The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1917-10-22
Seventy American Sailors an,
Soldiers Lost When Trans
port Goes to Bottom.
ENEMY CRAFT UNSEEN
Lurking U-Boats Believed To HaW
Lain In Wait Until Convoy Passed.
Rescue Work Blocks Search.
-167 Survivors Rescued.

an American army transport, home
ward bound under convoy, was torpe
doed and sunk by a German subma
rine in the War zone Wednesday,
About 20 men are missing and prob
ably lost
All the army and navy officers
aboard and the ships master were
among the 167 survivors. The missing
are members of the crew, three civil
ian engineers, some enlisted men o.
the navy and is out of 33 soldiers re
turning home for various reasons
Neither the submarine nor the torpedo
was seen and the transport, hit square
ly amidships, sank in five minutes.
Largest U. S. Casualty List of War
This tragedy of the sea, the first
in which an American ship engaged
in war duty has been lost, is the first
of its magnitude to bring home to the
people of the United States the rigors
of the war in which they have engaged
against Germany. IL carries the larg
est casualty list of the war of Amer
ican lives and marks the first success
of German submarine attacks on Amer
ican transports. That the loss of life
was not greater was due to the safe
guards with which the navy has sur
rounded the transport service and the
quick rescue work of the conveying
warships.
Secretary Daniels announced the dis
aster in a statement based on a briei
Gfgau
which gave few details and did not
say whether IL was O. LAY or night
attack. An accurate list of the mis-
sing cannot be issued until General
Pershing reports the names of the
army men on the vessel and the list
of the merchant crew.
Families OF Lost Men Notified.
Upon receipt of the cablegram from
Admiral Sims the government kept
it's promise not to withhold bad news
from the public. The issuance of the
statement was delayed only until the
navy could telegraph to the families
1 of the men known to have been lost
Secretary Daniels carried word oi
! the loss of the Antilles to the White
/ House when he went there with Ad
| miral Mayo, who made his report tc
/ the President on his visit to England
on the direction of the President. The
news added to the gravity OF the hour
spent in conference with the Presi
dent.
Few Soldiers Aboard.
Quick upon the wave OF sorrow al
the loss of the transport came a feel
ing of distinct relief because she hat
met her fate homeward bound and
not on the way over with the troops
The only soldiers on board were re
turning to the hospital or on specia
assignment. Had the full complement
of the transport been aboard, the LOST
undoubtedly would have been writer
i'm hundreds, as she was struck IL
the most vulnerable spot and went un
der so swiftly that few could have es
capped.
Officials are confident that thos,
who survived owe their lives TO tn
careful attention given by the Nav.
department to the equipping of trans
ports with life boats and life RATS
1t is a fixed rule that enough boat
and RATS shall be carried to affor'
place for every man aboard, evel
though the ship keels over and pu
half her boats out of commission.
Missile Hit Engine Room.
The loss OF the ships engineer ol
fcers indicates the probability that n
one of the engine and fireroom force
on duty escaped. Probably most O
them died in the blast of the explC
sion of the torpedo which tore it's wa
into the engine room compartments.
The heavy loss among the army er
listed men indicated cannot be az
counted for until further details com
In. Probably they and the navy me
were in their quarters below and coul
not make their way on deck before tn
ship took her final plunge. The arm.
navy and ships officers and the other
rescued were probably on deck, or
cabins. from which step took thei
to the decks and chance for thei
lives.
Think U-Boat Lay In Wait.
Lacking details of the attack, b.
yond the fact that the submarine wa
| unseen and that the first warning I
, those aboard the Antilles came wit
the shock of the explosion OF the to
, pedo, many theories were current q
, to how the U-boat crept through th
/ destroyer screen, did its work and el
, capped unchalIenged.
, A majority OF the officers who woul
commas thought the transport an