Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1915-08-24
ARABIC SUNK
With A LOSS
OF g LIVES
Big Steamer Sinks in Ten Minutes
But Most of Those it Carried
Escape Death.
IS NOT GIVEN A WARNING.
Of 423 Persons on Board 391 Are
Accounted for, Six Passengers
Being Missing.
IS NOT GIVEN A WARNING.

London, Aug. 20.-The big White
Star line steamer Arabic, formerly {
favorite ship of the Liverpool-Bos
ton service but on her present triI
scheduled for New York, was torpe.
decd and sunk by German subma.
rine at 9:15 o'clock Thursday morn
ing southeast of Fastnet.
The steamer according to a state
ment of the White Star line was at
tackled without warning and went
down in ten minutes.
OF the 423 persons on board-181
passengers and PAP crew members
-thirty-two are missing and are be-
lieved to have persisted. Most of
those who have not been accounted
for belong to the crew. Only six of
the passengers are reported missing.
There were only twenty-six citi-
zens of the United States on board,
twenty-five being in the second cab
in and four in steerage. The Ara
bic carried no first class passengers.
The survivors left the steamer in
the soip's boats, were picked up later
by passing vessels and arrived in
Queenstown last night. They are be-
ing accommodated by the White Star
line in hotels and boarding houses
in the little town which so short
time ago cared for the survivors and
the dead of the Lusitania.
Details of the sinking of the Ara
bic are lacking but that the loss of
life was not greater doubtless was
1ue to the fact that the weather was
fine and that steamers plying the
German submarine war zone now
keep their boats swung out and 9TH
erwise are prepared for emergencies. !
The vessel had left Liverpool We'd
1esday afternoon and taken a south
erly course, we'll off the Irish coast,
doubtless with a view of avoiding
he submarines which frequent the
waters nearer the shore.
When some fifty miles west of
where the Lusitania was sunk in May
he German underwater boat rose to
he surface and launched torpedo.
The craftsmanship of the Germans,
IS in the case of the Lusitania, was
leadly accurate and like the Lusi-
ania the big liner quickly settled
loWn and shortly disappeared from
lew.
Some of the survivors, according
o reports received here, say that
hey had just witnessed the torpedo j
ng of a British steamer, presumably I
he Dunsley, and that this had caus- ;
d great alarm on board the Arabic. ,
n their fright the passengers had
ushed for life preservers and had {
arely adjusted them when the Ger I
ian submarine sent torpedo at the a
rabic.
Ten life boats and a number of {
fe RATS were quickly got over the
de Of the steamer and into these t
large number of the passengers v
nd members of the crew scrambled. il
ANY of the passengers, however, u
ii into the water but they got hold
the RATS and later were rescued. Z
ne woman who fell into the sea
reamed pitifully for help. Two
ilors swan to her assistance and
lcceeded in lifting her upon a raft.
Among those who were rescued
ere Captain Will Finch, command
of the Arabic, all the deck officers. ,
e chief engineers, surgeon, purser, "
sistant purser, chief steward and
ird class steward. Third Engineer
lyon is among the missing.