The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1915-06-17
WANTS LOOK
AT LUSITANIA
Ginnell in House Of COM
mons Urges Use Of
Divers
PRACTICABILITY OF
PLAN QUESTIONED
He Thinks Facts Will Show
in the Present
Inquiry

London, June Determination of the
Lusitania by divers from neutral coun
try, with a view to ascertaining what
she had on board in the way of arms anc
ammunition, was suggested in the House
OF Commons yesterday by Laurence Gin.
nell. The practicability of this sugges
tion was questioned by Walter Runci.
man, president Of the board of trade
owing TO the depth at which the yes
sci is lying and because that locality
| is not free of hostile craft. Mr.. Runci-
man said he thought there would be
no difficulty in the way OF ascertaining
all the material facts by means of the
board of trade inquiry.
A. A. Booth, Hartman OF the board of
directors of the Cunard line, admitted
that the Lusitania was proceeding at a
comparatively slow rate of speed when
she was torpcdoed, because the company
wanted to save money.
Booth was the first witness at yes
terday's session OF the inquiry into the
sinking of the big liner with heavy loss
of life off the southwest coast of Ire.
land. He eerroborated the statement
OF Capt. w. T. Turner that orders had
been given to work only nineteen boil
ers to save coal and labor cost.
in November the company considered
whether to continue the sailings of the
Lusitania and the Mauritania Because
of the war there had been a heavy fall
ing off in transatlantic travel. We final
ly decided TO continue the sailings of
4 he tta1 sa It,f ~ 20
save operating expenses"
Cross-examined, Booth admitted that
after warnings of the dangers from sub
marines the company recognized that
speed was very essential If the Lusitania
was to escape attacks.
"But concluded that the Lusitania was
to speedy for any submarine he said,
"and that it made little difference wheth- |
err she was travelling at twenty-one or
twenty five knots an hour. On the morn.
ing of May 7, the day the liner was |
sunk, we requested the admiralty to
instructions to Capt. Tur
ner to make Liverpool at such an hour
as to make is unnecessary for him to
take on a pilot"
Booth said he asked the admiralty to
give these instructions to Capt. Turner
because he feared If the liner stopped
70 take on a pilot, she would be at the
mercy of submarines.
Thomas Quinn, seaman. who was
n the crows nest when the Lusitania
vas struck, followed Booth.
THE Lusitania couldn't have escaped
{ she had been rushing along at 100
ynots an hour" said Quinn. There
vas absolutely no warning. / saw no
'eriscope or anything, just the torpedo
ipping through the water"
Leslie Morton. another seaman, who
vas on the starbosrd side of the crows
lest. said that he saw two separate
freaks Of foam as If two torpedoes were
pproaehing the Lusitanin.
Other officers of the Lusitania refut-
d the charge that proper precautions
sd not been taken to ward against sub.
larine attacks. Third Engineer Little
enied that the Lusitania was moving
lowly at the time she was attacked
han at other periods of her trip from
lew York. Second Engineer Coburn
astifed that the bulkhead doors were
rdered closed when the liner entered
be war zone.
Wireless Operator Linke tessfed that
? received four messages from the ad-
iralty while approaching the war zone.
e was not pressed as 60 what these
esssees contained.