South Bend News-Times, Volume 38, Number 110, South Bend, St. Joseph County, 20 April 1921 — Page 10

WTTWnSTVW MORVIVC. APRTD Zrr, THE SOUTH NEWS-TIMES

How Jackies Fought U-Boats With Mother Goose Rhymes

TlY .TOsIIPlirS JiAMlXS 1'ornn-r S n l-irj of thr Navy. O.pjricht. VJ21, h .Ilm V. ViUr. CrpyTfffht by National NnvsimixT 0pjriht in (.nat IJrttain, Canada and throughout lYancr. All rights rTrvl, including traiv-Lition Into fnrritrn LiiiKuii?s iiK ludin tho kcandina lan. l'nauthoril r'rrlntlnir for any jmrp forMddf-n. aiithm: n. "Quack! Quack! Quark!" I can lm.iirin Krrr TYuMlorff. cf th German intr!lls;or-.r- department, olmmly F.-:tIr? down the tran? word. "Hey. did Uo-l-ll .ldl. Tho cat and tho fidd." That must havo boon as puzzUn? as "Ride-a-cock-horA to Iianbury crew." "little Jack Ilornrr Fat In his corner." "Jack and Jill wont up

(i the hill," and similar extraordinary

tatemenLi picked out of the air hy listening: Germans, and ecnt to Berlin for tran-lation and for study by their codo jpeciilists. What did tho herr professors make cf them? What did they makft of ß'irh ettmlngly, meanlnKkf combinations of words xu "corn-mush"' and high-low-jack"? Doutelsa there wcro profound consultations. I ran vlfdon the research carried Into libraries, where all available "Amrlkana" was ransacked for a clow to tho mystery. Mother Gooso, no doubt, was discovered as tho fourco of tho rhymes, and her history studied for some, po.tslblo explanation of their UBO I can Imagine heated debates between retund and rubicund JlUrnti R3 to tho occult significance of thc(e quotations from tho nursery tonrs of the I'nlted States. I cm Imagine rudlto and elaborate theories advanced. Germans Were ParrL The references to the breakfast menu of the American poplo ami tn one of their popular Indoor sports must have b'fcn honelwly U-wildor-lng. The Teuton mind never could underhand the American mind. It was perplexed, baffled, dazed by our thought processes, and tho more it tried to explain or interprot them the more mystified it became. So far a. I know it never ue?sed the mealnin of our .'jther Goose messages, which f..s over the 2s"orth Fea and out on tho Atlantic In wireless vibrations. For that matter, tho British wero puzzled at first when they picked up the queer word and phrases and matches of rhyme. It sounded as If the inmates of a lunatic asylum had somehow got hold of a wireless apparatus and were calling "Quack! Quack! Quack!" and "Corn meal mush to tho war-crazed world. "ried-whtte-bluo" was ono of the phrase which had a sound of possible Fen? to British ears, but when 1t was amplified to "Quack! Itcd-whlte-blue!, even their smartest codo experts wero at a loss to interpret it. British naval officers at Plymouth

wcto much concerned about these i Inexplicable faying which floated j through th atmos;here and sound- t rd in their radlophom-s. Pear New irinan Trick. j Was somebody "spoofing them." . . . a I

and tho war and the world in nrral? Or was ii some new German trick? Fome scheme of the enemy to distract attention to sot the British puzzllnc over a rneaninRless mystery whilo he pulled off roinu rdot ncalnst thm?

They vcrv relieved when rxplin-j ntions were made. They smiled, and j even chuckled politely, when they j wore told that the. quaint contri- j butions to the aerial rommunioa- I tlons of the war zone were merely j tho ls-suirs of orders and cx- j changes of compliments amonff the j perky little American submarine ,

chairs which hail lately amveu from across the Atlantic. A fancy. hUh-spiritod. devil-may-care lot they were, and they came capcrinK into the zone of dancer and death with lauphter and fti',. I doubt if you 111 find in all the annals- of the war a bettor picture cf American pychoipy the psychology of American youth in tho face cf peril and under the hijrh obligation of duty. Nor will you find anything which illustrates better why Germany lost tho war and allies nnd America won it; why our hurriedly trained armies played the mischief with tho morale and Tik-ht-lr.R front of the enemy's sapertrained. disciplined and experienced trooor. lln! I'alth ami llop The child-hearted attitude toward life which wculd co to war talking

