The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-06-15

New York, June l4,-~The Ameri-
can liner New York crept slowly from
Quarantine 10 her berth this after
noon A handage OF canvass covered
the big cash torn in her port plates
forward By the Hamburg American
ship Pretoria 800 miles east Of AM
brose channe. light shortly before
daybreal< Saturday.
The liner arrived at Quarantine at
1850 a NJ, hut had been expected
about five or six hours earlier. out
from the fog n which she had so mar
rowIy escaped humiliation, the New
Y ork had gone into other snothertng
fogs and so Skipper Roberts had
sneaked cautiously toward port One
quick glance the moment the. repor-
ters had clambored aboard The New
York at quarantine showed how close
/ had been her call. ABOUT twenty-five
feet aft of the howsprit on the port
side and high above the waterline
the ships plates were curled back as
If hey had been tin.
From the promenade deck down
ward through TWO decks and aft for
more than twentS feet the port was
laid wide open beneath the canvas
HANDBAGS. Out OF the hole for about
a yard stuck the Pretoria : rusty port
anchor which had become damned
fast in the petty officers wash room
and then had been torn away from
she German liner as the two ships
separated in the fog
The nfgh+ was foggs-'' said Cap
tain Roberts, when asked for state
mont since lao O'Clock Saturday
morning when the fog closed n again.
we had neen going slowly say. from
four 10 I'VE knots For six minutes
We had been lying dead when the
Pretoria hit as"
Roberts Brave Efforts.
Later Captain Roberts was induced
10 add TO this preliminary statement,
In the meantime however. dozens OF
the men and women among the paa-
sensers told many details Of The
hanging up the liner had received.
All were agreed that everybody was
awakened shortly after midnight
Saturday morning by the steady blasts
OF the siren as the liner slid into one
of the thickest Of the many fog
blankets
With the first foot of the New York $
fog siren the bulkheads had been Or
dered closed Then for more than a
hour ana n half the American liner
swashed along carefully her siren
grooming without ~, answering blast.
1T was about ten minutes before the
ships struck that the first blast from
the Pretoria was heard aboard the
New Y ork when Captain Roberts
brought his ship almost 10 a dead
stop. SiX minutes before the impact
the New York blew tH.o long blasts
to lee the Pretoria know that the
American 1ir,a.c- had no- hea6Mav a all
But from the Pretoria, says Captain
Roberts his crew and his passenger
came only the intermittent fog siren
Of the Pretoria. showing she, was still
under way,
Each blast from the German show
cd that she was. crowding in on the
New York. Finally Captain Roberts,
using his lungs and megaphone as
the fog that the New York had re-
hstern. Roberts was megaphoninas
Captain Dtgge 10 go TO port The
New York had begun TO gather stern
way when the lights OF the bigger
| German liner and her black hulk
came out OF the gray few wards
away and ripped into the New York s
forward plates.
Had Close Shave.
If Cantain Roberts had had about
n minute and half more" said A. E.
Gibbs. one OF the New York's pas
sengers, today. who was on the deck
at the time OF the collision, The would
have cleared the Pretoria. And II
he had not acted as promptly as he
did with such good sense we would
have been hit amldships and there
would have been another Empress OF
/ ireland colli1'on. and none of us would
| be here now to tell You the story, :