In an outburst of patriotism prompted by yesterday's news reports on the Japanese situation, the builders and owners of the Chinese junk "Little Mermaid of the North Atlantic," launched on the Charles last spring, turned the diminutive vessel over to the United States naval authorities.

Although no word has yet been received from the Navy Department, the donors confidently asserted that their ship will be used either by the Intelligence Department, or as a "suicide junk," which will be loaded with explosives and used to blow up one of the key boats of the Japanese fleet. "Or else," they said, "her cruising range of 20 miles will insure the safety of our western coast."