Show THE APIA DISASTER THE maio marine disaster at samoa has in some of its features no parallel in modern times aphes at sea have even within a space as limited as apia abia harbor been more extensive and appalling but the vessels destroyed by the fury of the wind and waves have not been of the same class two american war ships the trenton and Van daHa totally wrecked and the nipsie disabled the loss of life to our navy being more than forty is a remarkable occurrence ger banys share of the destruction is even larger than ours two comparatively ively new and splendidly constructed war vessels the eber slid and aber completely extinguished and another the olga rendered helpless by being thrown upon a reef the storm entailing a loss of ninety six german lives A number of theories have been improvised in the absence of definite information as to the reason for the escape of the english warship calope the idea of superior beama seama seamanship iship Is id generally discredited and all kinds of plausible but not very solid constructions are placed upon the fact to account for it this indisposition to take the most feasible view of the matter is to say the least ungenerous As against the theory of immunity because of seamanlike foresight it is explained that the english vessel was the only ship which had steam up when the ibe storm arose this does not destroy the strong probability of superior discernment cern ment as the getting up of steam was in all likelihood a result of the perception of the approach of the terrible blast that the vessel might be ready to put out to sea am and thus avoid the danger of being branded one of the lessons to the civilized people involved in the samoan is in the line of magnanimity the incidents connected with the boarding of the american merchantman ch antman constitution by officers of a german war ship are still fresh the latter expressed an intention of searching the yankee ship for contraband of war the plucky little captain of the constitution owed a fight by clearing for action and stating that any active attempt to carry out the searching purt part of the pro gramme would be met with resistance the germans then desisted resisted des isted from carrying out their purpose afterwards the american vessel was wrecked in plain sight eight of the olga which offered no assistance si to the distressed mariners marinero ma her officers and crew gazing with oo coolness and with satisfaction at their struggles to save themselves and their ship now consider the course of the savage inhabitants of apia abia on the day following the great storm that destroyed the warships the olga was stranded and helpless mataafa and his men who had been fired upon by the guns of that vessel did not stand upon the shore and rub their hands bands with glee because of the calamity that had befallen their foes instead of following the heartless example of the germans toward the ans anthe savages in large number did noble and capable service in endeavoring to float the olga thus in a test of magnanimity a barbarous people proved themselves superior to those advanced in the scale of civilization the apia abia disaster is singular agular from a number of aspects besides that th associated with the character of the vessels destroyed an incipient war had been in progress between factions of the aboriginal inhabitants of the islands three of the leading nations of the world also taking a hand in the struggle either actively or by efforts put forth to protect interests involved A halt had been called resulting in a suspension of costill ties pending a resort to diplomacy As if impatient of delay and anxious to continue the conflict the elements took up the struggle where men left it and in short order wiped out some of the formidable implements used by mankind in making war upon each other it is but another lesson regarding the impotency of man and his contrivances when seized in the grasp of the mighty amigh wind and hurled and driven hither or thither as chaff by its ite resistless force |