St. Tammany farmer., 1915-05-15
THE ST. TAMMANY FARMER SATURDAY, NAY 15 1915

ors until morning. The passengers
are in such a condition that their
immediate wants must be the first
consideration.
Another message from Queens
town states that a stewart who was
in the first boat that landed there
said he believed at least 900 lives
had been lost.
From Queenstown comes the re-
port that other rescued vessels put
in at Kinsale and Clonakilty with
survivors, but no word was obtain
able from those places tonight con-
corning the number or their identity.
It is known that the Admiralty di-
rected all rescue vessels to go to
Queenstown with the survivors, as
there they would find ample accom-
modations for the wounded and
others.
Ship Under Admiralty Control.
/ The Cunard Line officials explain
ed tonight that from the time the
Lusitania passed out Of the three
mile limit off New York last Satur-
day she was under the orders of the
British Admiralty. She was still un-
der the orders of the Admiralty when
she was torpedoed, and here it is as
sumed that she must have been pick
ed up by torpedo boats off the south
coas of Ireland and probably was be-
ing conveyed into the Irish Sea when
a German submarine eluded the Brit
ish torpedo boats and sent the fatal
torpedoes at her.
At the same time it was explained
that when the Mauretania. sister ship
of the Lusitania, left New York re-
Gently for Liverpool she was inter-
cepted outside the three-mile limit
and directed to proceed to Halifax.
The only estimate of the number
lof survivors given out by the Ad-
miralty tonight is based upon the
statement of F. v. Jones, an officer
of the Lusitania, afte rhe arrived al
Queenstown. He said he believed
that between 500 and 500 passea-
gers and crew had been saved.
To this the Cunard Line added:
''This is the only estimate We are
able to make at this time. In the
meantime we are going through ho-
tells, lodging houses and so forth to-
night and will wire tomorrow fullest
possible list. In the meantime car
ing for the injured and .the dead are
taking up all our time
The official censor announced to-
night that no exact information was
being suppressed, but that informa-
ton that was not verified and did not
seem to be well founded was not be-
ing sanctioned for publication.
| A dispatch from Dublin dated at
1895 tonight gave much hope to
those who had friends on board the
Lusitania This said that a private
Telegram had been received from
Clonakilty that several hundred pas
sengers had been landed there. A
previous message to the Admiralty
stated that rescue ships had started
for Queenstown, Clonaskilty and Kin
| sale with survivors, but there was no
| information concerning the number
sent to Clonakilty and Kinsale. This
] also stated that three steam vessels
had gone to Queenstown with sur
vivors. These are believed to have
been the Stormrock, the Dock and
the Indian Empire, previously re-
ported with the Flyingfish and three
torpedo boats.
Anxious Plead for News.
Distressing scenes were enacted
this afternoon and tonight at the
Cunard offices here and at the Ameri-
can embassy. Hundreds of promi-
nent Americans now in London be-
siege the embassy seeking informa-
| tion. The star was kept busy not
only by these personal inquiries, but
in answering hundreds, even thous-
ands, of telegraphic and telephone
inquiries.
II was apparent that the sinking
Of the Lusitania had Jared the Brit
ish capital as severelp as any Incl.
dent of the war. Great crowds gath
cred about the Cunard Line offices,
where bulletins were posted as soon
as received, the officers of the COM
pany remaining at their desks all
night. But they were not alone, for
the crowds fingered all night and
many pathetic scenes were witnessed.
Women begged for information,
weeping, crying out that they had
relatives among the passengers or
the crew. The police had all they
could do to handle these crowds.
The American embassy was kept
open all night, also, because Of the
great number OF Americans who had
left New York on board the Lusitania
and because of the demands for in
formation.
The Admiralty and the Cunard
Line exchanged messages quickly and
freely with the American embassy
Hundreds Of the most prominent
families of England sent telephone
and telegraph inquiries for informa-
ton concerning the safety Of the dis