New Britain herald., 1916-03-17
DUTCH INDIGNANT AT NEW OCEAN OUTRAGE
Feel No Excuses Can Be Accepted
 for Loss Of Tubantia
LIVES ARE BELIEVED LOST

Terrific Life Boats Were Shatter- 1 ed-Several Passengers Not Ac-
 counted for Thought Drowned.
 The Hague, Netherlands, March 1T,
 via London, 4:12 a. m.-The loss ot
 one of Hollands finest steamships
 has stirred the country deeply. The sinking of the Tubantia, valued at
 means loss of valuable cargo space
 not easily replacable.
 The opinion accredited to the cap- ! tain that the Tubantia was torpedoed 1 adds to the feeling of resentme1 aroused by the disaster. The Vader- l land calls attention to the fact that
 the vessel was sunk at almost the 1 same time that announcement was made of the resignation of Admiral Won Tirpitz as German minister of 1 marine and of the statement that l his successor would continue sub marine warfare without abatement. /! This newspaper refers to the cases of the Dutch steamship Katwyk, Ar tennis and Bandoeng, sunk or dam
  takes" and says that if the Tuban- tia was sunk by a German subma-
 rine there will be increasing danger that Germany, against her wishes may find herself in conflict with neu- tral states on account of the conduct of her submarine commanders. A stronger note is sounded by the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant which says: Between being tor pedoed and being mined the only diff ference which exists is that known in
 criminal law between intention and conditional intention.
 Can Accept No Excuses. If the ship was torpedoed, then there was absolute intention or 1g- norance or neglect equivalent to in
 tention. The submarine commander
 must have known, when he gave the
 command to fire, that the ship was
 the Tubantia. No words can be found
 to qualify this crime; no excuses can
 be accepted
 No matter whether the Tubantia
 was sunk by a torpedo or mine, the paper says, the country demands
 that such occurrences cease. It de-
 clares the government must make the
 strongest representations to Berlin,
 and continues: "The Tubantia was not
 a mere trap. She was the pride of our mercantile marine. Every re- sponsible naval commander would what she was and whither she was bound No account of the disaster
 mentions a warning of any kind. ] There is no excuse. No owrds can qualify this misdeed, which stultifies all German assurances and promises" :" This newspaper says Holland is uE- 1 fortunately placed between on bellig- | erent "who professedly fights for the l interests of small nations but holds up our ships seizes what she likes and paralyzes our imports and in- l dustries," and another belligerent 1 who, while contending for the so l called freedom of the seas, sinks our ] ships on sight without notice.' American Consul Blamcs Mine. London, March 17, 1o:55 a. m.--A Reuter- despatch from Amsterdam says:
 "Ricnard Schilllng, the American consul, who with his wife and daugh- ter arrived here today, with other survivors of the Tubantia, expressed the opinion that the liner struck a mine. The steamer he said, soon came to a standstill after being struck and almost immediately heeled over. The passengers and crew rushed on deck leaving all their belongings behind, and consequently lost all their Oag- gage.
 MT Scnilling had heard that some persons on board had lost their lives, 1 but the correspondent was unaple to l obtain any confirmation of this. Amsterdam. March r, 2:G9 a. m.-, 1 It is now believed that several lives were lost in the sinking of the Hol- ! land-Lloyd lines steamer Iupantla' l either in the explosion or i'll an acc1- l dent which attended the launching of 1 one of the life-boats.
 The steamship remained afloat for ! several hours According to all re- 1 ports there was no panic, every one | on board behavint, splendidl5. The l boats were launched in their appolnt- i ed order and tie passengers were al l taken off first The rescue work Wtd l difficult, owing; t. the darkness, the 1 heavy mist and the rougn sea Tnc 1 boats were several hours in 1lndlng the 1 Noordhinder lightship two mlles l away. The captain and part ot the l crew remained on the gradually sink ! ing ship for some time, the Wlre.esS 1 operator keeping up the work or sulu- | ing Dutch vessels to the rescue. Ihe | captain was on the vessel TOT TWO | hours after she was struck ana Was l the last to leave. The resculng Ves- Vels took the passengers ana crew to ! Flushing, Amsterdam ana the f1ooh This newest and finest steamship sailing under the Dutch nag was su'.N l ehortiv. before dawn yesterday, thirty r,iloe off the Dutch coast. Although ! it is not positively established whether 1 the sinking was due to mlne or l torpedo. there is a sinSularlY unani- m it,. an inc na 1t of those Who were