r-3-1 The Ci irdova Daily Times i -ssH
VOLUME 1. NUMBER 130. CORDOVA, ALASKA, SATURDAY MAY 8, 1915 PRICE TEN CENTS.
1,216 LIVES LOST AT SEA
UNITED STATES REALIZES GRAVITY SITUATION
, _ I___
PRESIDENT REFUSES
DISCUSS DISASTER
WASHINGTON, May 8—President
Wilson returned to the White House
from the capitol this noon, and re
sumed his reading of the dispatches
concerning the Lusitania horror. He
again refused to make any comments
on the situation.
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DEAD PIACED
IT 1216
PROMINENT AMERICANS DEAD
Charles Frohman
Justus Mills
Charles Klein
Elbert Hubbard
Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt
Herbert Stone
QUEENSTOWN, May 8—The death
list of the Lusitania so far as ascer
tained, totals 1216. A further reduc
tion of this number seems unlikely.
An immense fortune was represented
by the Lusitania and her cargo. The
boat was valued at $10,000,000, and her
cargo at three-quarters of a billion.
The extent of the money and valu
ables lost by the passengers should
be added to this to get the correct
estimate of the loss, but the value of
the personal property of the passen
gers will never be known. The boat
was Insured for seven and one-half
millions. It has been learned here
that the boat carried forty-two hun
dred cases of cartridges and ammuni
tion consigned to London.
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LIVERPOOL, May 8—Alfred Roth,
a managing director of the Cunard
Steamship Company, has made the
following statement: “I desire to
send the heartfelt sympathy of all the
Cunard Company’s managers and di
rectors to the friends and relatives
of the American passengers murdered
by the German submarine. I am cer
tain that the whole civilised world is
united in grief for the sorrow ant
suffering caused, and in loathing foi
the treacherous attack made on tin
innocent lives of so many women an(
children.”
...* n • ....
ANOTHER TRAWLER
GOES TO BOTTON
LONDON, May 8—German submt
rines are continuing their activitiei
Today the trawler Bennington wa
torpedoed and sunk by a submarln
off Aberdeen. The crew was nave<
Centennial Best Flour, f>.25 p«
at S. Blum & Co's.
LONDON, May 8—Fifteen hundred lives were
sacrificed when the Lusitania was torpedoed yester
day off Kinsale Head, Ireland. There were twenty
me hundred and sixty persons on hoard the vessel,
and the known survivors total six hundred and fifty
idght. Six hundred' of the survivors have arrived
at Queenstown, many of whom are women and chil
dren, who are in a pitiable condition as a result of
fright from their terrible experience. Among tin*
aoted Americans who were on the boat, and who have
not so far been reported among the survivors?, are
Charles Frohman, the noted playwright and actor
manager, Filbert Hubbard, known the country over
ns Fra Elbertus, the publisher of the Philistine, and
Alfred Gwvnne Vanderbilt, one of the great Amer
ican money kings.
WAS TWICE TORPEDOED
QUEENSTOWN, May 8—From the survivors
the story of the torpedoing of the Lusitania is rap
idly being put together. The submarine fired four
torpedoes, but only two of them hit the mark. The
first torpedo fired struck the Lusitania in tin* num
ber 1 stokehole, the second one struck her in the
engine room, and the last two torpedoes were miss
es.
\ apuuii jl m iit i i Piiiamm uu me urm^r «>i uii*
ship until she foundered, and was picked up alive
three hours later with a life belt around his waist.
The survivors who are arriving here ate well cared
for and the city is sparing nothing to alleviate
the destitute condition of the stricken victims of
the tragedy. Immediately after the first torp
pedo struck the Lusitania, the ship was headed for
the shore, but before she got her prow turned the
second torpedo had' struck and exploded. Those
on deck at the time say that the periscope of the
submarine was not sighted until she was within
one hundred yards of her prey. No warning was
given to the ship. Simultaneously with the sight
ing of the periscope by the lookout, the white trail
of the torpedo was seen and next came the crash.
