PAGE EIGHTEEN ' THE DAILY BRITISH WHIG Pe ey UE 3 By ADMIRAL WILLIAM SOWDEN SIMS A Te EYE TUTE YORU YYYEeT OW Copyright, 1919, by The McClure Newspaper Syndicate. (3 TTT TY YY ETT YYY YY RETURN OF THE MAYFLOWER Britain Welcomes Our Men--Sinn Fein Demon-| strations Against U. tion of Leave--Citizens of Cork Keenly Dis- appointed. . Another officer who contributed greatly to the efficiency of the Ameri- can irons was Capt. E. R. G. R. Evans, R. N,, who was detailed by the British Admiralty to act as liaison officer with our destroyers, No more fortunate selection could have been made, Captain Evans had earned fame as second in command of the Scott Antarctic expedition; he. had. spent much time in the United States and knew our people well; indeed wh n war broke out he was lecturing in our country on his polar experiences. A few days before our division arrived Captain Evans had distinguished him- self in one of the most brilliant naval actions of the war. He was command- er of the destroyer leader .Broke--a "destroyer leader" being a destroyer of unusually large size; and in this battle three British vessels type fought six German destroyers. ptain Evans's ship sank one Ger- man destroyer and rammed another, | passing clear over its stern and cutting it nearly in two. i Second Destroyer Flotilla Arrives. | On May 17 a second American de- | stroyer flotilla of six ships arrived at eenstown. From that date until] uly bth, a new division put in nearly | every week. The six destroyers which | escorted our first troopships from America to France were promptly as- signed to duty with our forces in Irish | waters. Meanwhile other ships were! added On May 22 the Melville, the! "Mother Ship" of the destroyers ar-| . yived and became the flagship of all _ ears of all this work; "efcept major re- the fested from the very beginning, like- the American vessels stationed at] eenstown. This/ Tepair and supply | ship practically Wok the place of a| fockyard, so far as our destroyer] forces were concerned. - | Queenstown had been almost aban- | domed as a navy yard many years be- fore the European War and its facili- ties for the repair of warships were consequently very inadequate. The Melville relieved the British authori- ties, of many, responsibilities of this kind. She was able to do three-quart- rand those which required doek- | ing. Her resources for repairing de-| stroyers, or for providing for the] wants and comforts of our men,| aroused much admiration in British naval circles. The rapidity with which opr forces settled down to work, and seamanly skill which they mani- made the most favorable impres. sion. By July 5th we had thirty-four destroyers at Queenstown--a force that remained practically at that of this | Appropriateness {a particularly happy fulfillment of | S. Sailors Cause Restric-| now, when the liberties of mankind | were endangered, the descendsdria olf i the old Mayflower ploneers had in| their turn crossed the ocean--this | time going eastward--to fight for. the | | traditions of their race. The whole! | story appealed to the British masses | | as one of the great miracles of history | {-- single miserable little settlement | in-Massachusetts Bay expanding into a continent overflowing with resources | anc wealth; a shipload of men, | women and children developing, in | less; than three centuries, into a nation | ol more than 100,000,000 people. And the arrival of our destioyers, pictured | on the film, informed the British | people that all this youth and energy { bad been thrown upon their side of | the battle. | One circumstance gave a particular to the fact that I | commanded these forces. In 1910 1] had visited England as captain of the battleship Minnesota, a unit in a fleet which was then cruising in British and French waters. It was apparent even at that time that priparations were under way for a European war, on every hand there were plenty of evi- dences that Germany was determined to play her great stroke for the domi- nation of the world, In a report to the Admiral commanding our division I gave it as my opinion that the great European war would begin within four years. In a speech at the Guild- hall, where 800 of oyr sailors. were entertained at lunch by the Lord Mayor, Sir Vezey Strong, I used the words which got me into a good deal of trouble at the time and which have been much quoted since, "If the 'time should ever come," I said, "when the British Empire is menaced by a European coalition, Great Britam can rely upon the last ship, the last dollar, the last man, and the last drop of blood of her kin- dred beyond the sea." ' It is not sur- prising that the appearance of Ameri- can ships, commanded by the Ameri- ¢an who had spoken these words seven years before, strongly appealed | to the British sense of the dramatic. | Indeed, it struck the British people as | prophecy. These sentences were