the language of tho nursery, us.nt, homely phrasvs and the sonps of the ( crailo to conceal the pcrious mes- i asrc cf life and dath and tract' . action which oempese tho communl- j

cations of war, wa tho attitude or faith ant', hope and cheerful comraSeh!p which endured a'.l deni'.s and pain.- without murmur, and facd all perl's without tllnehin. In those d.ayj of harcLshipu In theses days when men ensured lor.p vlgtl. whipped ty wind and fpray; in thoe days when sudden death lurk.beneath the wave and every poh klpsed his trveethearfs picture jrooily nt l'a on In twentyfour hour?. you can imagine how It helped tho prlrar.esH and se.riei:.i--ns and deadly the crmic relief wi.lch came when yrur itb-chaser fu.!dd thrvuch the ca'.ir.s "Quack! Quack! Quack! H'.ph-low Jack!" from Its wtreK; or when some T!t of nur-

radio-

Te t f ern, U ' r at' Hulm irir..-

wer e-Jiasers ither.

n urn hers and u.--iI to (!es. zr.

when t ie:,nf.n:r. into th

T;e commander of ov- proup r.'" m'-d bus b'-ats in Jin trie r-r phras. s. Thre- U'.-it. ce.n.tituteI a s-ibmartm !n;::i:;t; unit. .ne t v.u. ;novn

as reu-wni:e-r.ue ar.otr.' .- ncrn i

ani a third as

Quick:" meant

t;":' a.-mus:

low-Ja'k." "Quack! Qt;ack!

'eipTato at once;" It Noirr.e an amusement with th' Gr r. I r h' r we! -'-r.o-.v n rhvrr-s

M ''st fT th' M iaro(I: s h.id to 'I j with tho r.sky Job on which they j

w-r" er.pRcl, TI-re. i. r,r. ,,f th n. rarapljrasln.j; 'The pi-If r ar.d the riy." "Won't you come into my area?" said the chase- to the"I'll tr-at you ju. as kindly a I would a ti;rer ciah; I will listen to your motors. I will catch you without fail. And then I promise I will put some Kalt upon your tail." .Mpliabrt In VnN. Tho u-.: of wordr inst-ad of letters for the navy fl air signals was followed by the subchasers Kr,n "rally. Tho'--down at Corfu, for ir.s-tar.ee, cruardi n ir tho barrage across the Ft raits of Otranto, and cliasir.tr Au.-'tri tn Ubf.'al", bad a word for every letter In tho alphabet. Tho alphabet ran thu.-. Able, bey, cast, dotr. easy. fox. Georce, liave. item, Jitr, klr.K. love, Mike-, Nan. oboe, pup, quack, rot, til. tars, unit, vice, watch. X-ray, yoke, zed. "Able-Jboy!" was the cod" to "Take hunt formation distance .-,00 yard.s." Almost any nece ssary order or information could be transmitted by radio-phono by m-ans ef this code. Hero is a typical instance of how it worked when a ubmarir.o was heard: listener of Boat No. 1 report?: "Submarine, to) . irrt s." lOxecutive Othcc r: ".Suiun trine 12:1 de pree s." Ilxecutlvo reports: "2 (number of win boat) turbine 112 d'-irn-'.-." Executive reports: ".'I (number of other wintr boat) submarine 1:10 dejtrfes." Captain orders: "Course 12P, degrees." Ilxecutivo to radio: "Fox-unit: dopr-easy-cast!" Kxccutlvo to listeners: "rp-tube.' Start Hunt tnr U-lat. At the order "rp-tube," tho bi.steninff tubo Is raised from its position beneath tho vessel; tho sirnal-bny beside) the mast hoists tlie cono, the position of which shows the edher boats what tho entrlne of this fub-chas-er bs dointr: tho ster.rman puts tho wheel over, and the vessel heads for tho estimated locality of tho 1'boat. All this Is done in a moment or two. If the Kubmarino is not located the captain orders "Stop!" the exec