The torpedo hitting the liner’s side was immediately
followed by another, which littered the deck with
wreckage. Thirty-five minutes after the second tor
pedo struck the ship she listed' so that the life boats
on one side of the ship were unlaunchable- The
crew had been working heroically all this time get
ting the boats off, calming hysterical women and la
boring like Trojans to launch the boats in an or
derly and expeditious manner There was no pan
ic on the part of the men, and the crew performed
their duty to the letter. Each boat carried just
enough of the crew to man them properly, and the
remainder calmly went on working to launch tin*
small boats until the end came.
The scenes as the small boats were put over the
side were heartrending. Passengers in tin* boats
called farewell to their relatives and friends, and
wives vainly struggled to remain behind with their
husbands. The women were firmly but gently car
ried away from their men folks and put in the lift
boats. Only forty-one of the one hundred and
eighty-eight Americans who took passage on the shij
at New York were saved.
Most of the first cabin passengers were at din
ner when the first torpedo struck, and' they refuser
to join the crush getting into the lifeboats, as they be
lieved that the ship would float until tin* rescuing
vessels arrived. The wireless operator immediate
ly got in touch with the vessels in the vicinity am
the nearest shore station and received replies tha
rescuing ships were hurrying towards the Lusitan
ia.
The survivors are being listed as rapidly a
possible so that an accurate list of the dead may b
ascertained, but the work of listing is not yet com
' plete. Among the known Americans who perishei
i are Justus Mills, a well knon author, and Charle
i Klein, the playwright, whose plays have been th
big hits of the last few theatrical seasons in Ne\
York
A HEARTRENDING SPECTACLE
| QUEENSTOWN, May 8—Bodies of the victim
| of the Lusitania tragedy are arriving on every boa
and every available public building is being use
to house the dead. The Cunard warehouses nr
filed to their capacity with the corpses, and th
town hall has been impressed into a similar us<
8 The survivors have all been quartered in the man
8 hotels and boarding houses. There have been man
' deaths among the survivors, who have succumbed 1
injuries and exhaustion, especially among the won
r en and children. The hospitals are overflowin
< with sick and injured from the vessel. When tl
first boats arrived here bringing the women and I
children who had been rescued, the spectacle was I
heartrending, and the pitiable condition of the worn- i
en in particular made the spectators break out in I
sobs. Some of the women had absolutely no cloth
ing of their own on, and were wrapped up in blan
kets- Many children had' been rescued whose pa
rents had been killed, and the situation of these
survivors resembles in many instances the condi
tions that arose after the wreck of the Titanic.
SUNK IN 21 MINUTES
QUKFjNSTOWN, May 8—The Lusitania was
seen to be in difficulty only twenty-one minutes be
fore she sank. How long before that the boat was
sunk is not known, but it is believed it could not
have been long.
NO WARNING GIVEN OFFICERS
LONDON, May 8—The Canard Steamship Com
pany has issued a statement concerning the sink
ing of the Lusitania, in which they assert that the
vessel was torpedoed as soon as the submarine rose
to the surface within striking distance. Absolutely
no warning was given to the officers of the boat
and no opportunity to get the passengers off in the
life boats before disabling the ship.
SUBMARINES WERE IN WAITING
CONDON, May 8—There were several subma
rines waiting to torpedo the Lusitania, and’ other
vessels of the tllotilla that was along the southern
coast of Ireland succeeded in sinking the Harrison
line steamers Candidate and Centurion, while wait
er II I 1-11.1 ....
AUTHENTIC REPORT
OF THE LOSS OF LIFE
LONDON, MAY 8—THE LATEST FIG
URES OBTAINABLE SHOW THAT THERE
WERE TWELVE HUNDRED AND FORTY
ONE PASSENGERS AND A CREW OF
EIGHT HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN ON THE
LUSITANIA WHEN THE VESSEL WAS
SUNK. ONLY SEVEN HUNDRED AND
THREE PERSONS WERE SAVED, LEAV
ING THIRTEEN HUNDRED AND SIXTY
FOUR WHO PERISHED THESE FIG
| URES ARE AUTHENTIC, AND IT IS AC
, CEPTED THAT THE LIKELIHOOD OF
! ANY ADDITIONAL NAMES BEING ADD
ED TO THE LIST OF SURVIVORS IS VERY
SLIM.