used as an introduction to the moving piet. ure film showing the arrival of our first destroyer division, and, for weeks after reaching England, I eould hard~ ly pick up a newspaper without these words of my Guildhall speech staring me in the face. Respect for the American Uniform, | Of course, any "American admiral George so much as those concerning our colored troops. A whole literature of negro yarns spread rapidly over Europe; most of them, I find have long since reached tlie United States. Indeed, the most lasting impression which I retain of the head of the British Empire is:that he is very ew vow evew beheihedhiedhadhe dhe veewew 2 rope, only one element in the popula- | toward the realization of their project. tion showed them any hostility or}l have great admiration for the mass even unfriendliness. At the moment | of the Irish people, and from the best when these lihes are being written a | elements of these ple the Ameri- delegation claiming te represent the |can sailors received only kindness. 1 "Irish Republic" is touring thé United | have therefore hesitated about telling States, asking Americans to extend | 'ust how some members of the Sinn their sympathy and contribute money | Fein party treated our men. But it seems that now, when this same brotherhood is attempting to stir up [to the offending priest by assigning him new duties at a considerable dis- hatred in this country against our {tarice from the American ships. Allies in the war. there is a certai pertinence in informing Americans ust what kind of treatment their | brave sailors met with at Sinn Fein | hands in Ireland. | The people of Queenstown and] Cork, as already described, received | our men with genuine Irish cordinlity. | Yet in a few weeks evidence of hostil- | ity in certain quarters was apparent. | The fact is that the part of Ireland in| which the Americans were stationed | was 8 headquarters of the Sinn Fein, The members of this organization were not only openly disloyal; they were openly pro-German. They were | not even neutral---they were working | dav and night for a German victory; | in their misguided minds a German victory signified an Irish Republic. It was no secret that the Sinan Feiners were 'sending information to Germany and 'constantly laying plots to inter- fere with the British and American navies, At first it might be supposed that the large umbér of ssilors--and some Et Irish extraétion on the American destroyers would tend to make things easier for our men. Quite the contrary proved to be the case. The Sinn Feiners apparently be- lieved that these so-called Irish Americans would sympathize with their cause; in their wildest moments they even hoped that our naval forces might champion it. But these splendid sailors were Americans before they were anything else; their cheif ambi- tion was the defeat of the Hun and they could not understand how any man anywhere could have any other | aim 'in life, They were disgusted at the large number of able-bodied men whom they saw. on the streets, and RETURN QF'THE "MAY- FLOWER." By B. F. Gribble, the English marine artist, purchased by the American Government. It por- trays the arrival of the first American destroyer division at Queenstown. . much of a human being: He loved just about the same things which the normal American or Englishman loves --~his family, his friends, his country, a good story, a pleasant evening with rongenial associates. As an evidence of the exceedingly feondial relations existing between the two navies the Admiralty proposed, in the latter part of May that I should assume Admiral Bayly's command for several days while he took a little va- { cation on the west coast of Ireland. Admiral Bayly was the commander- in-chief of all the British forces [spenders and their But even more serious trouble was rewing, for our officers discovered that the American sailors were mak- ing elaborate plans to protect them- { selves. Had this discovery not been made in time, something like an ifiter- national incident might have resulted. No Leaves at Cork. Much to our regret, therefore we haa to issue an order that no naval men, British or American, under the rank of Commander, should be per mitted to go to Cork, Ultimately we had nearly 8000 American men at this station; Queenstown itself is a small place of 6000 or 7000, so it is apparent that it did not posseSs the facilities for giving such a large number of men those relaxations which were necessary to their effici- ency. We established a club in Queenstown, provided moving pictures and other entertainments and did the best we could to keep our sailors con- tented. The citizens of Cork also keenly regretted our action. The great majority had formed a real fondness for our boys; and they regarded it as a great humiliation that the rowdy element had made it necessary to {keep our men out of their city. Many letters