utive orders "Down tube;!" Thu tube, which extends through the oottom of tho char, is lowered, and tho listener etrives nj,-aln to hear the sound of tho U-boat. V.'o built over 4Ö0 cf these littlo sub chasers 110-foot woodol I i.ats. 'e 1-t the Fre nch navy have 00. They all jrave a pood account 0 then.seUs. cre-ssintr the? ocean under their own power and weathering storm- which made heavy poins for the 1 i-r liners. They s-rved in our coast patrol and ope rated m foreign waters from P.'u'-s at Queens-town, I'lymouth. Br. st, Gibraltar and Corfu. Tht r: wert. 30 based on Corfu, w h --' chief duty it was to guard the ntran - t' the Alriatic in order to prevent the etape cf enemy 5ubs into tlie Mediterranean, the most dangerous strefh ef the loner water iin" of communications which the allies had tr :se. Tliey wer-- part of the otranto barrage, cor..-isting of mines and ;hr: " l;r.f s of patrol vessel tho first two composed of British des'tre.yers nnd tho third ef American subchasers'. The Austrian." say that barrage accounted for at least fcit C-botts. C-eMul Verk at I)iirao. Our subcha-ort ditinguishc J themsel e-s jiarticu! trly in their participatlon in the attack on tho Austrian naval bas-o at Durazzo Oct. 2. UM4.. A dozen of them escorted tho British and Italian men-of-war, braving tho fire of tho forts and attacking the IT-boats under a rain of shelly. They emerged from tho conflict unscathed. The following dlsr.atoh from tho admiral in command of tho British Adriatic naval force, with which they operated, gave mo a thrill: "I am most gratilied for the valuable service rendered by 12 submarine chaserv. under Capt. C. V. Nelson. V. S. N. and Lieut. -Com. P. 1. i: ivte rdo. i;. S. N.. whom I took th" liberty of emptying in an operation against Durazzo on Oct. 2. "They screened heavy ships eluring the bombardments under enemy fire, i?-" apparently destroyed elefinitely one submarin0, which torpedoed H. M. S. Weymouth, and damatred, probably destroyed, .another subma-ri.it-. Iuring the return voyage they a. -'.-ted in screening IT. M. S. "Weymouth and In escorting enemy hospital o-hip which was being brought in for examination. Their conduct throughout was beyonel praise. They all returned eafely without asua!ties. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves." Itclats Thrilling ITxpcricncx. The most thrilling eTerienco bolongs probably to F. C. 2S, one of the HO we turned over to France. Alexis Buluhen commanded the F. C. 23. It was manned by French sailors. In a storm on tho night of Jan. 16, 191 S. it disappeared. It sister shirs weathered the gale, but It was missing when the sky cleared. On Feb. IS, a month nnd two davs later, wo heard from it at the,

Azore-s, crow and commander fafo and well. Puluhen tells a story of danger and hardship. Their engines broke down. Drifting helplessly in th white-cappod sea they kept watch for wrap friendly craft. Two ste .imer were sighted that name nltrht and signaled, but to no avail. Th C 2S was leaking and the pumps had to be kept going constantly. Next day they saw the mast of a vessel in tho distance, and fired a salvo, but tho vessel fied. They tried to start the engine, but had no lubricating oil. They used all the salad oil nnd butter. It was no ue. The dynamo burned out. The radio would not work. They took tho boat's linen and made

sales of it a fore-and-aft mainsail, j a staysail and a "leg-of-mutton' ,

fail at tho small foremast. The crew was put on the smallest ratlc-n; drinking water was doled out. So. catching a breeze, they Railed rast. They were ablo to make about four miles an hour. Gets Help nt Titist. They sailed for a month. They saw other ships, but no fhip dared to let them pet near. Doubtless they wero feared as some nw trick of the treacherous enemy. Foon after dawn on Feb. IS, Buluhen sighted land. About noon he recognized it as Fayal, and hoisted the signal "YP" "I need a tug." A tug came out ami towed him Into Herta. The St. C. 2?. after undergoing re

pairs, took up its Journey, and a lit- ! tie later, but far better 'late than j never, assumed Its place with the j other American-built chasers ratrolling the French coast. What i

better tribute could there be to th seaworthiness of these little boats, or the heroism and resource of che men who manned them? (Another article by former Scc'y. Darrte Is will bo printed Friday.)

