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Show DISABLED SHIP TO GET 10 HELP DURIIGjATTLE Sinking of Three British Cruisers Causes Admiral ty to Establish a Rule as to Rescue Work TWO SUNK TRYING TO AID THE THIRD Total Loss of Life Nearly Sixty Officers and 1400 Men, Hope to Avoid Further Sacrifices LONDON Sept 25 10 40 p m Tb facts concerning the sinking of the British cruisers Aboukir Rogue and Cresny by a German submarine or sub marines in the North sea with a loss of nearly sixty officers and 1400 men are conta ned in an admiralty statement ssued tonight The reports of Commanders N chol son of the Cressy and Norton of the H6gu.e state that the Aboutir was h t by one torpedo and sunk m th rty fiye m nutes Three torpedoes were fired at the Cresgy one of the explos ves miss ng owly She lasted from thirty ve to forty five minutes The Hogue was struck tw ce ten to twenty seconds elapsing between the torpedoes and went under m -five m nutes Number of Foe Uncertain The Cressy fired on the Bubma me and some of the off cers were confi dent that the shots struck her Com mander Nicholson says that the three torpedoes directed aga nst his sh p m ght have been fired by the same sub marine and that there s no eal proof that more than one was engaged The repo ts show that the strictest d sc pi ne was ma nta ned and that acts of hero sm were performed but the adm ralty has establ shed the rule that such affa rs must be governed by the same laws as preva 1 u naval act ons and that d sabled sh ps must be left to the r own resources rather than tl at other ships should be jeopard zed by rescue work Text of Statement The staten ent follows The facts of this affair cannot be better convened to the public than by the reports of the senior officers wl o have surv ved and have landed in England The s nklng of the Aboukir was of course an ord nary hazard of pa roll Ing duty The Hogue and the C es sy how ever vere sunk because they proceeded to t e ass stance of t e r consor and remained w th eng nes stopped endeavor ng to sa e I fe thus p esen ng an easy and certain target to f ther submar ne attacks The natu a prompt ngs of 1 uman ity ha e n th s case ed to eavy looses wh ch wou d have been avo ded by stri t adherence to mi Hary con s derat ons Modern nava war Is pre sent ng us wl h so many ne v and strange s tuat ons that an error of judgment of this character s pardon ab e Rule of War Applied But t has been necessary to point out for the further guidance of his majesty s ships that cond tions which prevail when a vessel of a squadron s njured n a mine f eld or Is ex posed to submar e attack, are analogous to those which occur In ac t on and that the m e of leaving dts a led ships to their own resources is app Icable so far at any rate as large essels are concerned No act of humanity whether to friend or foe should lead to neg ect of the proper precautions and d spo si tions of war and no measures can be taken to save 1 te which preju dice the mil tary g tuatlon Sma 1 craft of all kinds should however be d re ted bj w reless to c ose on the damaged ship at a speed The oss of nearly s xty officers and 1400 men wou d not ha e been g udged If It had been brought about b gun fire In an open act on But It is peculiarly dtst esslng under the conditions which prevailed The ab ence of any of the ardor and excite ment of an engagement d d not, how ever prevent the d splay of disci pline cheerful courage and ready self sacrif ce among all ranks and ra ngs exposed to th ordeal The duty on which these vessels were engaged was an essential part of the arrangements by which the control of the seas and the safety of the countrj are ma nta i ned and the lives ost are as usefully as neces (Continued on Page Two.) DIS1EB SHIPS 10 . HELP THEMSELVES (Contimiod from Pnpo One.) snrlly and as gloriously devoted tn the requirements of his majeiy's Kervir a1 if the 1mms had been Incurred in a genera I art Ion. In view of the certainly nf a proportion pro-portion of m Is for t u neq of this r hn r-neter r-neter occurring from time hi time, it In Important that thi: point of vl.-w be thnrnuchh' appreciated. The lo.HS nf th.-Mc three r ru In.:i n, apart from he lo f life. of Mm.ll h.ival sb-nifl--iinrr. Although they were H I1M, powerful Mllps. thev h-l,,,il'ed to a I rlaS of 'Til: ' 1 h whese smt, hits been ' pi t on re-; d b m;i 1 1 V of 1 he enemy's 1,1 1 t e'ihlp lief.ue the nr l! had b.-n dc-hd-d that no more i i-v buM be '.pent . in r e 1 1,1 i i-1 1 ly imv . ,f I hi; In -i h iul Dull lo-'V should Illlike e-r uav to the '-ale li-t soon as d-fecH" be- ' crime inantre:! |
