New Britain Herald Newspaper, April 30, 1917, Page 5

2 GRESHAM TELLS OF ~ AZTEC'S LAST HOUR * Lieutenant in Charge of Gun Crew Describes Loss of Ship Washington, April 30.—Lieutenant _ William Fuller Gresham, the Ameri- can naval officer who was in charge 4. ‘of the navy gun crews on the Ameri- can ship Asztec, which was destroved April 1 in French waters either by a mine or submarine, returned from France yesterday and reported to Sec- retary of the Navy Danfels. No word has been received as to the fate of 3 3. 1. Epolucci, boatswain’s mate, the one missing member of Lieutenant Gresham’s command, nor .has any news been heard of the twenty-seven Aztec sailors who'rowed away from the sinking steamcr, never to be heard of again. < The Aztec was the first Ametican merchant ship to be armed, and Lieu- tenant Gresham and twelve picked .men were detached from the Dolphin after a careful search for a crew among the best gunners in the navy. The Aztec was destroyed in the ; night, without opportunity for the men to test thelr skill, but after hear- Ing Lieutcpant Grasham’s story of the crew’s courage and fortitude Sec- retary Danicls declared that “every great tradition of the navy has been upheld.” & . The Aztee salled from New York on March 18, and fourteen days later, when the end of the voyage was al- most in sight, was half Jifted from the 4 sea by 2 floating mine or a U-beat tor- pedo. One of the ship’s boats was smashed against the side in launching, another disappeared In the storm, and lfeutenant Gresham and his men, fu a third boat, were picked up by a French pawrol after hcurs of cold and * ¥ exhaustion. oY 3 The Tennesseean, who is 32 years of age and has been thirteen years in the service, told the following story of the adventure as he sat in the navy department: “From the day that we left New York the weather was ‘very rough, gales blowing almost continuously. We had gun drills twice a ‘day and target practice several tirnes, using as targets barrels. which we threw over- board. As we .came into the danger zone the tension inéreased to a point ‘where few of us took ‘any large amount of time for sleep. “As we neared the French coast on April 1, T had not had my clothes oft for days. Every bluejacket in my crew had slept in his clothes and had his peajacket, pistol, and lifebeR Where he could get at them quickly. That night about 9:30 I was standing on the waste deck, -starboard side. 1efé was a heavy sea running, the wind was blow- ing a moderatc gale. The moon was up, but the sky was overcast with dark rain clouds, with frequent squalls. We were running with no lights at all. Every port was covened. “The chief engineer came by behind me. “As he passed he said, ‘Mr. Gresham this is a pretty ticklish night, isn't it? 1 answered: ‘I consider this the most dangerous night we have had, and if we get by tonight I feel we will be pretty safe.’ < - Lifted Qut of Sea. “I had barely gotten these words out ot my mouth, when there was a flash like a sheet of lightning, with a mass of water thrown um % the wir. The flash was followcd by a report below and agterriic jolt. The ship “was lifted upward and to starboard, and thén immediately settled down witha starboard list. She began to go down by the head so fast that between the forecastle and the bridge her well deck was awash in a ¢ouple of minutes. The explosion y4d put the electric plant and the wireless out of commis- sion, 50 m1king it impossible to send out an S, O. 8. The ship was in utter darkness, and there was a hail squall. “In less timé than you can tell it the crew were all out of their quar- ters and on deck. I ordered my men to man the guns. But as the forward part of the ship was awash No. 1 crew jcould not get to their posts. .But at ‘Wo. 2 gun, in the stern, its crew was standing by in & moment. In the meantime I went up the ladder to the top of the charthouse and began with my binoculars to search for a subma- rine. It was raining hard, and I-could see nothing. After searching for about three minutes I came down and gave e order to my men to put the Colt automatic gun in No. 1 boat and stand by to abandon ship. “I went into my cabin to get some confidential papers. When I tried to unlock the door of the locker it would not open. I smashed the panel, to6k out the papers and went back to the top of the charthouse to make further search for a submarine, but without result. Then I went below on the waste deck, starboard side, and made another search from there, but I could see nothing. “By this time the ship’'s crew had lowered all three of the boats, and the men were already in them, all ex- cept the third mate and myself. The boat on the weather side had been smashed on being lowered but I did not know this at the time. The third engineer