Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-06-15
LUSTTANIA UNARMED.
CAPTAIN SWEARS AT
ADMIRALTY INQUIRY
Lord Mersey's Court Sits
at Westminster-Attor-
ney General Carson Con
tends More Than One
Torpedo Was Fired.

| LONDON, June TX
Testifylng under oath, Captain W =,
| Turner, of the Cunard Liner LusItsnis
| declared on the witness stand TO-DAY tha,
the ship did not carry any guns wbsS
! she was torpedoed and sunk by a ca
man submarine off the south coast =,
Ireland on May 4. Captain Turner vss
the first witness called when the Rr,,,ss
Governments Inquiry into the destr,,n'
tion OF the liner opened at Westnlnstas
One of the chief contentious OF the Gar
man Government in its defense Of H.
destruction of the Busltania Was ,bss
the liner was armed. Sworn testlmon,.
Rdduced during the hearing Is expeotaS -
be used by the United States Governn,.s3
in It's representations to Germany arainst
continuance of the submarine warfsrs
against peaceful shipping.
VANDERB1LTs REPRESENTED
Lord Mersey who conducted the nrob.
into the loss of the Titanic and Of az
Empress Of Ireland, is presiding.
Special counsel represented the famitv
of Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt vhen ~.
Government inquiry into the destrrnto,'
of the Lusltania opened. ], d. Ianes,o.,
represented the Frohmans. Solicitor q
A. Scott appeared in behalf OF the vsS.
derbllt family The board of trade. that
branch of the British Government yvbich
has charge of maritime affairs. was ro-
resented by Sir Edward Carson the nsS,
Attorney General, and by Sir FrederIsI
Smith, the Solicitor General. Sixty law
yers, representing relatives Of victims.
are in attendance.
Naval Inspector Mcbride, of the Trn,,.d
States Embassy, who took TESTIMONY
from Dusitania survivors in IIvernoni
was subpoenaed to testify.
The first evidence introduced TO-DAY
dealt with technical data concerning tbs
construction of the Lusltanla. II wss
aimed to show that explosion of the tor.
pedoes and not an Internal explosion sant
the liner to the bottom.
1t developed that the United stato,
Government will play an important mar,
in the inquiry.
Sir Edward Carson announced that h.
would introduce evidence TO sustain ~
assertion of the American Governmsns
that the Lusitania was unarmed. He aaid
that representatives of the Admiralty
will testify that the Lusitania was nuraIy
n passenger-carrying merchant shin ana
had never been fitted out for naval serv.
Ice.
MORE THAN ONE TORPEDO FIRED.
I'VE will attempt to show that thu
German submarine fired two and per.
haps three torpedoes," said Sir Edward
This is to refute the German claim that
only one torpedo was fired and that the
second explosion was caused by the blow.
Ing up of the war munitions which the
liner carried. Other questions are these.
l. Whether the Lusitania was travelling
at the proper rate Of speed when tor
pedoed.
2. Whether questionable seamanship
had been shown.
Captain Turner placed responsibility
for the Lusitanla's comparatively slow
speed on the Cunard Company, his en-
BLAMEs CUNARD LINE.
1--WE were proceeding at only IS knots
an hour when the ship was struck at
2:l5 p. m,," he testified. Though the
average speed throughout the journey
rom New York had been H knots, It was
impossible to make 20 knots because the
company ordered only 19 boilers worked.
81 was on the port side when an Of
acer called out: There comes a torpedo
torpedo coming just before it struck
There was a loud explosion between tho
third and fourth tunnels.
IT Immediately ordered full speed
lstern, but there was no response. The
'ngines had been put out of commission
The vessel within a few moments had
listed about Is degrees rendering the port
lfeboats practically useless.
'I gave orders that women and chill
Iren should be placed in the boats first
md then went to the bridge. remained
here until the vessel sank"
Captain Turner said he did not know
low long he was in the water. He was
licked up by a trawler, he said. and
anded at Queenstown. He admitted on
lrect examination by Sir Edward Carson.
he Board of Trades representative, that
e had received certain instructions from
he Admiralty, but he was not pressed
0 tell what these were.