were printed in the Cork news. ° papers apologizing to the Americans and calling upon the people to take action that would justify us in re- scinding our order. The loss to Cork tradesmen was great: our men re- ceived not far from $200,000 to $300, 000 a month in pay; they were free presence in the neighborhood for nearly two vears would have meant a fortune to many of the local merchants. Yet we were obliged to refuse to accede to the numerous requests that the Ameri. can sailors be permitted to visit this city. . A committee of distinguished eitiz- ens of Cork, led by the Lord Mayor, came to Admiralty House to plead for the rescinding of this order. Admiral Bayly cross-examined = them very sharply. It appeared that the men who {had committed these offenses against {| American sailors had never beep { punished, Unless written guarantees were furnished = that there would be ne hostile demonstrations against Ameri- cans, Admiral Bayly refused to with- draw the ban and I fully concurred in || this decision. Unfortunately the com- mittee could give no such guarantee. We knew very well that the first a pearance of Americans in Cork would -| be the signal for a renewal of hostili- i i | ties, and the temper of our sailors was such that the most deplorable consequences might have resulted. We even discovered that the blacksmiths on the U. 8, 8. Melville were sunreptitionsly manufacturing weap- ons which our men could. conceal on their persons and with which they proposed to sally forth and"do battle with the Sinn Fein! So for the whole. period of our stay in Queenstown our sailors were compelled to keep away from the dangerous city. But the ---- SBE SO | situation was not without its humor- { ous aspects, Thus the pretty girls of | Cork, finding that the Americans i could. not come to them, decided to come to the Americans; every after- then commanding American naval operating on the Irish coast. This forces in European waters would have command thus included far more than been acclaimed as the living symbol | Queenstown; it comprised several of Anglo-American co-operation; and | naval stations and the considerable strength until November, 1918. Much of the work of patroling the seas to the west and south of Ireland and of convoying ships--the area "which, in many ways, was the most important field of submarine warfare--fell upon these American ships. The officers and crews began this work with such zest that, by Sie 1st, Twas justified in makimes the follow ing statement to the Navy Depart- ment: "It is gratifying to be able to report that the operations of our forces in these waters have proved not only very satisfactory, but also of value to the Allies in over- coming the submarine menace. The equipment and construction of our ships have proved adequate and su t and the personnel has shown an unusually high degree of enthusi- asm and ability to cope with the i presented." It is impossible to exaggerate the enthusiasm which the arrival of these vessels produced on the British pubs lie. America itself experienced some- thing of a thrill when the news was first published that our destroyers had reached pean waters, but this was mild compared with the joy which spread al over the British Isles. The it was simply as the representative of | the American people and the Ameri- can 'Navy that the British people | received me so appreciatively. At first the appearance of oor unif: | aroused much curiosity; our tightly- fitting. blouses were quite different from the British sack coats, and few people in London, in fact, knew who wa were, After our photographs had appeared in the press, however, the people always recognized us on the stieets. And then something quite upusual happened. That naval and military men should salute my staff was to have been expected, but that civilians should show this respect for the American uniform. was really un- precedented. Yet we were frequently greeted in this way. There were many evidences of in- terest in the "American Admiral" that were really affecting. Thus one day a message came from Lady Roberts, widow of the great soldier, Field Marshal Earl Roberts, saying that she was_desirous of meeting the "Ameri- can Admiral." I was very glad to go out in the country and pen a Sunday moon with her. is charming. ricans was mainly one of pride; our people had not yet suf- fered much from the European cata- clysm, and despite the fact that we were now active participants, the war still seemed very far off and unreal For this reason those American de- stroyers at Sueenstoun immediate became a symbol in the minds of the British represented white-haired old lady was very feeble, and had to spend most of her time in a wheelchair. But her mind was as bright as ever, and she -had been fol- lowing the war with the closest atten- tion. She listened with the keenest interest as I told her all about the submarines, 