The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-07-20
HUMAN INTEREST
.. STORIES ARE TOLD
How kilograms were Sorted Over In
Hotel and Everyone Stopped
at VanderbiIt's.

[By Wilbur s. Forrest, United Press
Staff Correspondent
LONDON, June 21.-(By mail to
New York. )-Some of the touches Of
human interest emanating from the
sinking Of the great Cunarder Lusi-
tania Off the southern coast of Ireland
on May were not told in the cables
Little Incidents at Queenstown
where the survivors and lifeless vic
TINS were landed were dwarfed by
the more striking details sent back by
the London reporters despatched to
the scene to gather the narratives Of
survivors,
They failed to tell at the time how
for three days a telegram addressed
to Alfred G. Vanderbilt remained on
file at the Queens hotel. The hotel
Office was a veritable clearing house
for kilograms to survivors. Hundreds
of them were placed in pile and as
application was made, the clerk sim
ply handed over the pile. Every per-
son who applied paved" over the
ever increasing bundle and each one
paused for moment as he came
across the telegram addressed to Van
derbilt: He believed that Vanderbilt
at that moment was dead; either
floating about somewhere ON the
| ocean or amid the tangled mass that
was short time before the great
Lusitania.
No reporter in his rush to cable
more salient facts thought to touch
upon the finding Of body that might
easily have been hurriedly identified
as that of Ebert Hubbard. 1t lay in
the stone town hall morgue along with
thirty other corpses. The lines of the
face, the apparel and other points
readily appealed to the American
newspaperman who had seen Hubbard
in life. But it lacked one feature
the flowing necktie. There was no
necktie. And this one point stopped
the reporters from rushing to the
that Hubbard's body was found. They
had no incentive to jump at -conclu-
sions. They were willing to send re-
ports as reports developed, but were
loath to make" news out of the
chastity surroundings. O..
It was unaccounted how a promi-
nent resident of New England manu-
featuring city wandered for two days
aimlessly searching for his missing
family; how he finally connected with
a kindhearted man who listened to
his disconnected story and aided him
in a search Of the morgues. It wasn't
related how strong men Historically
laughted as they told of parting from
their loved ones as the Lusitania
sank; how they themselves were
saved and had since failed to find
their wives or daughters Or sons.
The story of how prominent
American auto manufacturer, clad in
makeshift garments,spent the night
in tiny second rate hotel room with
out blanket to cover him. wasn't
told to the reporters. He declined
an interview in true American mag
nate fashion as he left the Queens
town railroad station.
Little was said of how the kind
hearted Irish people of Queenstown
opened their homes to care for women
survivors who had lost all and in many
cases husbands sons and daughters.
A certain Doctors wife appropriated
every cot in the neighborhood and
cared for all that came. Another
motherly Irish woman took charge of
three children ana sent her husband
to the morgues IN an effort to find
their parents. Another unwritten Incl
dent of the disaster might have been
the efforts of a survivor to press
agent" his American breweries. Seek
ing the newspaper men to tell them
of his experience he also incidentally
related in a loud, blustery manner.
how, he, alone, had saved fortyAeven
women and children during Ine try
ing moments aboard the LusItdnta
The story sounded flshy.
Emphasizing the enormous death
roll Of the Lusitania list, the CunarG
Offices in Queenstown, after three
days, returned to the telegraph offfcn
hundreds of kilograms to persons who
were either dead in the morgues or
unaccounted for. From the day fol-
lowing the disaster, kilograms began
to flow in at the Cunard Offices. All
survivors were hurriedlv Hs+n7 -"
their kilograms were sent to the vari-
Gus hotels or places where thy avrc
domiciled. When all possibN had
been delivered, the balance were re-
turned stamped unclaimed"
Postoffice telegraph officials az
Queenstown sent and received more
kilograms and cables during the mem