The Blackfoot optimist. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1907-1918, 1915-05-13
pound their way into Germany through
our lines and many more than $50 Of

our people might have been killed.
"The British orders in council were
to exclude all kinds Of material from
reaching our civil population. They
even placed an embargo on Holland,
Denmark, and Sweden on penalty that
they would be blockaded, and they are
practically blockaded. Is it then there
fore reasonable that the German ad-
miralty will permit anything to get in
to the hands of the allies?
Holds England to Blame.
"Suffering is recognized in war. I'm.
fortunately that must be. England is
building submarines in her home yards
just as well as having them built in
the Fore River plant in the United
States and put together in Montreal.
"England admits that with modern
weapons of warfare she is not able to
maintain all the old rules of war. There
fore she proclaimed long distance
blockade. It has been the usage OF
war that vessels could be stopped
seized and searched.
"Vessels that carried contraban6
could be destroyed if they could not
be taken into port. That has been
done by England. 1t has been custom
airy to give innocent persons warning
and chance to get away. A sub
marine is only $50 feet long. 1t has
no Accommodations for others than it,
crew of probably twentyfour men
Consequently they are unable to take
off passengers.
"a submarine can be rammed at an,
moment and if the Lusitania had beer
warned she could have put on steam
and ran away. So, instead Of giving
warning to the Lusitania, Germany
gave specific general notice before the
boat sailed. That notice was ample.
How Americans May Travel.
elbow can Americans, being neutral
have the right to travel the high sea.
in safety9' asked the former colonia
secretary, and, answering himself, h
said:
"Any American travelling on az
American boat under the American
flag will be safe. There is only on.
danger-the use of the American flas
by belligerent vessel. There are any
number of neutral ships.
There is also this condition. Al
American ship or any other neutral YES
sci must carry no munitions of war. Il
is easy for an American who wants tc
travel to find out what ship carries
Question Answered
Why did Captain Turner pursue the
usual well-known Cunard line course e
close to the Irish coast az medium speed
and why was not the big liner con
voyed!"
Several naval officers here state that
the Lusitania received wireless orders
to take course in the middle channel
but the ships wireless operator de-
clines to say whether he received any
such orders.
The Lusitania was one of the largest
and most luxurious of the worlds liners.
1t belonged to the Cunard line and was
a sister ship to the Mauretania. The
dimensions of the Lusitania: were
Length 700 feet; breadth So feet; depth
of boat deck, 80 feet; height to top of
tunnels, 1855 feet; height to mast heads
246 feet. Her draught, full loaded, was
36 feet 6 inches, and her displacement
on load line, $4,000 tons.
She was equipped with four screws
and her engines had sixty eight thou
sand horse power capable of developing
better.
Coroner's Verdict.
The coroner's jury, investigating the
deaths upon the loss of the Lusitania
returned the following verdict: "The
jury find this appalling crime was con
trary to international law and conven
lions of all civilized nations, and we
charge the officers of the submarine
the German emperor and the govern
ment of Germany under whose orders
fnI