BULGARIAN

iiDoon ti:a

Relieves Constipation, sour, jrass.r, blemtert stoiiuich. Tones the liver, flushes tho kidneys.

BULGARIAN

WvOOI) TI1

Sold hy All Druggists L very where.

Have You Lost Money on MARGIN TRADING? A special letter will be sent you without obligation telling how you may recoup your losses. Write for it. Address "C S" Suite 201-7 120 Liberty St. New York

ill S

What Has a Savings Account to Do With Success? A savings account may mean the turning point in your life. Suppose an opportunity came to you today. An opportunity calling for a little ready cash. Could you take advantage of it? Opening a savings account may not seem important today, but tomorrow it may be the means of changing your whole life for the better.

AMERICAN TRUS1 COMPANY o4 the Sin of the Clock

eit

lere eoundod in your

phone, 'Man'

KUCh llttte

as a lamb."

hat

referer.oo conve vir.g

cr.emv

to in-

wculi

hM th Vir in. Munich

formation fca.Yi srlvcn

to pet. This row cede, the words of which were familiar to et ry American. had the great advar.tnre of tclr.g Afrily remembered by thce for Trhcs use it had b en deviled, and cf Ving utterly undecipherable by the r.my. SjMein WorWot WelL Xunbers may bo cenfused ar.d are hard to krvp in m'.nd. but a line, a vers, a combination cf words cicely asciated In familiar V.r.go clir.g to the memcry. The rubmarine chasers did net have distinctive ram". Iie tho d-etro e rs. but were ?Hj'.sr.ated by n-jrrrbe rs 5t. C. .M. F. C. ?. C. r 52. and so on. Wirele.ss telegraphy take? numbers accurately, but tb.e wl-.o i: tb.e wire. troub in .'.!t:r irii'-h'.r.g numbers an3 letters as d. people using th t!phorH cn land. S--. lr.te id of

MAYR'S THURSDAY SALE

CUT GLA

Heavy Cut Glass Vases, Flower Baskets, Nappys, etc., on sale Thursday only at Regular $2.00 values

- rn:cE

FRANK MAYR & SONS

113 South Michigan Street

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1 hese rugs were purchased at the New York auction sale at prices lower than we have been able to buy them at for many years. We place them on sale at a most appropriate time house cleaning and refurnishing time. Note the very low prices:

9x12 Tapestry Rugs $25.00 9x12 Axminster Rugs $42.50 9x12 Velvet Rugs $45.00 8-3x10-6 Tapestry Rugs $2450 8-3x10-6 Velvet Rugs $39.75 7-6x9 Tapestry Rugs . . . . . $19 50 6x9 Tapestry Rugs $15.75 6x9 Velvet Rugs $25.00

See Our Window Display

Greater South Bend's Greatest Furniture Outfitters

SJ!ICHMSOUJI!0

Quality First Highest Standard of Values Service That Satisfies

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"VERK0FT:

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Boys

Suits

With TWO Pair Pants 'ou can now clothe your boy without going into bankruptcy. We offer special, for the rest of the week, nifty all wool suits for boys from 6 to 1 8 yeas old all with two pair pants at only

Uo dies

4Th ere's life about that store; and pep' and hustle. No dead or depressed feeling like you find in so many stores nowadays," said a Portage Avenue man Saturday. And sure enough, they have p;ot us on the jump. We're saving clothes money for lots of South Bend men this Spring. Got a wonderful assortment. Blurs, Creys, every mixture and color, single or double breasteds. Last year the same suits sold at $50, $5 5, $60, $63 and $70. NOW AT VERNON'S THE PRICE IS DOWN TO ONLY

$75 SQ07S

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ÄND

$QQ75

$15.00,

12.50

and $10.0

"Every Inch a Clothing Store"

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