Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 February 1917 — TOLL OF AMERICAN LIVES TAKEN IN GERMAN SUBMARINE WARFARE [ARTICLE]

TOLL OF AMERICAN LIVES TAKEN IN GERMAN SUBMARINE WARFARE

More Than 200 Lives of United States Citizens Lost Up to the Time Diplomatic Relations Were Severed—Review of the Attacks on Unarmed Merchantmen Which Stirred the Government to Action.

Washington. —The history of the submarine operations of the central powers is one long record of outrages perpetrated on American citizens and American property; a succession of 1 protests on the part of the government of the United States, and of assurances and promises made • and later violated by the German and Austrian * More than two hundred Americans had gone to their deaths through this submarine warfare up to the time diplomatic relations were severed. Most of the Americans lost were traveling on unarmed merchant ships, and, under the practices of international law and humanity, believed themselves secure. More than two thousand citizens of other nationalities lost their lives in the same attacks which cost the lives of Americans, but they compose only a part of the toll of life -taken by submarine warfare. The ships lost, on which the Americans met death are only a fraction of the number sent to the bottom by torpedoes—most of them without warning. The cases which involve the United States and Germany are primarily those in which America?! life was lost or endangered. The first American of whom there is record to lose his life in submarine attack was Leon T. Thresher, a passenger on the British steamship Falaba, bound from Liverpool for West Africa, which was torpedoed and sunk on March 27, 1915, off Milford, England. The Falaba, after a hopeless attempt to escape, stopped, and while boats were being lowered and passengers still were aboard, the submarine drove a torpedo into her side, and she went down in ten minutes. Of 242 persons, 136 were saved. The American was among the lost. The first American ship attacked was the Gulflight, an oil-tank vessel. from Port Arthur, Tex., to Rouen, France, torpedoed without ■warning off the Scilly islands on May 1,1915. Two men jumped overboard and were drowned; her captain died of heart failure. The Gulflight did not sink, and was towed to port by British patrols. The German government acknowledged the attack as an accident, expressed its regrets, and promised to pay damages. ——

Destruction of the Lusitania. The next attack was the one which shocked the civilized world and brought the United States and Germany for the first time to the verge of war. It was the destruction of the Lusitania, on May 7, 1915. Unarmed, with 1,257 passengers, of whom 159 were Americans, and a crew of 702, she was torpedoed without warning and sunk in 23 minutes off Old Head of Kinsale, as she was nearing Liverpool. In all 1,198 lives were lost, of which 124 were Americans, many of them of national prominence. The case passed into diplomatic negotiations which never took' final form. While the Lusitania case was still fresh tn the public mind, a Getmfln submarine torpedoed another Amerlcau ship the Nebraskan without warning, on May 25, 1915, south of Fastnet rock. The Nebraskan owed her safety to her seaworthiness. She reached port damaged, under her own steam, and no one was injured. The German government again expressed its regret for a mistake and promised to pay damages. x The Leyland Case.

Twenty American negro muleteers on she Leyland steamship, Armenian were killed on June 28, 1915, by shell fire and drowning when the Armenian failed to escape with her cargo of army mules from a submersible near the Cornwall coast. The Armenian was warned and. invited her destructlon by flight. The next submarine attack in which Americans were endangered was unsuccessful, but only because the steamship Orduna, of the Cunard line, proved too speedy for her pursuer. After sending a torpedo just under the Orduna’s stern, the submarine rained shells after the fleeing vessel without hitting her and then gave up the chase. Germany explained that the submarine commander had failed to observe his orders, and that more explicit instructions had been issued. Three Americans were endangered when the Russian steamship Leo was torpedoed without warning on her way from Philadelphia to Manchester, England, on July 9, 1915. On July 25, 1915. came the first destruction of an American ship by a submarine. It' was the Leelanaw of New York, bound from Archangel to Belfast, with flax, which is contraband. She was caught northwest of the Orkney islands. The American sailing ship William ,p. Frye was the first American vessel sunk in the war, hut she was dedestroyed in different circumstances. . Vessel Carried Contraband.

J The I-eeJanaw, besides carrying contraband, attempted to escape. As a neutral ship, her destruction was a doubtful right of any belllgerefttvShe Anally stopped, as the German submarine was firing after her. and then sent her papers over to the submersible by asmall boat.

The German commander not only gave the Leelpnaw crew all the time they required to take to their boats, but after sinking their ship by shot, and torpedo, took the crew on board the submarine and toWed their boats toward the- Orkney mainland. The men reached Kirkwall the next morning. On August 19, 1915, came the celebrated case of the Nlcosian of the Leyland line, and the British patrol boat Baralong. The Nicoslan, with mules Jrom' New Orleans to Avonmouth, was stopped by a submarine off the coast of Ireland, and her crew, including 36 Americans/took to the boats. While the submarine was making ready to destroy the Nicosian, the appeared and destroyed the submarine by gunfire, took on the Nicosian’s crew, and towed the ship to safety. The next crisis came on August 19, 1915, when the Arabic of the White Star line, from Liverpool to New York, was torpedoed without warning near the Lusitania’s grave- and sunk in about ten minutes. Out of 375 passengers and crew 48 were lost. Thirty Americans were on board and all but two were saved. The German government contended the submarine commander thought the Arabic was about to ram him, and fired in self-defense, but disavowed the act, expressed regret and gave additional assurances for the future safety of’ passenger ships’ A Denial From Berlin. One American of the crew of the Hesperian of the Allan line was lost on September 4, 1915, when the ship, Returning from Liverpool to Montreal, was torpedoed and sunk without warning off the southern coast of Ireland. The German., admiralty contended no German submarine was in that vicinity, but a piece of a German torpedo had been picked up on the Hesperian’s deck. ——— ~ Austria’s first submarine operations of consequence, and those which brought Germany’s closest ally Into the situation, began with the destruction of the Italian steamship Arieona, in the Mediterranean on November 7, 1915' With hundreds of passengers, many of them women and children, from Naples to New York, the Ancona was chased and stopped by an Austrian submarine. Twelve Americans were on board and, nine were lost. Italian official figures say 308 passengers were lost out of 507 on board. It was one of the heaviest submarine disasters. •

