Jasper County Democrat, Volume 20, Number 90, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 February 1918 — FIFTY U. S. MEN STILL MISSING [ARTICLE]

FIFTY U. S. MEN STILL MISSING

Fifty-One Others Believed to Have Perished on Transport. " «’ ■ - - U-BOAT IS REPORTED SUNK British Destroyer Believed to Haxo Sent Raider to the Bottom With Depth Bomb. London, Feb. B.—The total lost on the Tuscunia is 101. The saved include 2,100 troop's and 190 of the crew. Elghty-one American soldiers are in hospitals. Of the missing 50 arO soldiers and 51 members of the crew. The bodies of 44 were washed up during the day on the rocks 15 miles from tlie scene of the torpedoing. All were Americans. Their bodies were mutilated beyond recognition. Although all the soldiers wore tags no Identification numbers had been put on them. They had not been assigned to army units, There is no way to Identify them and they will be burled in one grave. Three of the men who were landed have died from exposure. It Is not known whether they were Americans. ’ Total Loss Is 101. Washington, Feb. 8. —Latest figures from an authoritative source place the total lost when the troopship Tuscanla was torpedoed off the Irish coast Tuesday night at six o’clock as 101. This figure, given by correspondetUp In Trelandj has boon confirmed by the American embassy In London. Among the survivors are 76 officers. Disaster in Figures. Total number aboard 2,897 Troops saved .2,106 Crew saved 1! »0 Total lost 101 The troops aboard numbered 2,179 and the crew 218. How many of the missing were members of the' Michigan-Wisconsin National Guard division units it Is Impossible to state, for no list of casualties has been received by the war depaTtment and only a meager list of survivors. The rapidly dwindling estimate of casualties from the 1,079 orglnally reported missing brought relief to the anxiety of officials. Relief Sent Survivors. While army and most naval officers are of the opinion British destroyers alone were convoying the transport, Secretary Daniels was inclined, to the belief American vessels also were in convoy, although he said none had left this side with the ship. The official report to tlie war department giving the first list of survivors stated the British authorities had telegraphed their commands In Scotland and Ireland to afford every possible assistance and to supply survivors with fresh clothing and other comforts. Report Raider Sunk. Unofficial reports show that a destroyer, presumably British, gave chase to the submarine which sank the Tuscanla and possibly sank the raider with a depth bomb. No details of the attack had come fr«n official sources. They are awaited eagerly. Sorrow over the first loss of a transport laden with American troops Is tempered by the growing total of survivors, and the dominant emotion among army and navy men now is the desire to strike back. Overcoming the Foe. Navy officials see no reason to change their opinion that the submarine menace is being overcome. The Tuscanla incident Is regarded as an Isolated case, w hich may serve to develop additional methods for repelling the undersea craft and improving the convoy System. . No detail of the action will be passed over when-ftiH reports fronr the British admiralty are available. Many devices enter into the battle against tlie U-boats, some of which have been evolved by American inventors. Others have been greatly imthe United States entered the war and the detection apparatus now installed on American craft is so successful that British craft are being similarly equipped. Blast Shatters Boat. London, Feb. Sergeant E. C. Dubuque and Sergeant Muller, both of Brooklyn, were rescued from a raft by a coasting schooner. Sergeant Dubuque said the boat to, which he had been assigned was shattered by the_explosion. He clambered over the port side the best way he could and was placed in a boat with ten or twelve other men. When they bad been lowered about halfway down the ropes became disarranged. They were all thrown Into the water. There was a rather heavy sea, but the sergeant swam to the

: stern of the liner and climbed on a rest. There he found Sergeant Muller. Sergetint Dubuque said he saw many j men in the sea. ' Collapsible rafts were thrown overboard to enable those who w ere struggling in the water to save themselves. Some of these rafts struck loaded boats. The sergeant said he believed quite a number of them must have been killed in this way. The sergeant and the others cn the raft were at the point of collapse when picked up, but they soon recovered. They are under the care of Dr. Langers of New York, who has been in the United States service for some time. The Tuscania was hit about 7 o’clock in the evening when the ships were within sight of land, and remained afloat for about two hours after being hit.