had stuck by his post in the engine room till the very last. His name was IHerbert Collins and he had his nerve right with him. He stopped the engines and shut off the oil pump, which at once put the fires out and kept the ship from catching fire.q He ‘also saw that every man was saYely out of the engine room. Not until then did he come on deck. The hoatswain of the ship éould also be mentioned. Up 1In the forecastle, which was already filling fast, he saw that the men were .all out of their quarters before he left. It should also e said of poor Epolucci that he was busy till the last helping the crew of the ship who were having trouble with their boat. ' It cost him his life, for he went down with them and their boat must have gone down, “Meanwhile, the third mate and I were still on the ship. I could now f5e] sh: was sinking fast. I could NEW BRITAIN DAILY HERALD, MONDAY, APRIL 30, 1917. hear the water coming in the fire Tooms and sizzling on the hot boilers. |1t splashed up through the fire room hatches. By this time No. 3 boat hai shoved off and No. 1 boat was wait- ing. The third mate kept calling to me to leave the ship. I went to the rail and asked if all of my men were in the boat. I was told they were. The third mate and I then slid down the boat falls. In the boat I'discov- ered that Epolucci was missing, but they told me he had gone in No. 3 boat, so I gave the word to shove off. ROOT CHAIRMAN OF COMMISSION GOING ON TRIP TO RUSSIA This was not easy, for the sea was ' running high, but at last we man- aged ,to get clear. We stood away and for a while we could just make out the black shape of the vessel against the sky, and could see the men in No. 3 hoat, which was not far distant Then another squall blew up, with a heavy rain, and everything was blotted out. When the rain stopped the Aztec was no longer in sight, nor could we see anything of the other boat. Ninteen Packed in Boat. “My boat was small and had all it could carry. There were eleven of my sunners, the captain of the Aztec, tho first mate, the third mate, the third engineer, the boatswain, the wireless operator, and one messman—ninteen of 'us in all. We were packed so tight we could use only one pair of oars. There was not elbow room for more, and as the seas were running high, we had all we could do to keep from capsizing. Twice I think we nearly difi. In an effort to steady the boat we got out a sea anchor of can- vas and threw it over the bow. But it didn’t. work. Then I shifted it to the stern ‘and ordered my men to pull against it. This helped us keep the hoat’s head to the seas, but even'| 80 ,our chances looked slim, so I or- dered, first, the Colt automatic thrown overboard, and after that several hun- dred pounds of ammunition and all other articles. The ammunition, pro- visions and water, distress signals, etc., had, of course, been placed in the boat early in the voyage to be ready for such an emergency. ““We were drenched to the skin, the wind was so cold it cut into us, and there were frequent squalls of hail and rain. The Captain was still suffering from the violent nausea caused by the sases he had inhaled at the time of the explosion. The messman was in his underclothes, and the third en- gineer wore only thin overalls which he had worn in the hot engine room. One of my men gave him his pea- Jacket, and we huddled the half- naked messman close under our bod- ies to give him all the warmth we could. Covered by Waves Three Times. For about three hours we fought out there in the darkness and cold, but we were making no headway at all. We shipped a lot of water and it took constant balling to keep us afloat. This bailing, moreover, was difficult bécause we were jammed in so close together. Three times the seas broke over our heads, soaking us good and plenty, and twice nearly swamping our boat. I believe that all that saved us was the morale and training of my bluejackets. Every man of the lot was as steady as a rock; and in all those hours not one of them so much as let a whimper &r failed to put all he had in him into the execution of every command. “After hours that seemed long to us, I saw a little white light in the distance. It changed to red and then to green. The men were tremendously excited and wanted to let ouf*a yell. But for awhile I kept them quiet. We were not in shape for a submarine then. But there was a lighthouse nine or ten miles away with a bright flashing light, and when the strange boat came between us and the light I saw it was not a submarine. We fired our pistols and burned one of our red Coston lights. But then we had to wait awhile, for that French patrol boat when it saw our light was Just about as skittish as I had been at first myself. It went on by. After making & big circle, however, it