London, June 4.
A full explanation as 1o why, though the hull of the Thetis stuck 18 feet above water, rescuers failed io save the men entombed inside, is demanded by British newspapers in leading articles commenting on the disaster, which resulted in the death of 98 persons.
While every praise is given the workers, who strove to reach the men aboard the submarine, many questions are raised about the equipment at their disposal.
"Nobody suggests" says the "Evening Standard," "that the Admiralty did not work' desperately and with every energy, but the ship's hull stood 18 feet above water. Was it not possible, with all the horse-power of the Merseyside at their command, to hold it until essential equipment arrived for breathing fresh air into the con: demned cell?
"Was it possible to despatch salvage ship earlier? What is the full explanation of the changes in the Admiralty's statements from hope te despair, and then back again to faint hope? ' These questions," adds the "Evening Standard," "are on all men's lip:
"Reynolds's Illustrated New: asks. "How did it happer? Could have been avoided? These questions," it asserts, "cry for an answer through the nation's anguish, and they must be answered fully and publicly. That is a debt of honour to the dead and a burden on the consciences of the living."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.