The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1917-02-28
AMERICAN WOMEN
KILLED ON LINER
SUNK BY GERMANS
Steamship Laconia Torpedoed
Without Warning.
ATTACKED DURING THE NIGHT
Mrs. Mary Hoy and Miss Elizabeth Hoy
of Chicago Are Victims of kaisers
Ruthless Submarine War
Nearly Three Hundred Sur
vivors Are Landed at
Queenstown.

QueeHSlOWn, rep. Zl.-Ihe CunarO
line steamship Laconia, Of 1909
tons gross, which sailed from New
York February Is for Liverpool, has
been sunk.
A steamer has arrived here bringing
267 survivors of the Laconia. They
were picked up in eight boats. Among
those who lost their lives were Mrs
Mary e. Hoy and Miss Elizabeth Hoy
Of Chicago, two American citizens.
| Preparations are being made to
treat hospital cases.
The Laconia was one of the largest
vessels of the Cunard fleet and the
| largest thus far sunk since the new
German submarine warfare was COM
menced. She was 600 feet long, II
feet beam and 40 foot depth. She was
built in 1911 at Newcastle.
| One Dead, Frost Reports.
London, Feb. 27.-Wesley Frost,
| American consul at Queenstown, tele-
graphed the American embassy here:
"Cunarder Laconia torpedoed 10 so
! Sunday night. Two hundred and sew
enty-eight survivors landed. Details
| lacking, but known some missing, one
| dead"
1t is stated automatically that the
! Laconia was tOrpedOed without warn
| ing.
The Central News says it is feared
| the large amount Of mail which the
| Laconia was bringing from America
| has been lost.
Washington Notified.
Washington, Feb. q. - Consul
| Frost's dispatch on the destruction Of
| the Laconia was received at the state
department, which had information
| from no other source.
The Laconia carried five bags Of
mail for the American embassy at
| Paris.
Twenty-Six Americans on Board.
New York, Feb. 27-Twenty-six
| Americans, six Of whom were cabin
| passengers, and twenty paid members
of the crew, were on board the Cunard
| liner Laconia, from New York Febru-
airy IS for Liverpool, with rs passen-
| gers and a crew of 216, when the YES
| sci was sunk by a German submarine
| Sunday night.
One casualty, as yet unidentified,
was officially reported by the Liver
| pool office of the line to officials here.
The names of the American passen-
| gers and their addresses, as given by
| the line here, and confirmed in part
| by relatives in the United States, are
| as follows:
Floyd P. Gibbons of the Chicago
| Tribune.
Mrs f. E. Harris, wife of Lieut..
| Col. Frank e. Harris, United States
Coast Artillery corps, stationed at
| Fort Dupont, near Philadelphia.
Arthur T. Kirby, cambridge, N. 7.
Mrs. Mary E. Hoy, Chicago.
Miss Elizabeth Hoy, Chicago.
Rev. James Wareing, registered
from New York, but said to be from
| Norfolk, Va.
Yankees Among Crew.
| The Americans among the crew
were signed here to take the places
| of others whose terms of service had
| expired or who had failed to appear
NICn snip was 1Cddy W SCtl1
The following items were among the
| principal commodities carried:
One thousand bars of silver, 10000
| bushels of wheat, 2,S43 bales of cot
| ton, LAOS boxes Of fresh fruit, 5000
| tons of shell castings and other war
supplies and 5000 tons of provisions.
1t was stated positively by officials
/ of 10 limo fhof rhnrn
sives on board.
Had 5000 Bags of Mail.
| In addition to the cargo and passen-
gers the Laconia carried 5000 bags
| of United States and Canadian mail,
| 1900 sacks of which had been trans
| ferred from the American liner st.
| Louis The Laconia, sailing on the
| same date as the Holland-America
| liner Ryndam returned TO port after
| being turned back from her voyage to
Rotterdam by the submarine menace,
| had on board nine of the Ryndam's
passengers.
The Laconia when she left here was
armed with one defense gun, mounted
aft. The report that the ship was
| tOrpedOed at night and without warn
ing indicates that no opportunity was
given to make use of the defense gun,
according to officials of the line.
Both vessels were taken over by the
British admiralty soon after the war
| began, and the Laconia for a while
| was used In the service of the gov
| eminent as q transport. She was
| only recently restored to her owners
for commercial purposes.
The registered gross tonnage of the
Laconia was 1850, her length was
625 feet, and she had a beam of 70
feet. Designed for high-class pas
senger trade, her fittings were models
of modern marine architecture.
Discoveries Made Later.
D,,&