came back to within hailing distance and verified our helpless condition. Our red light was out, but the captain of our ship had with him a flashlight, and he kept it turned upon our boat to show the Frenchme what we were. “They hove us a line, which we caught with an oar, and then the only question left was how we were to get aboard. The sea had by that time increased to a point where it seemed a certainty that we would be smashed to pulp if we tried to bring our small boat alongside. So I ex- plained it to the men- “‘Boys,’ I said, ‘we have made a good fight and the only thing for us to do now is to keep it up a little longer—possibly till daylight—on the ;:mnca of the storm letting down a ts n about half an hour it did seem to lgt up a little, . The French boat swung around and made a ‘'lee for us, and when we came in close along- side we left our boat like bulifrogs jumping off a log. Practically every. man at once made a spring up for the Frenchman’s side. I was last to £0, and in my jump the beat dropped from under me. I hung on to the gunwale however, and a French sailor caught me by the coat. “The boat which picked us up was a converted trawler doing patrol duty. It was in command of a French naval officer, with a crew of twenty-one. They were a fine lot of men. Their boat was a clumsy little old tub, but they had named it the Jeanne d'Arc, and they could not have been prouder if it had been an ocean liner. There was only one of them who oould speak a little English, and we couldn’t speak any French at all. but we got on in fine shape from the start. “They could not have been kinder They heated up some red wine below in an old, battered tin kettle, and opened a can of beef. But the French officer and I were the only ones who could eat anything. The rest of our crew were still too sick from shock and oxposure. Those little French- opened their loskeza, and got out all the spare clothes they had. They insisted on fitting all of us out, although I could see they had little to spare. In fact, more than one generous Frenchman that night gave away his best and only suit of clothes. “Meanwhile the French officer had ELINV ROOT In selecting Elihu Root for the very important post of commander to Russia, an appointment which Mr, Root has accepted, President Wilson expressed his determination to enlist the highest abilitics he couldfind even if he had to leave his own party. Mr. Root is a republican and a former secretary of state and secretary of war. Fear is felt of a separate peace between Germany and Russia, not only because it would release sixty divisions, or about 1,200,000 trained German troops, for use on the western front, but also because it would open up to Germany a vast source of sup- plies and foodstuffs. There is no possi- bility of estimating accurately just how much ground there is for fear of this event, because Russia is and probably must remain for some time an unknown quantity. brought out ‘a chart, and I showed him the spot where our ship was blown up- Most of the talking was done by signs, but the Frenchmen seem to be good ‘at that and they soon got all they needed to know.. In a very few minutes we were back on the scene of the explosion hunting for our other hoat. Another French patrol soon joined us, but though we searched until 9 in the morning we could find no irace of boat No. 3, and it has never been heard of since. It must have been capsized in the storm, ‘““We reached Brest in due time. The French on the dock were greatly ex- cited when they learned who we were. I went to Paris and in a few days my men followed me there. Nothing was too good for them. They were entertained at tea parties and suppers and taken about in automo- biles. I left Paris and went to Bou- logne and crossed the channel to Folkestone. We did not wait in Lon- don, for I had orders to come home by the Manchuria, which was due to rail the next day at noon. Our voy- age back was uneventful, but we were all glad enough to catch sight of the American coast.” DR. O'CONNOR, SUOCCUMBS. New Haven Physician Dies at Hospital of Apoplexy. New Haven, April 29.—The death of Dr. Matthew C. O'Connor, one of the best known physicians in the city, and especially in the vicinity of the sev- enth and eighth wards, and incidental- ly, an incorporator of the Knights of Columbus as well as a charter member of' the Knights of &, Patrick's <lub, occurred at St. Reppael's hospital yes- terday afterncon at 2:30 o’clock. Dr. O’Connor was found seated in a chair in his office on Saturday morning in an unconscious condition. At first it was thought that he was a victim of gas poisommng as there was a strong odor of gas in the room, but physi- 'clans at St. Raphael’'s hospital found that Dr. O'Connor was suffering from a stroke of apoplexy. Despite the ef- forts of physicians to save him. Dr. O’Connor did not regain consciousness. Dr. O'Connor is survived by a brother, Joseph H. O'Connor, and a sister, Miss Margaret O’Connor. The funeral will be held Wednesday morn- ing from the home of his brother at 25 Carmel street, at 9:30 o'clock and from St. Mary's church at 10 o’clock, where a requiem high mass will be cel- ebrated. The interment will be in Cal- vary cemetery, New York city. HARTFORD SOLDIER SHOT. Cotipanion Was Cleaning Rifie, Which Discharged Bullet. ‘Willimantic, April 30.