'and she asked innumer- lable questi: X HL A naval forces in Irish waters. Never be- fore, so I was informed, had a foreign naval officer commanded British naval forces in time of war, On May 27, therefore, I went to Queenstown and hoisted my flag on the staff in front of Admiralty House. I had some hesitation in doing this, fo: American Navy regulations stipu- late that an Admiral's flag shall be raised . only on a ship afloat, but Admiral Bayly was insistent that his flag should come down and that mine should up, and 1 decided that this technicality might be waived. The incident aroused great interest in England, but it started many queer rumors in Queenstown, One was that Admiral Bs iy and 1 had quarreled-- the British iral, strangely enough having departed in high geon and left me serenely in control. Another was that I had come to Queenstown, seized the reins out of Admiral Bayly's hands, thrown him out of the country, and taken over the govern- ment of Ireland on behalf of the United States, which rad new deter- mined to the island from British ression! However, in a few days ral Bayly returned and all went on as before. Hostility of the Sinn Fein. American naval forces spent in Eu- Rast WHE ENYRANOR TO QUERNSTOWN HARBOR. : -Bsed as heddquarters in this war, wes used also as a headquarters in Nelson's time. Until the Germans |] | risus oe ¥. H. POTEEL Lieut. Commander (Now Commander) Who was In come 'mand of the *'Wain- wright," 'a member of the. first American flotilla' to operate oh the other side. i In the nearly two years which the | c Wars, The Admiralty House, little importance in the recent war. But fn QUEENSTOWN FROM THE HARBOR. 'Hardly the type to tolerate behavior of this Rind took {fractured the assailant's skull and in did not hesitate to ask some of them why they were not fighting on the Western Front, Some of the Scuffies Occasionally an American sailor would be brought from Cork to Queenstown: in a condition that de- manded pressing medical attertion. When he regained copsciousness he would relate how he had suddenly been set upon by half a dozen roughs and beédten into a state of insensi- bility. Several of our men were severly injured in this way. At other times small groups were stoned by Sinn Fein sympathizers and there were many hostile demonstrations in mov- ing pieture houses and theatres. Even more frequently attacks were made. not upon the American sailors, but upon the Irish girls who accompanied lem. These chivalrous pro-German agitators would rush up and attempt to tear the girls away from our young men; they would pull down their hair, slap them and even kick them. Naturally American sailors were , and some bloody battles hostility was increased by one very regretable occurrence in Queens- town. An American sailor was prom- énading the main thoroughfare with an Irish girl, when an infuriated Sinn Feiner rushed up, began to abuse his former sweetheart in vile language, and attempted to Jay hands on her The American struck this hooligan a terrific blow; he fell backwards and struck his head on the cyrb. The fall a few hours he-was dead, We handed £3 iF majority: A naturally it did not im- noon a trainload would arrive at 'the Queenstown station, where our sailors { would greet them, give them a splen- did time, and then, in the evening, escort them to the station and send a happy crowd on their way home. But the Sinn Feiners interfered with. us in much more serious ways than this. They weré doing every- thing in their power to help Germany. With their assistance German agents and German spies were landed in Ireland. At one time the situation be- came so dangerous that I had to take experienced officers coyld ill be spared from our destroy- ers and assign them to our outlying air stations in Ireland. This, of course, proportionately weakened our fleet and did its part in prolonging the war, (Copyright, 1919, 'by the World's Work. The copyright of these articles in Great Britian is strictly reserved by Pearson's Magazine, London; with. out their permission no quotation may be made. Published by speeial paper Syndicate.) Where the Straw Came From. A eommercial traveller on leaving a certain hotel, said to the propriet- or: "Pardon the, but with what ma- terial do you stuff the beds. in your eseablishment?' "Why," landlord proudly, "with the best straw to be found in the whole coun- try!" "That," returned the tra veller, "is very interesting. know broke the camel's back." Prediction Disproved. He (after popping the question) Why are you crying, dearest? Did I offend you by my proposal? She--OW, no, dear, it's-not that, 1 am crying for pure joy. Mother has fdiot that I wouldn't get even a , {dockey for a sweetheart, and now I've got one after all - hh ATI whose services arrangenient with the MeClure Newss > said tha - I now* whence the straw came that Lalways told me that I.was such an -