Sparks ignited the oil in the tor-
ward tank, setting fire to the vessel.
The Duncan and the Kimberly went
to the assistance of the Shaw, the
Kimberly rescuing the survivors in
the bow, which was floating 200
yards from the remainder of the
ship.
Bring Vessel Into Port.
That the vessel kept afloat at all
seemed remarkable;, to get it to
port appeared almost impossible.
But those brave boys of the Shaw
put out the fire in the face of burst
ing ammunition. They rigged up
its engines and got them working
again and repaired the steering gear.
their initial appear
$ 1 1
ance Saturday are hosts of
' the smartest sport dresses
Wonderful effects in Organdie, Taffeta, Crepe de ...
Chine and Tricolettc. Rich combinations of colors.
The moderateness of . price makes them, doubly, at
' , tractive.
Blouse Values of Interest
. -r a t t 1 ' 1 11 '
Ruali value giving reacnes its iuii-
est scope in this unusual blouse
offering. Smart Georgettes and
Values in Sport Skirts
of silk undertmngs. .
-at $2.95
Jersey Vests,
Bloomers,
Satin Camisoles,
Crepe de Chine
And they navigated that remnant of
a ship to port, reaching Portland at
1:30 in the afternoon. Two of its
officers and 10 men of -its crew
were dead, killed in the collision.
Three officers and 12 men were in
jured. Its bow and most of the
forward part of the ship was gone.
But what was left of it was in
port; and it was taken to a ship
yard, a new forward part built on
it and in a few months it was again
in commission, and is doing splen
did service in the navy today..
Could there be a better tribute
than that to the stanchness of our
destroyers and the undying spirit
and superb efficiency of their officers
and men?
(Another articls by former ttcretarj
Dantala will ba printed tomorrow.)
State Tax Commissioner
Explains Assessments
Lincoln, May 13. (Special.)
Complaints filed with W. H. Os
borne, state tax commissioner, by
the Standard Oil company against
assessments put on the company's
oil tank resulted in the issuance of
the following statement by Os
borne;
"Assessors valued oil tanks from
a schedule on that subject sent out
recently from this office. The com
pany now declares this to be too
high. I learned from factories at
Omaha the prices paid by the com
pany for its tanks. I gave these
figures to the assessors as a basis
to work on telling them to assess
the property in the same manner
they assessed other property."
Forest Protection Week
To Be Observed May 22-29
Lincoln. May 13. (Special.)
In a proclamation issued today Gov,
S. R. McKelvie set aside the week
of May 22 to 29 as Forest Protec
tion week. He urged organizations
to devote their energies that week
toward instilling in, the minds ot
the public the necessity of providing
protection for the country's forests.
i
Lincoln Man Elected Head
Of Schools at Oxford
Oxford, Neb., May 13. (Special.)
Lowell S. Devoe of Lincoln has
been elected superintendent of the
Oxford schools to succeed R. B.
Thornton, who goes to Guide Rock.
Plan Amusement Park
Beatrice, Neb., May 13. (Special.)
Waylon Miller, wealthy land own
er living west of Beatrice, has pur
chased property just west of the
Court street bridge in West Bea
trice, where he expects to establish
an amusement park this summer,
A labor university is to be 'con
structed in Brussels, Belgium, which
will unite the 25 professional schools
scattered around Brussels.
50
Dresses
A (ST
V yl W
J) I
$5
"at $3.95
Extra Heavy Jersey,
Vests, Bloomers,
Satin Camisoles,
Teddy Bears
$J975
m m
League Debates
In Nebraska Arc
Being Planned
1 1 " "
Townley and Langer Will
Meet in Series of Talks
One May Be Held iu
Omaha.
Lincoln, May 13. Ilalf a dozen
debates will take place in Nebraska
during the last week in May be
tween A. C. Townley, president of
the National Nonpartisan league,
and former. Attorney General Wil
liam Langer of North Dakota, ac
cording to announcement made to-
ipi
Menhere's the issue that contributes
mightily toward Barker's ability to
offer better style selections
To assemble a stock of clothing, from one or two houses
means to take all the gooJ, bad and indifferent because
every house specializes on some particular type of suit, and
naturally neglects the balance of their line. Barker's method
of selecting the Best and only the Best from more than
- twenty 'of America's Foremost Clothes Makers permits the
widest of selections and every, one ia masterpiece.
The New Low Level in Clothing
Prices Is HereInvestigate!
Men in eveiy walk of life have awaited the
Clothing Market to descend to that stage where
a dollar bought a full dollar's worth of Cloth
ing. That time hat arrived at Barker's. There is
no need for further waiting and watcfiing.
Come in compare today's values with the best
you encountered in 1914. We'll abide by your
judgment.
2nd Floor
day from the league's state head
quarters here.
One of these debates probably
will take place in Beatrice and an
other may be held in Omaha. The
date and place of each will be an
nounced later. The series is to start
May 25 and terminate on the 31st.
It is expected that local posts of
the American Legions in towns
where the discussions take place
will make arrangements in Langer's
behalf.
Langer and Townley are now
making a tour of Kansas
and presenting the facts about Non
partisan league rule in North Da
kota from their opposite points of
view. '
Bank Charter Extended
Washington, D. C. May' 13.
(Special Telegram.) The charter of
Merchants National bank of Ne
braska City, Neb., has been ex
tended to May 13, 1941.'
Wenty &efc ahove
It's only logical that Barker Y
should offer the best values
because they've eliminated-"
Gigantic ground floor rentals .
Losses from bad book accounts '
f High insurance rates
Investments in elaborate fixtures
Barker's reputation for value and style su
premacy in Omaha's Clothing Field should be
your reason for coming in for a try-on tomorrow.
Assure yourself of a positive
saving of at least $10.00 by
taking the elevator direct to
I ' - -
Securities Bldg.
A Word It matters not whether you are big or small, fat or
About Size thin. There's a Barker suhVthat will fit you Tight.
York Farmer Cleared
Of Alienation Charge
1
Lincoln, May 13. (Special.) It
took a jury in federal court 15 min
utes to return a verdict in favor of
Henry Branr, wealthy farmer near
York, in a $5,000 alienation of af
fection suit brought against him by
Frank Amos, St. Joseph street car
motorman.
Amos charged that gifts of money
and clothes bestowed on his wife
by Brans, on trips to St. Joseph
won her affections, caused her to
leave home and marry Bran. He
obtained a divorce a few months
later.
The woman in the case is 30 and
good looking. While she was at
tending the trial yesterday she was
arrested on a charge of cashing a
no-fund check on a Lincoln depart
ment stone. Testimony at the trial
showed she was married four times
the RISK pent
16th and
and was divorced the same numbci
cf times. "
Alleged Insane Woman to
Get Money Paid for Stock
Lincoln, May 13.1 Fannie E
Griggs of Raymond, alleged to hav
been insane when she purchased.
$44,255 worth of stock of the Ne
braska Building and Investment
conipanv, was awarded a verdict for
$43,410.?2 by a district court jury
here today. The suit Mas brought
by Mrs. Griggs guardian, C. D. Coe
First Open Air Concert
At Deshler Well Attended
Deshler, Neb., May 13.-(Spccial.)
Over 1,000 attended the first open
air concert given by the Deshler
band. These concerts will be given
every Thursday evening during the
summer under the auspices of the
Commercial club.
Farnam
