Evening star., 1916-01-01

Immediately capsized. After stopping.
the steamer began launching boats.
From distance of about 1000
meters the commander saw that six
boats were filled and rowed hastily
away from the steamer. Another boat
was capsized and fioated keel up. The
people held on to the hanging lines
and to the capsized boat.
During the further approach of the
submarine the commander saw that a
great panic reigned aboard, and that
he had to deal with a passenger
steamer--namely, the Ancona from
Genoa. Therefore, he gave the occu-
pants of the steamer more time than
was required to leave the ship in life
boats.
"At least ten 1ifeboats were still
aboard, which would have more than
sufficed for the rescue of the persons
still aboard. One of these boats hung,
full of people, half turned outward on
the davits.
Since. however. except for this. no
further move was made to lower boats,
the commander decided after a lapse
of forty-five minutes to torpedo the
ship in such a manner that 1t should
remain considerable time af1oat, in
order that. on the one hand. the get
ting of the people into the lifeboats
should he fastened and that. on the
other. adequate opportunity should re-
main for rescuing the persons still
aboard.
shortly thereafter, a steamer be-
came visible, which was throwing out
heavy clouds of smoke and headed to-
ward the Ancona. 1t apparently had
been summoned by the Anconas wire
less.
U-Boat Feared Attack.
Since the submarine commander had
to reckon on an attack by steamer
which he took for an enemy cruiser, he
submerged, after having, at 1886
O'Clock in the afternoon. had tor
pedo fired into the forward baggage
hold of the Ancona from a distance of
500 meters The Ancona listed about
10 degrees to starboard after this shot.
"Thereupon an effort was made to
lower the lifeboat which already was
half turned out on the davits. 1t broke
loose. however. and fell into the water.
The lifeboat floated keel down farther.
and the people held fast to the gun
vale.
"Of the other boats none was lowered
into the water, although persons could
still be observed aboard. The steamer
gradually righted itself to an even keel
and settled so slowly that the sub
whether the steamer would sink. Not
until 1:oO o'clock did it sink, after
lengthy parallel settling, with the bow
first.
utes all persons yet aboard could have
been saved without difficulty with the
boats still on hand.
From the fact that this, contrary
to his expectation. was not done, the
commander concluded that the crew,
contrary to all seamen's customs, had
accom- plished their own rescue with the
first boats and abandoned to them
selves the passengers intrusted to their
protection.
."Tbe weather at the time of the Incl
dent was good and the sea calm. so
that the lifeboats could have reached
the nearest coast without danger, as,
indeed, the lifeboats actually were
damaged only by the unskilled lower
ing, but not after they had struck the
water.
Blames Crew for Loss of Life.
The loss of human lives is in the
to the sinking of the ship, but, and in
all proba bility in a much higher meas
ure, to the rapid lowering (hinunter-
werfen) of the boats during full speed
as we'll as to the fact that the crew.
concerned only for itself, did not res
cue the passengers of the capsized
boats.
TT is also probably ascribable to
shots which hit the fleeing vessel, but
the death of persons who sank with
the steamer is also, above all, ascriba-
BILE to the disloyal conduct of the crew.
LAS appears from the above adduced
state of affairs, the very esteemed note
offDecember 8 is based in many points
on incorrect premises. Information
that solid shot was Immediately fired
toward the steamer is incorrect: 1t is
incorrect that the submarine overhaul
ed the steamer during the chase; 1t is