The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-03-12
HUSBANDS GO IN LIFE BOATS
WITH THEIR WIVES, is NEWEST
LAW OF SEA PUT IN PRACTICE
Of British Merchant Ship Says Refusal of Married
Women to Leave Their Husbands Causes Loss of
Lives of Others.-Married Men to Go With Women
and Children in Future,

On Board Ship English Channel,
March 1O-This great ocean liner with
it's human freight tonight is anchored
in comparative safety after having
spent in the Mediterranean danger
zone three of the most strenuous
weeks which the submarine warfare
has produced since the beginning Of
the world conflict. For days the
steamers wireless has been humming
almost steadily with IS. .. S." calls
received from vessels in distress 1t
was only yesterday morning that
big ship was torpedoed four miles
from us, and signalled wildly with
rockets for assistance while we did
the only thing 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 twenty one
days the commander will remove his
clothes for sleep. Tomorrow we shall
dock, and consider ourselves lucky to
have reached port at all.
Twice in the past six months cor
respondent has travelled through the
Mediterranean, on trip to and from
India. From Indian ports to Port
Said there is, of course, practically no
danger to be encountered from hostile
warcraft, but me the Suez Canal has
been passed on the homeward voyage
a ship is in constant peril.
A day or two after the ship left
Bombay the passengers were sum-
noned to the ships boats to which
they had been assigned, and the chief
officer made the rounds, delivering
| instructions 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 lifebelts were to me adjust
ed and continued:
"In case we are torpedoed five
short blasts on the ships whistle will
call you to the boats. You will come
Immediately, bringing with you such
warm clothing 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 poats first. You
will put them into the boats by force
| If necessary. I may tell you bachel-
| ors," he interjected with a smile, ''that
a woman will take more rough hand
ling than you may imagine. So throw
them into the boats if you have to.
| Married couples will get into the
boats together. It is the husbands
duty to go with his wife, and I make
it an order that this shall be carried
out. Many times wife refuses at the
last moment to get into a 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 will 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 will
be picked up by someone"
! And so he continued. 1t was not
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 thousandth
time inspected the tiny Hfebelts which