Some of the American survivors swore the Austrian submarine even shelled the lifeboats as the passengers were getting into them. On December 5, 1915, a submarine, presumably an Austrian, attacked the American oil steamship Petrolite off the coast of Tripoli. A sailor was injured by a shot into the Petrolite’s engine room, and the submarine continued firing after the Petrolite had, swung broadside so the submajine commander could see her name painted on her side and the American flag flying between her masts. The submarine commander finally permitted the Petrolite to proceed after he had taken some of her stores. New Crisis Appears. A new crisis, and the first suspicion that German submarines were operating in the Mediterranean, or that Austrian submarines were being manned by German officers and crews, was developed by the destruction of the British steamship Persia on December 30, 1915, southeast of Crete, while on her way to the Orient. Mr. McNeeley, American consul, on his way to his post at Aden, was among the 335 persons who lost their lives, whohTtwo or more were Americans. The wake of a torpedo was seen, but JMi submarine was visible. Germany,. Austria and Turkey denied responsibility. The United States again made representations, and assurances were given for what Germany termed “crui-

| set warfare,” which involved a promifppot to sink any peaceful ships without , warning or providing for the safety of those aboard. With the coming of winter and the chilling storms which sweep the North sea, submarine warfare was transferred to the warmer waters of the Mediterranean, an<i then finally was much restricted until the spring of 1916. On March 1 the submarine campaign was resumed with renewed ruthlessness. Campaign Is Renewed. The Patria of the French line, carrying no armament whatever, sailing from Naples to New York, was attacked without warning by a submarine north of Tunis. Passengers and crew saw the torpedo pass harmlessly under the Patrla’s stern and some saw a periscope. The Patria put on full speed and escaped further attack, but . had another narrow escape in the sama way the next month. Americans wera qn board in both instances. With the renewal of the submarine campaign the destruction of ships sometimes numbered as high as ten in one day, but only those cases which involved Americans are treated here. On March 9, 1916, while lying at anchor in Havre roads, the Norwegian bark Stilus was torpedoed and sunk without warning. A survivor of the French steamship Loulsiane, torpedoed fifteen minutes previously 500 yards away, swore he saw the submarine. There were seven Americans in the crew of the Silius, and one was injured* The next great passenger ship destroyed was the Dutch vessel Tubantia. While in the North sea, sailing to Rio de Janeiro, an explosion rent the ship asunder, and she sank. Three Americans were passengers. All pen* sons on board were saved except one Russian. Germany disclaimed responsibility. The Dutch government made an investigation which indicated a sub* marine attack. On March 18,1916, the British steamship Berwindvale, with four Americans on board, was torpedoed without warning off Bantry, Ireland, but no lives were lost.. On March 24, 1916, a German submarine chased the Dominion steamship Englishman, bound from Avonmouth to Portland. Me., and while the crew was attempting to abandon the ship, shot away her starboard lifeboats. After more firing, as the crew i was leaving the ship, the submarine torpedoed and sank her. One American. of the crew was aiming theten _ loot. --■ 1 i

Cdlmlnation of Atrocities. On the same day came the culmination of the long list of submarine outrages which caused President Wilson to lay the whole situation before congress, and to notify Germany that unless such methods of warfare positively were discontinued and declared at pn end, the United States would break off diplomatic relations. It was the destruction of the French Channel steamship Sussex, between Folkestone and Dieppe. Every bit of evidence went to prove that the ship- waa torpedoed without warning. On March 27, 1916, the British ship Manchester Engineer, outbound from Philadelphia, was torpedoed and sunk without warning 13 miles south of Waterford. Two •American negroes were in the crew of 33. All on board were rescued.* On March 28 the British steamship Eagle Point was shelled by a German submarine 130 miles south of Queenstown. The Eagle Point gave up her attempt to escape, and her crew of 42, which Included one American, took to the boats in a heavy swell and a stormy wind. Finally alt were saved. The submarine sank the ship with a torpedo. After Germany gave her promises as the result of the Sussex notes, there was a temporary lull in submarine warfare, but within a few weeks it began again. The next development came when Germany carried the submarine war to the American side of the Atlantic. On Saturday, October 7, 1916, the German war submarine U-53 entered Newport harbor unannounced, delivered a package of mail for the German embassy and departed as swiftly as she had come. Within the next 48 hours she sank six ships within sight of the American coast —four British, one Dutch and one Norwegian. With the flotilla, all lives were saved. It appeared that in each case the submarine commander had given legal warning and permitted the escape of passengers. Americans Endangered. On October 26, 1916, the British merchant ship Rowanmore was attacked by a Ger man submarine. fled, was overhauled and destroyed by gunfire. There was no loss of life, although two Americans and five Filipinos (naturalized Americans), the only Americans aboard, declared the submarine shelled the lifeboats as they were leaving the ship. On October 30 the British ship Marina, bound for the United States, was torpedoed and, of more than fifty Americans on board six were lost. Then followed the attack on the American steamship Chemung, the loss of 17 Americans on the steamship Russian, and finally came the notice that a campaign of ruthlessness was to begin February 1. irrespective of the consequences. The decision to break off dlplomatic relations wltb Germany followed. “ . \