May 23, 19 1 8 
Land & Water 
feelings into the most degrading travesty of romantic love. 
By the time this correspondence came under Go\'ernment 
censorship it had become a blend of exalted patriotism and 
of passion perverted to the obscenities pictured on the walls 
of ruined Pompeii. 
To make complete the picture of this hero of the Prussian 
officer class, it may be well to quote the round robin of the 
crew of the Prinz Eitel Friedrich. To them even the air of 
an American internment camp was the breath of freedom 
compared to their ser\'ice on a'ship of his Imperial Majesty's 
Marine. Here is their opinion of life in it and of their gallant 
captain : 
Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., July Sth. 
United States District Attorney, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 
Dbak Sir, — •^^'e of the 
crew of the Prince Eilel 
Friedrich, beg to inform 
you about the condi- 
tion as there had been 
existing on board said 
vessel, and of the c^iar- 
acter of Captain Max 
Thierichens. He is one 
of the most cruel and 
dishonest men who ever 
had been in cliarge of 
a vessel. He is a dis- 
grace to any military 
organisation, and we 
feel ashamed that he 
brought disgrace to our 
vessel. He is one of 
the worst egoists in 
existence, without any 
feeling for his fellow- 
men. He is guilty of 
using the United States 
mails for fraudulent 
purposes, advertising in 
the papers that he 
would receive liehes- 
gaben (love packages) 
tor the soldiers in order 
to benefit himself, and 
later selling the samt- 
in the canteen after an 
inspection and rifling ; 
he kept everything of 
value. He has received 
1,000 of packages and 
money from very near 
every German society 
and countless private 
people, but his son 
never saw a penny ol 
the same. The mone\ 
he has spent for him 
self and some of his 
officers on his orgies. 
As we had been out 
on the high seas, he 
only had an eye for his 
personal welfare. If we 
met a vessel, after 
stopping the same, the 
first thing he always did was to 
secure as much wine and other good things for himself and 
officers, so that they always liad plenty. He would not 
allow his sailors to bring enough potatoes and common 
food on board to satisfy their hunger. There had been 
cases where men had been severely punished just for taking 
a piece of meat from the table of one of the sunken \essels. 
The men did not even have drmking water, but he and his 
officers used the same for bathing. He had been afraid 
that the U.S. Government would find out about his various 
misdeeds, so in order to make the Government think that 
he was all he should have represented' he pulled off the 
biggest blulf ever thought of. He told ten men that they 
could run off, supplied the same with money, and after a 
few moments sent some other boys over the side to make 
as much noi.se as possible to call the attention ol the guards. 
He had his men maltreated wherever there was a chance 
to do so. He even did this after we had been brought to 
Fort Oglethorpe. We have to thank the U.S. officers for 
putting a stop to it. The captain had been mad that he ■ 
lost the power over the men. He swore he would bring 
the men to a military prison for years to come, simply 
because they refused to be treated -like dogs after being 
informed by the U.S. officers that they don't have to stand 
for anvthing like that. H it was not for the iron discipline 
maintained by the Germans, there would have been a 
mutiny on board the ship. Even a common man hates to 
see good supplies going to waste just because the captain 
< ould not get quick enough to his wine, and the men feed 
on hard tack that was full of worms. Some of the men 
are willing to appear in court against the captain to bear 
out because they are not protected by the U.S. Govern- 
ment, and may have to lace a court martial 'aw if they are 
returned to Germany. We do hope that there will be an 
investigation of the evil doings of said captain. If found 
guilty, we do hope that he may find out what it does mean 
to do wrong lo hi? fellow-men. 
The photographs taken- by officers of the Eitel Friedrich 
during her career as a commerce raider are printed here. 
With true German thoroughness they made a complete 
record of the ships they sank, even to photographs of these 
vessels when first sighted, and "progress pictures" of their 
destruction and submersion, mounting the photographs on 
sheets of paper embossed with the Imperial sign. The Eitel 
Friedrich was a cruiser, not a submarine, and it so far observed 
the rules of war as to remove the crews before the ships were 
sunk. One of these mer- 
chantmen was an Ameri- 
can, the William P. Frye. 
The German photographs 
show the Stars and Stripes 
flviiig from the stern when 
sighted and then a last 
view of the topmasts as 
she went beneath the 
waves. Ca the William P. 
Frye, as on many of the 
others, women were among 
the prisoners of war re- 
moved to the Eitel Fried- ' 
rich. -Aboard the German 
raider they were locked in 
their cabins under guard, 
and treated with scrupu- ' 
lous politeness. Perhaps 
it was as well for their 
peace of mind that Thier- 
ichens' subsequent record 
in an American court of 
law was not emblazoned 
on their walls. It is cer- 
tainly well that there was 
the difference between the 
German crew and their 
captain trained in the 
Prussian military code of 
morals. 
This Captain Thierichens 
was in correspondence in 
America with nearly a 
dozen misguided .American 
women. At the same time, 
he was receiving most 
tender and touching 
letters from his wife and 
children at Kiel, to whom 
he was a hero. His httle 
daughter writes : " My 
darling, — On the day of 
my sixth birthday I will 
thank you all alone for the 
Lovely kisses for same. I hope by my next 
I am praying every 
The Sinking of the "William P. Frye" after the crew 
of the " Eitel Friedrich " had exploded a charge of 
dynamite placed within the hold 
pretty things. 
birthday you will be with us again. 
evening and moming to the dear God that he will protect 
my dear father." His wife writes, in March, 1917 : "We 
are all right. Nobody would conquer us. God the Lord 
won't leave us alone. We are all brave. We shall wait to 
see how everything ' turns out. England will be punished 
shortly. Now,' my darhng, enough for to-day. Please remain 
healthy and retain your good humour." 
{To be continued) 
r 
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