South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-05-28
HOLDS SHIP WAS
HIT BY TORPEDO
hebraSkan, Which Reaches
Liverpool, Was Flying the
American Flag When Hit
Says Capt. Greene.

OF the crew as expressed TO me on
board the NebTaskan was that the ship
was struck by torpedo from Ger
man submarine.
Capt. Green needed no invitation TO
tell his story III ever man person
flied wrathful Indignation this officer
did. His first words uttered with ev-
tdent emotion were:
I'VE were attacked by a German
submarine without any warning de-
spite the fact we were flying an Amer
lean flag and that the name Of the
shin was painted in letters nine feet
high. extending along her side for
distance OF IS feet at a heighth OF
fully 10 feet above the surface.
Submarine Dtsappeare"
after we took 10 the be j the
submarine disappeared, her com
mander evidently thinking-as we did
that the ship was doomed
After Capt. Green recovered from
the momentary excitement consequent
upon having safely brought his snip
to port ] got him to tell me the fol-
lowing connected story of the seeming
outrage.
Besides himself the ships company
consisted Of five officers and 81 crew.
Capt. Green said:
I'VE are y feet down by the head
and il is due 10 the bulkhead construc-
ton that we didn't sink. / was sitting
in my bunk when the explosion oc-
CURED at $3.50 p. m. Tuesday. III was
a very fine night with a bright moon.
We were as miles west OF Fastnet 40
ing about L knots in a calm sea i
was startled by a violent snock Iol-
lowed almost Immediately by a great
explosion. / felt the shock hrst ana
afterwards the explosion.
The captain emphasized the point
that had il been a mine the shocK anu
the explosion would have been SIM
uItaneouS. -.
Il ordered the crew TO take to the
the head rapidly After a time / or
boats as the ship was settling down Dy
dered the crew back to the snip
MEANWHILE L had ordered s. .. 5 sig
nails SEM out and at 1 o'clock a. m. we
made out two admiralty boats coming
Made For Liverpool.
"Then / decided TO try and make
Liverpool and succeeded in doing So
at an average rate OF elght kn1 Sa
There was a percepdble interval pc
tween the shock and the explosion
Talking with the chief engineer
,,-bo was on deck on watch at the time
the ship was torpedoed. 1 elclIeu
from him the fact that ne saw sOl
pedo coming towards the snip. Ane
boatswain and two quartermaslers
we're In their hunks in the forecastle'
The boatswain was badly injured on
the head. arm and leg. the other
two were slightly injured.
letters nine feet high amidshtps
were pointed out TO me by the sec
ord officer, who said II could pe pldlh-
IL seen this night.
The hole In the staTbOard bow was
90 feet by = feet, big enough to drive
two automo biles through side by side.
The men off watch in the fore part
or the ship had a miraculous escape
from beneath. the whole inner part
of the ship being in Understandable
confusion piled on top Of the FOR
ward hatch were several steel Orders,
each u feet long. Eight OF them
were blown overheard by the force OF
the explosion.
An Aggravated Case.
T-noficiaI representatives of the gov
eminent. who spent six hours aboard
the ship. told me IL seemed an aggra-
waited case Of wanton attack. So far
as they know. this and the Falaba
are the only two instances of out
ward hound ships being attacked by
a German submarine.
In the case of the Falaba they point
out. besides being a British ship she
was bound for west Africa. which
might be considered "a belligerent
country and carried a cargo, but in
the case Of the Nebraskan she was
hound to neutral country and had
absolutely no cargo.
Emphasis undoubtedly will be laid
on the fact that the Nebraskan was
distinguishable as an American ship.
aying the American flag and bound for
America.
WASHINGTON. May 27.-Count
Won Bernstorff. the German ambassa-
dor. called at the state department
Thursday and filed practical dis
claimer OF the theory that the Amer
lean ship Nebraskan could have been
destroyed by a German mine. The
statement Of the German ambassador
which was Ira writing. was as follows:
with reference 10 a report which
I had read In a Washington paper
this morning. 7 beg leave 10 advise
that / have official information from
our admiralty that Germans mines
laid in the sea are OF a nature that
they become innocuous when they
break from their anchorage"
Count Bernstorffs statement indi-
Gated 10 some of the officials that Ger
many Will not only contend that IL was
not German mine that disabled the
Nebraskan. but that there will be a
total absence OF proof that the injury
was due 20 q German submarine.
still Unanswered.
Up 10 a late hour Thursday night
the question as TO whether the Ne
braskan was attacked by a suhma-
rine or ran over a mine. English or
German. remained unanswered at the
white house and state department.
Ambassador Page has acted
promptly as the administration OFF,
cials are intensely interested in the
determination Of whether II was a
mine or torpedo that disabled the
American vessel and whether Eng
land or Germany is responsible Am
bassador Page informed the depart
ment that he has dispatched a naval
49, g HrHHr III In q
the hull OF the vessel
The officials say that II may be
easy 20 determine whether the vessel
was struck by a torpedo or ran over
a mine
Pending the report q the naval ex-
pert and the receipt OF evidence 90 be
taken by Consul Gen. Washington
from members 81 the crew. the presi-
dent and other administration officials
are reserving Judgment Back OF the
anxiety among officials is the posi-
hiiity that II may be proved that the