The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-05-08

and almost Immediately began to list
| to port.
Sailors Quick to Act.
Officers and men rushed from
| their stations almost without orders
and the work of clearing the boats
was begun. There was little panic Sc
| far as L could see; everyone was too
dazed to realize just what actually
was happening. For a few moments
we believed the stories of the big liner
would prove true and that she would
stay afloat, but the increasing list
| showed us that this hope was vain"
| A sharp lookout for submarines
was kept aboard the Lusitania as she
approached the Irish coast, according
to Ernest Cowper. a Toronto man,
who was among the survivors landed
here. COwper declared after the ship
was torpedoed there was no panic
among the crew, but that they went
about the work of getting passengers
| into the boats in a prompt and eff
cient manner.
Lookout for Attack.
LAS we neared the coast of Ireland, :"
said Mr.. Cowper, 1--WE all joined in the
| lookout, for a possible attack by sub
marine was the whole topic of CONVEX
sation. 1 was standing with a friend
at the rail about O'Clock, when sud
denly 1 caught a glimpse of the con-
ming tower of a submarine about
thousand yards distant. 1 called my
friends attention to it. Immediate
pedO, followed almost instantly by an
explosion. Portions of splintered hull
were sent flying into the air and then
another torpedo struck. The ship be-
gan to list to starboard.
THE crew at once proceeded to get
the passengers into the boats In an
orderly, prompt and efficient manner.
Miss Helen Smith appealed to me to
save her. 1 placed her in a boat and
saw her rowed away. 1 got into one
Of the last boats to leave.
Some of the boats could not be
launched, as the vessel was sinking.
There was a large number of women
and children in the second cabin.
Forty of the children were less than
q year Old
Death in Streak.
One of the most connected and
thrilling stories of the Lusitania trag
edy was related here this afternoon by
young Ellason Myers, of Stratford,
Ontario. who was en- route to join the
British navy as a cadet
II had just gone to the upper deck
with friends for a game of quoits," he
said when one of them looked over
the side. He cried, as he saw a streak,
There's a torpedo coming right at
US
1--WE watched it until it struck, then
we rushed to the boats just as a huge
mass of sp1inters and debris fell
around us. The second torpedo struck
the liner just four minutes later and
simply shattered the entire hull. The
first torpedo was enough to have sunk
the Lusitania, but the second COM
pleted the task.
Women in Panic.
Many of the women were panic
stricken. 1 held one of the most
frenzied and tried to calm her. 1
helped her into boat. I then saw an
other boat that was nearly swamped.
got on board. Others followed me.
cd fnr oil
crowd of men clambered in and nearly
swamped it again. Nobody had
knife, but 1 found Ratchet and cut
the boat clear. We were about 200
The cries of the people as they were
drawn down by the suction was APP
palling. We had to pull away as fast
as we could to keep from being drawn
under. We saved as many as we could
our boat being crowded to capacity.
The ship simply sank like a stone at
the finish, her entire bottom being lit
orally torn out by the force of the eX-
plosions. The scene at the end was
terrible Although many of the pas
sengers had adjusted their 1ifebelts.
they were drawn down like stones by
the terrific suction of so large a
steamer.
mothers with their babies still
clasped in their arms in death were
found by the fishing fleet which final
ly rescued u.s. They had been unable
to get on any OF the DOdlS III ClIIIe anu
they were drawn under the surface by
the underdrag- of the vessel.
Won Tirpitz Is Congratulated.
London, May S.-The Exchange Tel
egraph company has received dis
patch from Berlin by way of Amster
dam which reads:
Hundreds of kilograms of congrat
ulation are being sent to Admiral Won
Tirpitz, the German minister of mar
ine on the sinking of the Lusitania,
which is considered by the Germans
to be an answer to the destruction off
the Falkland Islands of the German
squadron under command of Admiral
Won Spec.
THE news of the loss of the Lusi-
tania only became generally known
to the public this morning. 1t was
received with mixed expressions of
amazement and enthusiasm. The
newspapers praise the pluck and dar-
ing of the submarine crew."
Dernburg Justifies Sinking.
Cleveland, Ohio, May s.-Dr Bern
hard Dernburg former colonial sec
rotary of Germany, who arrived here
today fom New York, to address the
City club, holds the sinking of the
Lusitania by a German submarine jus
tifiable.- He takes this position be-
cause the Lusitania carried contra
band of war and also because the
boat was classified as an auxiliary
cruiser at the disposal of the British
admiralty.
Warnings given by the German
embassy at Washington together with
the note of February Is, from Ber-
lin declaring the existence of war
zones relieves Germany from respon-
sibility for the loss of lives of Amer
leans, he said. F.
DR.. Dernburg also characterized the
blowing up of the American tank lin
err Gulflight,- carrying a. cargo of oil
from France to England, as justifi-
able