Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-03-19
nv Associated Pr.ssl


CHANNEL Feb. Is. This great
ocean liner. with its human freight,
tonight is anchored i'm comparative
safety after having spent in the Med
iterranean danger zone three of the
most strenuous weeks which the sub
marine warfare has produced since
the beginning of the world conflict
For days the steamers wireless has
been humminS almost steadily with
SOS. calls received from vessels
IN distress. II was only yesterday
morning that big ship was torpedoed
four miles from US. and signaled wild.
ly with rockets for assistance while
We did the only thing which We could
do-ran away as fast as the engines
could take us, But tonight we are in
quiet waters, and for the first time in
q days the commander win remove
his clothes for sleep. Tomorrow we
shall dock, and consider ourselves
lucky to have reached port at ALL
Ship in Constant Peril ...
Twice in the past six months cor
respondent Of the Associated Press
has travelled through the Mediterra-
mean, on a trip to and from India.
From Indian ports to Port Said there
is, of course, practically no danger to
be encountered from hostile wareraft,
but once the Suez canal has been pass
ed on the homeward voyage ship is
in constant peril .-... -
A day or two after the ship left
Bombay the passengers we're summon
ed to the ships boats, to which they
had been assigned, and the chief Off
Ger made the rounds, delivering in
structions which gave to many the
first real idea Of what the coming
danger was.
After we leave Port Said we shall
be in the danger zone" he began.
Each one of you will carry a lifebelt
about all the time This Is impera-
tive. Sometimes people get careless
or are forgetful This must not be.
You should have the lifebelts with you
night and day, carrying them even to
your baths with you
The officer gave instructions as to
how the lifebeits were to be adjusted
and continued:
implicit instructions Given
I'm case we are torpedoed five short
blasts on the ships whistle will call
fnediateIy, bringing such warm cloth
ing as you can snatch at the moment.
The unmarried men and those who are
travelling without their wives will see
that all women and children are in
the boats first. You will put them
into the boats by force Il necessary
I may tell you bachelors" he inter-
iected with a smile, that woman
will take more rough handling than
you may imagine. So throw them into
the boats If you have to. Married
couples will get into the boats togeth-
err It is the husbands duty to go with
his wife, and make it an order that
this shall be carried out Many times
a wife refuses at the last moment to
get into boat without her husband,
and we want no delays of this sort.
In case you see that the ship is so
badly hit that she is going to sink i'm
mediately, you will not wait for the
boats The men viii see that the wo-
men and children have their lifebelts
properly adjusted and then will throw
them overheard, following as soon as
possible themselves. Jump as far
from the side of the ship as you can.
and trust to luck Probably you viii
be picked up by someone"
And so he continued. 1t was not a
thing which tended to relieve ner-
vousness. More than one woman who
was travelling with little children
turned away white of face and
thoughtful. and for the thou sandth
time inspected the tiny lifebelts which