I . '
l ing for the Lusitania. Tile Candidate and Centu
l rion were both vessels of thrity-eight hundred tons
| and were both well known in the Pacific Northwest.
No lives were lost on either boat.
LUSITANIA WAS UNARMED
LONDON, May 8—In order to set at rest var
I ions rumors to the effect that the German submarine
! had to sink the Lusitania without warning because
i the latter vessel was equipped with three-inch ri
^ ties, the British Admiralty announced this afternoon
, that the Lusitania was unarmed.
I SERIOUS EVENTUALITIES MAY RESULT
WASHINGTON, May 8—After a cabinet meet
I ing today a cable message was sent to Ambassador
i Gerard, the American representative at Berlin,
I requesting that he mala* inquiries of the German
^government concerning the sinking of the Lusitan
* i in. Certain high officials of the administration,
1 who refuse to speak for publication, have said pri
vately that the situation is very grave, and that
serious eventualities may result. Secretary of
State Bryan told the newspapermen that his depart
s meat was securing all the information possible, anti
, that the government had taken steps to proffer tin
1 necessary aid and assistance to all the American
o survivors of the catastrophe.
(> —,
GERMANY TO BE HELD TO ACCOUNT
y WASHINGTON, May 7—(Delayed in trans
y m'ss’oii) -Ti e government officials here say then
o v. ill be no complication with Germany over the sink
i- ing of the Lusitania unless American lives wert
g lost. Officials of the government were privatelj
o' warned before the Lusitania sailed that Germany in
r
cmsed to destroy ilu Lusitania at the firs* oppor- I
unity in order to terrorize British shipping. If.
my American lives have been lost Germany will be
it ld to strict s ccount.
ASSOCIATED PRESS MAN MISSING
NEW YORK, May H—Among the passengers (
>n the ill-fated Lusitania who so far lias been nn- ,
iccounted for, was Herbert Stone, the son of Mel-1,
ri He Stone, general manager of the Associated;,
Press. Herbert Stone was bound for England in ,
mnnection with his father’s news service. j (
NEWS CAUSES SLUMP IN STOCKS
NEW YORK, May 8—A panic seized the stock
exchange in this city yesterday when the news of i
the sinking of the Lusitania was received. The
brokers stormed up and down the floor of the ex
change wildly shouting a torrent of selling orders.
The leading industrial and railroad stocks col
lapsed immediately, and the market closed weaker
than at any time since the European war commenced !
The bull traders were smothered in the frenzied at
tacks of the bears.
CREW OF SUBMARINE WAR HEROES
COPENHAGEN, May 8—The Berlin newspa
pers have printed the story of the sinking of the
Lusitania in display type, and make it the chief
story of prominence among the events of the war.
The crew of the submarine which accomplished the
daring act are hailed as heroes, and will undoubted
ly be awarded the Iron Cross by tho Emperor. All j
of the newspapers make much of the fact that the
sinking of the huge Cunarder marks a new era in
the German naval policy. Among the people at!
large in Berlin the general impression seems to be|
that tin* English got just what they deserved. Xoj
regrets are expressed for the large loss of life among
tho passengers.
188 AMERICANS WERE ABOARD
LOXDON, May 7—(Delayed in transmission) —
There is reason for hoping that no great loss of life
occurred when the Lusitania was torpedoed and
sunk by a German submarine. At the office of the
Cunard Company in this city tin* offieials express
the bt'ief that possibly all were saved. There were
one hundred and eighty-eight American citizns pas
sengers on the vessel and nine hundred and fifty
six British citizens- Three hundred passengers
have been landed at Clonakilty, Ireland.