—Private Thomas Morris, 19, of Hartford, de- tailea to guard duty on a railroad bridge near here was accidentally shot by Private Walter Keefe, also of Hartford yesterday afternoon. Morris’ wound is serious, the bullet having passed through the right lung. According to the version given the military authorities, Morris was lying in his bunk while Keefe was clean- ing his rifle a few feet away. The rifle was accidentally discharged, it was said. Morris, in a statement ab- solved Keefe from all responsibility. REAR ADMIRAL AYRES DEAD. Philadelphia, April 30.—Rear Ad- miral Samuel Loring Percival Ayres, U. 8. N, retired, died suddenly from heart disease at his home here last night. Born at Stamford, Conn., in 1836, he entered the navy in 1858 and served under Admiral Farragut dur- ing the Civil war. He was petired in 1897, after thirty-eight years serwice, and in 1908 was advanced to the rank of rear admiral “for services during the Civil war.” EMPLOYES WARNED 10 BE EGONOMICAL 'Harvester Company Urges Work- E men to Fight Famine Peril Chicago, April 30.—The first order by a great industrial concern mobiliz- ing all its men and resources to fight the danger of world-wide famine through the threatened crop shortage in North Ameérica has been issued by Cyrus H. McCormick, president of the International Harvester company, response to President Wilson's recent appeal io the country. This order goes to all the company’s thousands of field employes in the United States and Canada, and will also reach the atten- tion of 30,000 dealers handling its farming implements. smployes are -directed to consider 28 of first importance all activities to meet the hunger peril which Mr. Mec- Cormick resavds as eVen more .ar min- »nt and grave than the president's ssage indicated. They are especial- Iy instructed to co-operate with all lo- cal organizations and movements seek- ing to enlarge acreage and ‘production. In addition to urging reduction of waste as of no less importance than increased production, and to calling on the patriotic women oI the coun- try to help, especially in home econ- omies, the order says: “From the latest reports of our representatives in many countries, we are satisfled that the president’s state- ment as to the crop situation is most conservative. The whole world 1is now facing a shortage of crops. I fear the situation is even more serious than we realize. Strenuous effort must be made to lessen—and if possible to avoid—the disaster which would be world-wide if our present fears re- garding the crop shortage becomes a reality. “The United States should avoid the mistakes made by the European coun- tries now at war. In some countries the necessity for preserving the herds and the breeding of cattle was over- looked. The result was a fallure in the supply of meat and butter. In other countries, as the war progressed, owing to the scarcity of labor, much 1and was left untilled, resulting in a shortage of crops. “Our people should heed these les- sons and avoid both these dangers. On the one hand we must cultivate every available acre, so that our food pro- duction—upon which, with that of Canada, the world is depending to re- lleve its hunger—may be as large as possible. We must also keep up the number of our cattle, sheep and pigs, 8o that with economical consumption the supply of meat shall be sufficient. Let us not drift until it is too late to take the steps needed to enlarge and protect these sources of food supply. “A special responsibility rests' upon our organization. We come in dally and close contact with the food pro- ducing forces of the country—in fact, we are a part of these forces. Our first obligation is to give the farmers the best and promptest service in supply- ing needed repairs and expert assist- ance, and to aid them in raising more crops of better quality and with less ‘waste. For years the company, through its agricultural extension d partment, has been preaching the gos- pel of more intensive and intelligent agriculture. Every International Har- vester man should now carry this in- formation to his community and co- operate with organizations and move- ments which seek to enlarge the crop area and production of the * United States. “The service we can glve in this emergency is to be considered, not as incidental tq other business, but of first importance.” S A supplemental order by General Manager Alex Legge gives details as to how farmers may be helped to increase crops. “Always bear in mind,” this order reads, “that it is more important to see that the machines sold are working properly than it is to sell others.” Travelers and repair men are di- rected to pay particular attention to helping dealers keep their stocks of repair parts so supplied that no farm- er's implements will need to lie idle for want of them. Travelers are also instructed to show farmets how to at- tach headlights for night work to the thousands of tractors in use at this season and how to keep these ma- chines running to full capacity. To help farmers avoid the two dis- astrous mistakes of the nations at war —decrease of acreage outside the fighting zones and slaughter of breed- ing stock to save feed—is made an- other prime duty of employves. Mr. Legge's order reads: “Farmers should not let the high price of beef, pork and mutton tempt them to sell their breeding stock for slaughter. Every dairy cow will pro- duce, in milk ahd butter, each season far more value in food products than she is worth for beef purposes, and this will be produced largely from for- age crops not otherwise available for human food. “Urge the growihg of gardens—and grow one yourself. Such land as can be planted to garden truck will pro- duce far more food stuffs than it would in cereal crops. “Raise more poultry. This is a quick way of increasing the food supply. “Farmers are being urged to plant a larger acreage. While much can be accomplished in this way, the real gain must come from an increased yleld per acre. An average gain of one bushel to the acre of the principal crops grown will add far more to our food supply than all that can be accom- plished by increasing’'the acreage. “Increasing the yleld per acre does not require the purchase of more land or added expense on the part of the farmer, and it has the further advan- tage that gains made in this reapect wil] continue after the war emergency has passed.” Employes are advised of further specific Instructions to follow and are told that each of them will be called upon to report what he has dcne in coemplanoe. 5 in | 'PETAIN IS NAMED CHIEF IN COMMAND | Will Have Supreme Authority on I¥rench Front—Saved Verdun From the Germans, Paris, April 30.—General Petain, who commanded the French army de- fending Verdun during the ecritical stages of the battle in February, and | March, 1916, is to be appointed chict“ of staff at the ministry of war. The cabinet decided upon this yesterday afternoon, at a meeting presided over ! by President Poincare and was held after a session of the war committee. After a gcneral discussion it was determined to restore the post of chief of staff at the ministry of war and confl.de the post to General Petain, | | i 1l | i 1 i | General Petain, known as the “de-| fender of Verdun,” the reserve army and made com- mander-in-chief at Verdun shortly after the Germans began their great offensive there when General Joffre had reached the conclusion that the ffensive was not being met as it should be. Under Petain's leadership the French stiffened their defense and finally not alone was Verdun saved, but later the French were able to drive back the Germans from various points along bath sides of the Meuse, where they had penetrated deeply into thelir positions, Unassuming and hating publicity, Petain is known as a man of uncom- promising opinions, an expert tacti- clan and strategist, and, above all, a fighter. General Petain is 61 years old, but is said to bear his age like a man of 50. Last December it was stated that General Petain had been mentioned as the successor of General Joffre as commander-in-chief of the French forces. ‘When, however, General Nivelle was made generalissimo, it was said that Petain had declined the post owing to his failure to agree with the military authorities as to the 'power he should have. was taken from | look for oneverypackageandm genuine Aspirin. tablet of the mono- ce idester ofsalicytie- acid in these tablets and capsules is of the rellable ‘i Bayer manufacture, 5 AN g ELECTRIC ADIATOR Will remove the chill - from your bath room in a very few minutes and it has many other uses that we will be glad to explain if you call on us, The Spring & Buckley ElectricCo. 75-77-79 CHURCH STREET. ELECTRICAL SUPPLIES TEL. 900 TH E FLAVOR LASTS is the companion for any and all times. It puts work into the worker and think into the thinker. gumption and makes smiles for miles. It’s wrapped tight so it keeps right. 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