Judsonia weekly advance., 1917-03-21
] AMERICAN LINERS
 SUNK BY U-BOATs
STEAMSHIP CITY OF MEMPHIS, ILLINOIS AND VtGlLANCiA
 ARE SENT DOWN.
PATROLS SEEK SURVIVORS
Nearly All Members of Ships Crews Were Americans or Naturalized American Citizens-Two of the
 Doomed Boats in Ballast.

American CttlZenS-IWo or the
 Doomed Boats in Ballast.
 Washington.-With the announce three unarmed American merchant ships by submarines, it was unofficial ly admitted here that virtually state of war exists between the United States and Germany.
 London-The sinking of the Amer ican steamships City of Memphis, H. linois and Vigilancia have been an nounced
 Fourteen men from the Vigilancia are missing, as are some of the men from the City of Memphis. The crew of the Illinois was landed safely.
 Tie City of Memphis, in ballast from Cardiff for New York, was sunk by gun fire. The second officer and 15 men of the crew have been land ed A patrol boat has gone in search of the other members of the crew.
 The Illinois, from London for Port Arthur, Texas, in ballast, was sunk at o'clock Sunday morning
 The Vigilancia was torpedoed with out warning. The submarine did not appear The captain, first and second mates, first, second and third engi- neers, and 23 men of the crew have been landed at the Scilly Islands.
 Washington.-Con Frost at Queenstown reported to the State De partment the sinking by German submarine of the American steamer City of Memphis, saying 49 survivors had been picked up and that an ad- miralty vessel was searching for eight missing.
 The consults dispatch follows:
 American steamer City of Mem phis, Cardiff to New York, reported sunk by German submarine p. m., March F, 35 miles south of Fastnet. Fifteen survivors landed Schull. Thir- ty-four survivors on admiralty vessel. which continues search for eight mis- sing. Will land Baltimore (on Irish coast).
 New York.-Forty-e eight men who were Americans by birth or by natur- alization and nine others, several of whom were believed to be naturalized Americans, composed the crew of the American freight steamship City of Memphis, reported from London as having been sunk by shell fire.
 The vessel itself, valued at $500, ,0OO. had weathered safely many adven- lures in European waters on previous voyages since the war began.
 Owned by the Ocean Steamship Company. commonly known as the Savannah line, the City of Memphis, of 5,252 tons gross, sailed from New York January 23, carrying 9,653 bales of cotton valued at $500, 900. This she delivered at Havre, France, and was on her way home in ballast when sunk.
 Chicago.-Harry Pratt Judson, au- thority on international law, and president of the University of Chica- go declared that the sinking of the City of Memphis was the strongest kind of an overt act. He said:
 "Aside from the itemized facts there are only two situations to be considered in this case:
 First, if the ship was sunk with out search. Such action without de- bate constitutes an overt act, flag rant violation of international law.
 Second, if the ship was first searched and then sunk The facts in the case state that the ship was on the voyage over was stopped, search ed and permitted to proceed. Its status was thus already clearly es- tablished by Germany If on the re- turn voyage the ship had been search ed before it's sinking, the log would have necessarily proved It's right on Germany's own judgment to proceed unmolested. Then in this case, too, the sinking was an overt act-equal- ly violation of the law.
 Tt would seem, however, without any debate whatever, that the sinking of an American ship flying the Amer ican flag and bound with cargo for an American port-searched or not searched, warned or not warned-was irrefutably violation of internation- al law.
 "The circumstances are unioue Rut whatever they are finally established to be, the facts as they stand seem to allow for no escape from the con