THE PAROLE BREAKERS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2691, 10 February 1916, Page 6

THE PAROLE BREAKERS

-4 HOW AN INTERNED LINER'S OFFICERS GOT AWAY FATE A MYSTERY There has been a great (seal of interest and speculation and some danger of international complications in tlie escape of six pett.y otikors of tlie interned German cruiser Kronprinz Wilhelm from Norfolk, a liarbour on tho East Coast of America, in the auxiliary yacht Eclipse some months ago. .So far, 110 definite, information concerning the yacht or the method in which tho officers obtained her, has been made public. These facts have been recently sent us, however, by one of our subscribers who was a part-owner »r the yacht in question, says "Yachting." ihe Eclipse was owned by B. F. Mitchell, of Norfolk, and others, and was ail old yacht of 23 tons, havijig been built in 1881. She was, therefore, 31 years of age. She was changed into a yawl aboat live years ago and a gas engine installed which gave her a ppeed of about -1 knots an hour. Her ,sails and engine were in their fifth season ; the sails were worn out and the tingine required rejbabbittiiig. Her exowner writes that, despite her age, her outside'planking and main frames were sound, but the panelling around tho cabin house needed replacing, and her top timbers were under suspicion. The buyers were fully informed of l:er .condition before purchasing. For Week-end Cruises. When the six officers made an offer on the boat, they stated that they wanted her for week-end sails oil Chesapeake Bay, and for fishing trips up and tlcwn the bay to wile away tlie leisure of their internment. These warrant officers were formerly merchant officers of the Kroiiprinz Wilhelm, with no military training, and the owners did not form a very liign opinion'of their ability to handle the boat when they were trying her out previous to purchase. Before making the transfer, the old owners reported tlie matter to the Collector of Customs, wife wrote to Washington, where the matter was reported back to the Commandant of tho Norfolk Navy Yard. He endorsed the transaction, and said that he saw no objection to the Germans cruising in Chesapeake Bay. The Collector of Customs heard nothing from Washington, so part of the money was paid over by the officers, the remainder to be paid in ten days. Four days before the final payment the ex-owners informed the Custom House that the sale would be completed and, there being no objection, lie took out a Customhouse license and bill of sale. After buying the boat the Germans got a new suit of sails, but kept the old ones bent, and the new ones stowed below. They were made of yaclit canvas, and no storm sails were purchased, nor were any covers made for the one large and two small skylights oil the cabin house. At Sea. The Eclipse pulled out with the six officers aboard on a Saturday, and oil the way out ran aground off Craney lsand, ttiough they Had a fair breeze, and liacl to be pulled off. Tlie last iiuthoiitic report of the sighting of the vessel iras at 3 p.m. Sunday, when she was jast of Thimble Shoals Light, in lower Chesapeake Bay. They were headed out towards the sea, and'it was then blowing fresh from the nor'-east. That night it breezed up very hard, and if they headed off-shore they would have gone to the south'ard or south-east'ard, and Monday morning would, have found them in the Gulf Stream with a very heavy nor'-east sea and half a gale of rind. Nothing moro has been heard fom them, though there are vague and mconfirmed reports of her having been lighted ill widely-separated localities, n t'lio opinion of tho ex-owners, if the iclipso was in the Gulf Stream that ilonday she will never be heard from ■gain, as the yacht was in no condition o go to sea. It would only have taken ine sea to have smashed in her kylight-s and 1 dock openings and inished her. Yet everything loiuts to the fact that she did go If-shore. If the Germans merely wantd to got clear of the Bay and he ,pickd up by a friendly steamer bound to iweueii. or some of the other neutral ountries, a small motor boat would ,ave answered their needs, nor would t have been necossary to purchase a cw suit of sails, as they did., if, also, ny sailor had wished to get to Gerlany without it being'known, ho would ;o to some crimp ill Philadelphia or few York ana pay him to goo a disharge as a Swedish sailor and ship him n a Swedish steamer. Discharges of 11 descriptions are part of the crimp's tock-in-trade, and if the steamer were verhauled by the patrol all papers -ould be in regular ovder, whereas if lie moil woie picked up from tho boat heir presence would 'have to be acountcd for. Aitcl now for the climax of tho transition: Some weeks after the sale was losed and the Germans had made good lieir escape, and forty days after tilt Collector of Customs wrote to Washlgton asking if they had any ohjecion to the transfer, the ex-owners re> eived a letter from the Government •apartment saying that the sale wa: ot approved of!