Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-01-02
HUNDREDS PERISH
IN DISASTER Off
ISLAND OF CRETE
Only Four Boats known to
Have Gotten Away From
Sinking Ship.
PICKED UP BY STEAMER
BOUND FOR ALEXANDRIA
Nationality of Attacking Boat Is
Not Definitely Determined, but
Believed to Be Austrian.
FULL INFORMATION AWAITED
Relations Between This Country and
Teutonic Powers Again BE-
come Complicated.
Full INFORMATION AWAITED
Relations Between This Country and
Tcutonic Powers Again BE-
come Complicated.

~ -.
LONDON. January 1.-The British
liner Persia. with l6o passengers and
crew OF go To 200 was sunk by
an unidentified submarine at o'clock /:
on Thursday afternoon off the Island
OF crete. in the Eastern Mediterranean s
Messages received from various sources Il
say that nearly all on hoard were lost.Je
Robert McNcely. of Monroe y. c.. X
American consul at Adcn. and Robert
Grant. of Boston. We're on the liner &
The crew Of the Persia virtually ALA.
were lnscars Four boats are known d
to have gotten away from the sinking
vessel each capable OF carrying" s.xty&
persons. but il is not known IL the Il
boats were f.ill W
The rescued We're picked up by a
steamer bound for AleNnudria where
they were expected to-day. s
SiNty-one hrst-class passcngc.. and y
eigh,y-threc second cabin passengers, y
including eight children. boarded the s
Persia when She left London on De-
ccmber is for Bombay. At Marseiles !,
the vessel picked up 23l, including
eighty-seven women and twenty-five
children. y number of the passengersE 4
embarking ut London were landed ati
Gibraltar, Mars"ilcs and Malta. how-5i
by the peninsular and Oriental Line
owners Of the Persia. stated that. AFTER
deducting the passengers leaving the 4
ship mt various other ports Of CALL
about l6J We're aboard when the vessel 5
was sunk
OFFICIALS OF LINE 4
STILL WITHOUT DETAILS
officials OF the Peninsular and ORR d
IN pr,,s
details concerning the sinking of the J;
Persia and do not know whether shoal
received warning. ~.>t-
They arc also unable to give any
Information concerning american cit- L
izens on tie Persia.
Every effort is being made by Cons L.:
General Robert L. skinner at London 8
I" get some information about Rob-
ert McNeely, the American consul at
Adcn. and two other Americans knowns.
to he on the passenger list One Of
the latter is believed TO have dsc,n4al
barkc;! at Gibraltar. The Rritish sd-
m'ralty Informed Mr. Skinner it had q
no information with regard to the fate;
OF The individual passengers. Mr. Skin-8
ner sent a cahlegram To the Americana
consulate At Alexandria requesting theS
consul 10 ascertain the fate OF ConsuI5
Mr McNeely sailed from New York
for England on November - on tho
holland American liner tyndan
He was on his way To take his ilrst,,,
consular post. Mr. Skinner advised
him to sail for the East by the DutcG S
Line, but the young man already had
engaged passage on the Persia
ONE or SEVERAL Rr:CENTLY s
SUNK ~ NEDITEItRANEA Nj
The Persia was one Of several ves-ss
sells recently sunk BY submarines in8S
the Eastern Mediterranean, through ;;
which her course to the Suez Canal "a
would take her from Malta. On De-
cemher - the French liner Willie de la a
Ciotat was sent TO the bottom of the a
Island Of Crete by submarine which,
according to unofficial British advices IA
few the Austrian nag.
No adviccS have heen received in{f
New York as to the date on which the(
Persia sailed from London. The voy-E
age from London 20 Malta ordinarily
requires nine days.
The Persia was built in 1900 at
Greenock. She has been in The Bonn
lay service since that time.
on account of the danger from sub
marines I" vessels which pass throw &
the Sue@ Canal and the Mcaiterranean.y
this route has been abandoned by tho
-'''''' ~ '''''9'iiI Noiip'liiN. MnlcI1x
li dlSpatchinE its steamships around
the Cape OF Good Hope Insurance.
rates Tor vessels passing through the
Sucz have been increased by EnglshA T.
underwriters to three or four times the
normal figure
Lord Charles Momtagu. who book ed
passage on the Persia, is London !
ckbroker Ile was born in 1850. and
served with the yeomanry cavalry. 49 ts
OFFICIAL WtsHINGTON S