The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1915-07-23
STEAMER WITH AMERICANS
ON BOARD ATTACKED
Cunard Liner Orduna Has Marrow
Escape From Submarine.


| New York, July 17.-The Cunart
liner Orduna, from Liverpool to New
York, with 227 passengers including
twenty-five Americans, was attacked
without warning, it was learned on
her arrival here to-day, by German
submarine on the morning of July
g.
Twenty miles from the grave yard
of the Lusitania, off Old Head of
Kinsale, the Orduna escaped the
Lusitania's fate by one-half sec
ond of time, or ten feet of space.
the German torpedo churning the
water that distance behind the
liners rudder. Then the Orduna
sped away. She was followed by the
submarine, which rose to the sur
face, manned gun and shelled the
fleeing steamer.
The attack was timed at ten min
utes to six o'clock in the morning
when all but few of the passengers
were asleep. Aroused by stewards,
the passengers dressed hurriedly and
went to the upper deck, where they
donned life belts and took their
places at the life boats. They heard
the scream of the shells and saw the
ocean spit up columns of water
whore tho T,niCcsIoo n@r,,o1- VII :,
the fire grew hot, they were ordered,
for their own protection, to the next
deck below. a.
For half an hour the Orduna
showed her heels to the assailant.
Thru marine glasses the passengers
watched the low-lying German war
ship coming on with a bone in her
teeth, but the Orduna's flight was
faster than the pursuit and after
seven shots had been fired, without
effect, the submarine gave up the
chase.
A wireless call for help was sent
out by the Orduna when the torpedo
was seen. She was then thirty-seven
miles south of Queenstown. The
reply, Captain Taylor says in his
official report, was that help would |
be given within an hour. It was |
four hours before the first British
vessel, small armored yacht, the
Jeannette, appeared.
TO FILE PROTEST.
Protest will be made to the Ameri-
;an Government by at least one citi-
zen of the United States, and pos
'ibly others, who were aboard. Will
lam o. Thompson, of Chicago, coun-
vel to the federal industrial rela-
ions commission, who went abroad
n his official capacity last March
md was returning to make his re-
'ort,s is the passenger who said to-
ay that he would make vigorous
rotest to his government.
"As an American citizen, employ .
d in an official capacity by the
overnment to go abroad, feel that
should bring the governments at
sntion to the attack said Mr..
thompson.
Il felt that had right to re-
i'm home on the Orduna, although
lie flies the British flag, because she
a passenger ship. The fact that
lie had no munitions of war aboard
'rtified this opinion. The Orduna,
4 unarmed passenger ship carrying
D munitions, was deliberately at
.cked without warning, pursued
Id subjected to shell fire. 1t is lit
e short TO marvellous that she was
1t sent to the bottom with all
BOARD. In making my protest to
ashington, l shall proceed along
ese lines, combining with the pro-
st a report of the attack as / saw
Whether the submarine hid be-
nd an American ship-the bark
from Gulfport, Miss.-
rs point upon which passengers
Id varying opinions. A small sail
g ship with two American flags
inted on her side was sighted
cad shortly before the attack
plain Taylor, suspicious of the
aft, changed his course. Soon
GREATER the submarine was sight
There was no certainty as to the
entity of this ship that displayed
o painted American flags, but one
the passengers thought that he
de out her name to be "Nor-
ME" thru his glasses. There is
such vessel listed The American
* Normandy was known to be in
vicinity at the time. When she
ched Liverpool July IL some of
crew said that a submarine had