The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-18
The Orduna Misses Lusi- tania's Fate by One-Half Second When Torpedo Passes Behind Her
P AMERICANS WIRE ABOARD SHIRS,oN. LEN ATTACK y@s PLACE
 .oo
 Subma Brings Guns Into Hay When Torpedo Misses, But Liner Escapes. Americans Launch Protest

New York. July 17.-Thc Cunard liner orduna from Liverpool to New York with 227 passengers, fn-
 cIuding 22 Americans, was attack cd without warning. it was learned on her arrival here today, by German submarine on the
 morning of July 8.
 Twenty miles from the graveyard of the Lusitania off Old Head of Kinsale, the Orduna escaped the Lusitanias fate by
 one-half a seconds time, or 10 feet of space the German torpedo churnng the
 water that distance behind the liners rudder. Then the Orduna sped away. She
 was followed by the submarine, which
 rose to the surface, manned a gun, and
 shelled the fleeing steamer. The attack was timed at 10 minutes to 6 o'clock in the morning, when all but
 few of her passengers were asleep.
 Aroused by stewards, the passengers dressed hurredly and went to the upper deck, where they donned life belts and took their places at the lfeboats They
 
 the ocean spit up columns of water where | the missiles struck The fire grew hot;
 they were ordered for their own protec-
 ton, to the next deck below
 For half an hour the Orduna showed
 her heels to the assailant Through ma
 rine glasses the passengers watched the low-lying German warship coming on with a bone in her teeth, but the Ordu- | mas flight was faster than the pursuit 1 and after seven shots had been fre1
 without effect, the submarine gave up l the chase.
 Call for Help A wireless call for help was sent out I by the Orduna when the torpedo was | seen. She was then S37 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 yes 1 sel, small armored yacht, the Jeanette appeared
 l Protest will be made to the American l government by at least one citizen of the United States and possibly others who were aboard. William O. Thomp- | son of Chicago, counsel to the federal in- | dustrial relations commission, who went
 abroad in his official capacity last March
 and was returning to make his report, is | the passenger who said today that he would make vigorous protest to his gov | ernment.
 "As an American citizen, employed In an official capacity by the government
 to go abroad. I feel that I should bring | the governments attention to the at | tack" said MT. Thompson. fol fhaf ho1 ;srt,t home on the Orduna, although she flies
 the British flag, because she is a pas senger ship The fact that she had no
 munitions of war abroad fortified this | opinion. The Orduna. an unarmed pas | senger ship, carrying munitions, was 1 deliberately attacked without warning, pursued and subjected to shell fire. It is
 little short of marvellous that she was
 not sent to the bottom with all on board l "In making my protest to Washing
 ton I shall proceed along these lines. combining with the protest a report of | the attack as I saw it."
 American Ship Sighted l Whether the submarine hid behind an American ship-the bark Normandy from | Gulfport, Miss.-was a point upon which passengers held varying opinions. A
 small sailing ship with the two Ameri-
 can flags painted on her side was sighted
 ahead shortly before the attack. Cap ! tein Taylor, suspicious of the craft, changed his course. Soon thereafter the | torpedo was sighted.
 There was no certainty as to the iden- | tity of this ship that displayed two paint | ed American flags, but one of the passen- gers thought he made out her name to be | 'Normanie' through his glasses. There l is no such vessel listed. The American | bark Normandy was known to be in the vicinity at the time. When she reached 1 Liverpool July 12 some of her crew said
 that submarine had used her as Il shield from which to maneuver against and torpedo the Russian steamer Leo-a
 story that the Normandys captain de- nied.
 The Leo was torpedoed 20 miles approx imately from the place where the Or duna was attacked. The Normandy's i crew said the submarine had held them
 up on the evening of July g. The Orduna
 was attacked the same day, but in the | morning.
 The Cunard line made public late to- day Captain Taylors official report in which he stated that he received not the
 least warning of the attack and that 1t
 was almost another case of brutal mur-
 der" This report asserted that the Or 1 duna was attacked under ideal conditions | for submarines-a clear day, gentle
 wind and light ripple, while most of the passengers slept.
 l