Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-11-11

t01neo from SURVIVORS at Malta. ne
Austrian submarine which overhauled
her after q long stern chase gave the
commander brief respite to permit
the removal Of passengers. but the In
describable panic which began among
the immigrants on board as soon as
the underwater craft was sighted was
responsible for the loss OF many lives.
In mad rush for safety men. wom-
en- and children overwhelmed the
boats. several Of which were over
turned before they could be lowered.
Many Of the occupants fell into the
sea and were drowned.
Shots Add TO Panic.
Passengers agree that shots fired
around the steamer by the submarine,
apparently to hasten the loading of the
boats, addedsto the panic.
The dispatch from Reuters. which
contains the drst connected story OF
the sinking Of the Ancona. twenty
hours after sho had left Messina, Sici-
~, follows:
I'VE left Naples with a fairly large
number Of passengers. intending to sail
direct to New York. but soon after
leaving port received . wireless mes
sage dirsctIng uS to stop at Messina
Tor more passengers and cargo. The
people aboard were mostly Greek and
Italians with large families en- route to
the United States to settle there.
on Watch For aubmarinss.
1--WE left Messina ct s p. m. The cap-
tain, having been warned Of the pres
ence Of enemy submarine, took all pos
sible precaution. At exactly o'clock
Monday afternoon we sighted sub
marine At q great distance. She came
to the surface and made In our direc-
ton, firing as she did so q shot which
went wide across our bow. This was
taken as warning to halt.
Immediately there was wild panic
aboard. Women screamed and children
clung desperately to their mothers.
Meanwhile the submarine continued
firing. The fifth shot carried away the
chart house.
Ordered 70 Abandon Ship.
"The engines then were stopped and
the Ancona came slowy to standstill.
The submarine was an Austrian. She
came alongside. We heard the COM
mander talking with our captain. In
a curt manner we were told the AUS
trian had given US q few minutes to
abandon the ship.
I'VE turned to the boats which be-
gan to be lowered without loss Of time.
but the passengers were in pande-
monium. Men, women and children
seemed to lose their heads complete-
ly. The submarine. presumably to ac-
celerate our departure. continued to
FIRE around the vessel. There was q
rush for the first boats lowered and
in the confusion these were overturned
before they were free from the davits.
the occupants falling into the water.
Many were drowned before our eyes.
Every Man For Himself.
"The shrieks Of women, children and
struggling men rent the air but It
seemed no help could be given. Every
one was trying to act for himself. The
heart rending screams were punctuat-
ed with shot after shot delivered al
most mechanically from the deck OF
the submarine, adding to the panic
aboard. Had It not been for these
shots 1t might have been possible to
restore . sembIAnce Of order. The
conduct Of the submarine was incom-
prehensible. Not anc shot was direct
ed ct tho ship but they were flrel all
around the vessel as II to creale So
much terror AZ possible.
About eight b1ats got away clear.
some with fair complement aboard;
from each other"
Shells Kill and Wound.
subsequently shells hit the boats
which were being made ready for
launching and many passengers were
killed or wounded on deck or in tho
boats. Some OF the passengers who
were thrown into the water approached
the submarine but were repelled and
derided. Finally shells were fired at
the Ancona from = distance Of 800
yardG~
One survivor said:
..The boat in which found myself
contained thirty members Of the crew
and three passengers. an italian wom-
m and her child beside myself. Some
time after we entered the lifeboat we
heard IN explosion indica ting the end Of
the Ancona. We remained in the boat
ana were picked up in the morning by
u British steamer which landed US at
Mslta-"
London newspapers continue to de-
vote much space to the sinking Of the
Italian steamship Ancona. Many OF
them editorially express the opinion
that the attacking boat was q German.
and they arrived at the usual conclu-
sion that the United States IL more
concernsd In exacting repaFstiOh thar
eny other nation.