The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-06-12
SLAYONIA BREAKING TO PIECES OFF
 THE AZORES
All Passengers Safely Taken Aboard Prinzess Irene and Now on Way to Naples-WiId Scenes at Cnnard Line Offices This Morning.
Especial from United Press.)

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 New York. June 12-Friends and relatives of the passengers on the Cunard Liner Slavonia which is break ing to pieces off the southwest shore of Flores Islands. thronged to the of
 fees of the Cunard line this morning. All were assured by the officers of the line that every passenger on the Slavonia had been safely taken off by the Prinzessin Irene of the North Ger man Lloyd line and, were now well on their way to Naples. When the Cunard line office opened this morning there was a rush for admittance. Relatives of the zoo steerage passengers. talking wildly and geSticulating franticaliy had been waiting for hours for news of the accident. It took some hard work on the part of the officials. to quiet them.
 The 110 first cabin passengers on the Slavonia were mostly tourists from the south and west and telegrams in large numbers poured in from all over the country. All were answered promptly with assurances of the safety of the passengers inquired about. All hope for the saving of the vessel however, was given up by the. Cunard line to- day. It is expected that she is in an exposed position on rock reef where the beating of the waves will soon break her up. No explanation for the grounding of the liner has been re- ceived but it is thought that the thick weather which has prevailed in the latituds of the Azores for the past two weeks was responsible for the wreck.
 The 3G0 steerage passengers on the Slavonia were taken Off the stranded vessel before Captain Won Letten-Pet- erson of the Prinzessin Irene had re- the crew of the damburg-American liner Batavia The Cunard line is as- sured to-day that both the Batavia and the Prinzessin Irene have plenty ~f f1w, ,sw,-- e., taken from the Slavonia- The news of the wreck was received in cablegram from Captain Peterson of the Prinzes- sin Irene. He said the Slavonia would be a total loss. It is known from the reports made by the captains of the two other liners that the weather was almost calm at the time. So soon as the Slavonia struck distress signals were made and answered by the Batavia The two ships had run on the same schedule nearly all of the way across the Atlantic and were close together at the time of the accident.
 When the crash came there was panic among the passengers and the steerage passengers especially were hard to handle. They were taken off first. the first cabin passengers being easily reassured by their officers. The crew of the Slavonia was all recruited on the other side: Captain A. G. Dun ming. who is a lieutenant in the British Naval Reserve. received his commiS- sion as captain more than year ago. The chief officer of the Slavonfa is MT. Henderson.
 The North German Lloyd steamer PrinZessin Irene. bound for Gibraltar, Genoa and Naples sailed from this port two days after the Batavia and Slavonia- The two latter steamed down New York bay together. This was Captain Rush's first voyage on the as in May he had been trans ferred from the Bulgaria to take the place of Captain Schoenfledt of the Bavaria The cabin passengers on the SIavonia were bound on tours of pleas ure while the steerage passengers were mostly Italians and Hungarians.
 The .Slavonia was designed partly to accommodate the Cunard's immense contract for immigration from Hun gary and was formerly the steamship Yamunia. She is of 10,600 tons gross, SIPS tons net, 510 feet long, 59 feet 5 inches beam and 22 feet inches deep. She is a steel twin screw boat.
 The Slavonia was equipped with wireless.