The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-10-20
CRAFT PLUNCES
BELOW SOON
AFT AFTER 4 ATTACK ifil
In Five Minutes Vessel Sank
Making Rescue Work Par
ticularly Difficult
ONLY PARTIAL LIST OF
DEAD IS AVAILABLE
Explosion in Engine Room Practi.
cally Breaks Boat in Two
Parts
DAY OF PRAYER.

wv VI VVN -"
Washington, Oct. 2o.-Presidsnt
Wilson by proclamation today d.
ciared Sunday, Oct. 20, AZ day
Of prayer for the success Of the
American arms in the war, in ae.
cordance with the recent resoiu.
ton Of congress. -, ga
Washington, ID. c., Oct 20.-The
German U!bOat has claimed its first
victim from Americas war forces.
Within "a hours after an American
destroyer had been disabled. In, an nn-
dersea attack, a torpedo crashed into
the engine room bulkhead Of the
homecoming transport Antilles and
sent her to the b0ttonl,' with the loss
of 70 lives. Sixteen soldiers and sew.
eral enlisted men OF the navy were
included in the submersible's toll !
There were no army units aboard
the vessel. Such officers and men Of
the army as were aboard were being
sent home on special assignments or
as invalids. ... s,.6yl.}
Daniels Statement. 49,,
Secretary OF the Navy Daniels ID
sued the following: "-| .
1.-THE transport Antilles was torpe-
doed on Oct. II while returning from
foreign service. The ship was under
convoy OF an American patrol vessel
at the time. The torpedo was not
IN
fired 1t seen. The torpedo hit abreast
of the engine room bulkhead and tho
shin sank in five minutes. One hun.
dred and sixty-seven persons out OF
237 on board were saved. About 70
are missing"
Names Lacking.
Administration officials were await.
ing today amplification OF the mesger
details cabled to the navy department
yesterday by Vice Admiral Sims.
Names of most of the victims are
lacking, yesterdays dispatches giving
only three or four naval seamen and
three officers of the transport.
While the deepest sympathy was
expressed in official circles for those
who lost their lives, relief was gen.
eral over the fact that the vessel had
not met her fate while on the way
over with troops. Had the attack
been delivered while the Antilles was
on her trip to France, the loss OF lite
probably would have been appalling.
Few Could curvivs.
The ship plunged below so swiftly
that few could have survived.
Interest is intense in the manner
the submarine managed to elude the
protecting convoy. The fact that the
shin went down in a few minutes.
coupled with the necessity of rescu.
ing survivors, made impossible. 1t -
believed, any attempt to locate the
U.boat.
The heaviest loss Of life, 1t 10
thought, was among the engineers
and crew of the engine room. Stunned
by the explosion that virtually broke
the ship in two, these men must have
had little time to reach the deck.
The absence of casualties among the
army and navy officers aboard Is At.
tributed to the fact that their state
rooms lay along the decks, from
which they could jump into the water
below in the hope Of being picked up
It is believed the attack was made
we'll out at sea, since it took two days
for news of the disaster to reecn
Washington. Survivors are thought
to be safe ashore.
The loss of the Antilles marks: the
first impairment of a transport serv.
ice that has operated successfully
since Americas active entrance into
the war. .. u.
Upon receipt of the cablegram from
Admiral Sims, the government kept
its promise not to withhold the bad
news from the public. The issuance
of the statement was delayed only Nm
til the navy could telegraph to. the
families of the men known to have
been lost.
Secretary Daniels carried word Of
the loss of the Antilles to the Whlte
house when he went there late in the
day with Admiral Mayo, who made his
report to President Wilson on his vtSt
to England at the direction Of the
president. The news added to the
gravity of the hour that the secretary
(ConSinued on Page Threel