—
UNITED STATES IS INVESTIGATING
WASHINGTON, May 8— President Wilson re
fuses to say anything for publication on the Lusi
tania tragedy, except that he is seeking to learn all
ti e facts, and that he hopes the country will assume
an examining attitude and reserve its judgment un-j
til f ill detai's and circumstances have been report
ed and \oriii'»(i. That the administration realizes
the gravity of the situation no one doubts, and that
the government will take a firm attitude in tin mat
ter once complete information is received, is a fore
gone conclusion. The cabinet officials know that
the people from Maine to California will insist on
American honor being vindicated if our rights us
a neutral nation have been violated, and the lives of
Americans wantonly and needlessly sacrificed.
The cabinet members have cancelled all their
Sunday engagements, many of them having planned
to take a day’s rest from their labors. The re
cent developments have caused them to arrange not
to leave their posts of duty until the course of the
government has been decided upon. Senator Stone,
of Missouri, chairman of the Senate Foreign Rela
tions committee, has issued a statement counsel
ing calmness. He says' that this is not a time for
hysterical, hasty, unpremeditated action, but that
the American people must decide what to do when
they are aware of the real facts, and' their action
! then, no matter what it is will be above criticism.
MOST SERIOUS SITUATION SINCE WAR
WASHINGTON, May 7—(Delayed, in trans
mission)—The news of the sinking of the Lusitania
off the south coast of Ireland struck the administra
tion officials here like a bomb. Something ak :i t
consternation seemed to be the prevailing effect up
on the cabinet members when they first learned of
t! ■ result of the German’s torpedo. A'.l the gov
i :>m lit officials realize that the incident has civat
1 <<i the most serious situation since the present wav
staated and no one can question but that grave r*»
■ suits are likely to follws. When the president
was in!o^med of the sinking of the vessel he re
■ framed from comment.
ODY OP HUN
HAS BEEN RECOVERED
QUEENSTOWN, May 8—The body
f Charles Frohman, the American
ilaywrlght and the foremost promot
er of plays in the world, has been re
■overed, and is being embalmed in
his city preparatory to being shipped
o New York.
PON OF 0.5.
WASHINGTON. May 8-Appalled
by the tragis aspects of the Lusitania
disaster, and the far-reaching possi
bilities from the death of one hundred
and thirty-seven Americans, Presi
dent Wilson and his advisors are
waiting for the receipt of all the facts
in the matter and are further watting
to see what shape American public
opinion will take when it crystilllzes.
The public opinion of the nation will
be the determining factor in laying
out the course the United States will
pursue. The complications caused
by the tragedy are the greatest in
ternational imbroglio that Wilson has
faced since the war broke out. Sen
ator Stone, chairman of the Senate
Foreign relations committee says that
the Lusitania was a belligerent ves
sel, therefore the German attack on
the American oil tanker Gulflight, re
sulting in the death of her captain
and two seamen, was a much more
serious offense against the rights of
a neutral nation.
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j
E
I
NEW YORK. May 8—A warning is
sued by the German embassy at Wash
ington to h!1 travelers against using
British steamships, appeared once
more in the newspapers today. The
managers of the freight department
of the Cunard line in this city states
that there were no explosives, ammu
nition or inflamable material on board
the Lusitania.
BASEBALL GAME TOMORROW
Tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 the
married and single men will cross
bats at the baseball park. Dr. Coun
cil announces the folowing players
will look after the interests of the
benedicts Kerwood, Carlyle, Tay
lor. Walsh, Byers, Dooley, Council
O'Neill. Mosser, Griswold and Henne
ke. The bachelors will be Berry,
O'Neill, Reeves, Anderson, Brown, ,To
hanson. Norgren , Baur, Me Kail, El
liott and Snyder.
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Superintendent Caleb Corser will
leave on the Mariposa for a short vaca
tion in the states.
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All the Real News In the Times.