THE BARALONG AFFAIR

Evening Post, Volume XCI, Issue 4, 6 January 1916, Page 7

THE BARALONG AFFAIR

GERMANY CHARGES THE NAVY WITH MURDER ALLEGED SLAUGHTER OF SUBMARINE'S CREW LONDON, 4th January. The Press Bureau has issued the Memorandum of the German Government regarding the alleged incidents in connection with the destruction of a German submarine by the auxiliary cruiser Baralong on 19th August, and Sir Edward Grey's reply The German document alleges that the steamer Nicosian was stopped by a German submarine, which fired on the Nicosiau after the crew had left. A steamer was seen approaching, flying the American flag, while the submarine was firing at the Nicosian. The stranger, which proved to,be the Baralong, suddenly opened fire with hitherto hidden arms. The• submarine began to sink, and her crew jumped overboard. Several who were clinging ■to the ropes of the Nicosian were killed, some by the gunfire of the Baralong, and some by the rifle fire of the Baralong's crew. One witness named Curran,, an American, states that the commander of the Baralong ordered his men to shott a helpless German seaman in the water. Curran and another witness named Palen, also an American, assert that the commander gave a definite order not to take prisoners. The statement continues: "The commander of the submarine, while swimming, raised his hand as a sign of surrender, and was shot in the neck and killed. The commander of the Baralong requested the captain of the Nicosian to impress "upon his crew the necessity of not saying anything. There is no doubt that the commander gave orders to kill tjie German seamen in a cowardly manner, and also that the crew obeyed the order, and share; the guilt of murder. The German Government informs the British Government of this terrible deed, and will take it for granted that the British Government will proceed with a charge of murder against the captain of the Baralong, otherwise they will consider themselves obliged to take a serious decision regarding retribution for^ the unpunished crime." AFFIDAVITS OF AMERICANS ON THE NICOSIAN. The German document includes affidavits by six Americans aboard the Nicosian, which, it is alleged, was carrying 350 mules, which were landed safely at Avonmouth, to which port the vessel was towed and docked. The witnesses, who shipped as muleteers, and the superintendents allege that the Baralong had' large canvas shields, on which the American flag was painted. Four of the crew of the German submarine who scrambled on board the Nicosian, and were found in the engine-room, were shot in cold blood by the Baralong's boat's crew ; . ■» L. Holland, an American, makes an affidavit as follows:—"I was a member of the crew of the Baralong, which was a disguised armed cruiser. On 10th August we picked up a wireless message that the submarine which sank the Arabic was attacking the Nfcosian. We rushed to the scene. Several of the crew of 'the submarine were killed by shots when in the water; only one got aboard the Nicosian. After our crew, boarded the Nicosian we found thissubmariner on deck, and when asked if his submarine sank the Arabic he refused to, give any information, and said: 'Why? Do you shoot?' A marine then shot him and threw the body overboard." J. M. Garrett, an American, in his affidavit, says:—"Twelve of the crew of the submarine jumped into the water. Most of them were naked. Twentyfive marines fired on the submarine's captain while in the water." He saw others similarly shot. After the submarine was blown up Captain Manning, of the Nicosian, ordered his men with oars to hit any German on the head if ho swam near. James J. Chicago, in his affidavit, says that the Baralong's second shot smashed the periscope, and the third carried away the base of the conning tower, blowing two Germans into the air, and the submarine quickly sank. After* the British seamen boarded the Nicosian ho saw the bodies of five Germans, each with a hole in the forehead. A revolting phase of the affair -was , that when the bodies were taken on deck, some of the crew of the Nicosian kicked the dead faces before throwing the bodies overboard. SIR EDWARD GREY'S REPLY. Sir Edward Grey's Memorandum to Mr. W. H. Page (American Ambassador) states that the British Government notes with satisfaction, though with some surprise, the German anxiety that the principles of civilised warfare should be vindicated. It is evident that to single out the case of the Baralong is the height of absurdity, and he suggests that the whole question of atrocities by land and sea might be fitly examined by an impartial tribunal. As the multitude of allegations against Germany would overload the tribunal, the enquiry might be confined to three incidents which occurred within a few hours of the Baralong allegations. ' The Memorandum continues that Britain does not accept the allegations, but in any case the charge is negligible compared - with the crimes which seem to have been deliberately committed by German officers. It recalls the fact that within forty-night hours of the Nicosian affair a German submarine torpedoed the Arabic. No effort was made to save the "crew, and forty-seven non-combatants lost their lives. This was an act of barbarism. The second incident was that a German destroyer fired on a stranded British submarine (E' 13) on the Danish coast, and when the crew attempted to swim ashore the destroyer fired on them. Forty-eight hours later a German submarine fired shrapnel at the steamer Ruel, when one man was killed and eight wounded. No statement was offered justifying this cold-blooded and cowardly outrage. The Memorandum concludes: —"These incidents might, with the case of the Baralong, be brought before an impartial Court, say, of ■"* officers of the American Navy, and Britain will do all in her power to further the enquiry and to carry out the findings of the Court. 'It is unnecessary to reply to the suggestion that the British Navy is guilty of inhumanity. The number of German sailors rescued from drowning amounts to 1150, while the German Navy can show no such record." Sir Edward Grey concluded: —"The Germany Navy does not show such a record, perhaps through want of opportunity." PAST REFERENCES TO THE INCIDENT. Herr yon Bethmann Hollweg, the Imperial Chancellor, in the course of a speech in the Reichstag, cabled on 10th December, is reported to have said: — " The depth of the enemy's hate is shown in the Baralong. case, in which a British warship murdered the crew of a helpless German submarine. The British press hushed up this. Tho British have been proud of its Navy's spirit, but they cannot reply to this murder, which remains a black stain on its Navy's history." The following reply was immediately issued: — " The Press Bureau states that the circumstances attending the destruction of the German submarine and her crew by the Baralong in August are now the subject of communication between Britain and America, and therefore the Admiralty does not propose to mako a public statement at present beyond repudiating Herr yon Bethmann Hollweg's unwarranted charge." [The Nicosian was a vessel of 6369 tons, built in 1912, and was owned by F. Zeyland and Co., Ltd., Liverpool. The auxiliary cruiser Baralong is a vessel of 4192 tons gross, was built by Armstrong, Whitworth, and Co., Ltd., in 1901, and belongs to the Ellerman and Bueknall S.S. Company, Ltd.] / NAVY WILL EMERGE UNSCATHED. (Received January 6, 8.50 a.ni.) LONDON, sth January. The Daily Mail says that everyone knows that naval humanity will emerge unscathed from the investigation. The Mail condemns the Government for withholding the fact that, retribution had overtaken the pirates. - The Chronicle describes the charge as foul, and says Sir Edward Grey's offer is a fair one. The Westminster Gazette says:—We may reconcile ourselves to the talk in Germany about humanity on the sea when she has given the world the spectacle of the commander of the submarine which sank the'Ancona hanging by the neck.