Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-25
GRATEFUL FOR AID
IN HOUR Of STRESS
American Tourists Appreciate
Service of u. S. Ambassador
Page and Others.
SPECIAL TRIBUTE PAID
CONSUL GENERAL JONES
Assistance Rendered in Procuring
Transportation Home-Distress
of Travellers Subject Of Appeal.

Several Westinghouse received
high praise for their aid to stranded
Americans in Europe, especially in
Italy, from passengers who landed In
New York yesterday on the Principe
di Udine from Genoa. Especially COM
mended Washingtonians were the
American ambassador to Rome, Thorn
as Nelson Page; the American consul
general to Genoa, DR.. j. E. Jones; the
vice consul to Genoa, James Young;
Medical Director John c. Boyd, U. S. n,
retired and DR.. A. Camp Stanley, U.
S. N, retired, who headed the commit
tee on sanitation on the PRINCIPE al
Udine and who looked after the health
of the 400 Americans aboard during its
two-week passage from Genoa to New
York.
Conditions of distress and worry
among Americans in Italy following
the outbreak of the European war and
the help given by Washingtonians ana
others in getting shlpload OF amer
leans back to their home shores were
outlined in a statement given out upon
the landing of the Udine.
LAS soon as it was evident August l
that a general European war was GER
TAIN" says the statement, ana means ms
of transportation, as well as all
sources of financial supply were cut
off, the greatest agitation and distress
prevailed among the tens of thousands
of Americans scattered all over Eu-
rope They naturally turned to the
nearest embassy or consulate for ad
vice and assistance. In view of the de-
clared neutrality of Italy and the like
lihood that that neutrality would be
preserved and respected. large num-
berS of Americans concentrated in
Milan and Genoa in the hope of being
able to obtain passage to America on
vessels sailing under the Italian (neu-
traD flag.
Berths All Taken by August 1.
by the evening of August l every
available berth in the Italian ships
scheduled to sail between that date
and October l was definitely engaged
and hundreds of names were upon the
| waiting list. The Lloyd Sabaudo Com
! pany, which maintains a considerable
| fleet for the South American trade, and
which also announced occasional SAIL
ings to New York, has scheduled the
steamer Re d'Italia to sail from Genoa
Tuesday, August II. A few Americans
| including President Butler of Columbia
| University and his family, were sue
cessful in procuring accommodations
| upon that ship. Tuesday, August 4, 1t
was rumored that the Re dItalia
would not be able to sail, since the
| italian government had need of it for
| public uses.
"On the following day definite an
| nouncement was made at Milan that
| the Re d'Italia would not be able to
| sail and that the passengers having
booked by it would have their pay
ments refunded. 1t was then clear that
| 1t was by no means certain that any
other ship would be able to sail from
| an Italian port, and the whole situa-
ton was involved in new gloom and
| uncertainty.
"On the evening of Tuesday, August 4,
| Dock Commissioner r. A. c. Smith of
| New York arrived in Genoa from Venice
| and early en- the following morning be-
| gan negotiations to secure passage to
| New York for as many of his fellow
Americans as possible. In conference
with Consul General Jones, he devised a
plan by which the steamer Principe di
| Udine, belonging to the South American
service of the Lloyd Sabaudo line, should
| be chartered through the agency of the
| consul general in the name of the United
| States government, all costs and charges
to be guaranteed by Mr.. Smith and his
| friends. The object of this plan was to
| remove SO far as possible the uncertainty
| which prevailed as to the possibility OF
| any early sailing from Genoa to New
York and to put the control of the whole
matter in the hands of Mr.. Smith and
his fellow-Americans.
Throng of Tourists in Genoa.
During August and there was a
concentration in Genoa of large num-
| Der of well known Americans who had
been travelling in north Italy when the
| war storm broke. In addition to Dock
Commissioner Smith and his family, there
! were President Butler of Columbia Uni
versity: Gano Dunn, president of the
J. G. White Company: Frederick W. Van
derbilt. Medical Director John c. Boyd
United States Navy. retired, and many
others. All these gentlemen were in con-
slant conference with Consul General
Jones and with the hundreds of their
| fellow-countrymen who were besieging
the American consulate for advice and
assistance, both by day and by night
The plan to charter the Principe di
Udine was submitted to Ambassador
Thomas Nelson Page and approved by
him.
1 1T is therefore due to the courage
sagacity and patriotism of Consul Gen
eral Jones and the prompt and effective
support of Ambassador Page that the
sailing of the Principe di Udine was thus
made possible.
After outlining the details of work and
negotiations in getting the money neces-