The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-01-18
Rumor That 400 Lives Have
Peen Lost Is Doubted, Prize
Ship En- Route
SHIP PROPERTY WORTH
MANY MILLIONS LOST
Allied Fleets Securing Seas for
Raider. Which 10 Believed
to Have at Least One Com
panion Craft
by International News Service,

by International News Seryice1
New York, Jan, 17-The mystery
of the German sea raider that ter
rorized allied shipping in South At
lantic waters for more than a month
was partly cleared today when it was
learned that the japanese steamship
Hudson Maru, with a prize crew OF
German sailors aboard last Monday
evening brought into the port Of
Pernambuco, 237 men belonging to
the crews OF more than a dozen ships
sunk or captured by the Teuton COM
merce destroyer.
From the maze of conflicting dis
patches regarding the number of YES
sells sunk, it Is impossible tonight
even to estimate the number of YES
sells sent to the bottom. the lives pos
sibly lost and the amount of damage
done.
At Least Fifteen Sent Down.
From British admiralty state
ment issued this afternoon. however,
and a dispatch received late this
evening from the International News,
Service correspondent at Buenos
Aires, 1t is clear that at least fifteen
vessels-twelve British. two French
and one Italian-were sent down and
one, the Hudson Maru was captured.
Those sixteen ships represent a
total tonnage of close to 1o0, 900 tons.
Together with their cargoes. they were
worth approximately $4,000, 900.
Ships Long Overdue.
The three biggest vessels sunk were
the British steamer Georgia, from
Philadelphia to Brest. displacing TO-
OFT tons the Mount Temple. British
OF 9.792 tons from Montreal to Lon
don and the Voltaire. British, Of
S,6ls tons. from Liverpool to New
York.
Both the Noltaire and the Georgia
were long overdue at their respective
ports of destination. Indeed, ii was
the failure OF the Voltaire to arrive
here by December Ia, 1.-The outside
limit set for her making this port.
that first gave rise to serious credenc0
in the many reports and rumors
about the German raider, which were
repeatedly substantiated by official
British admiralty warnings.
The sinking of the Georgia, which
is believed to have occurred on the
North Atlantic lane, prompted the as
sertion in local shipping circles hero
that the Teuton sea rover. after slip
ping through the British blockading
Gordon, must have swept the ocean
from north to south
A second theory. strongly support
ed by circumstantial evidence is that
the raider that sent the Hudson Maru
to Pernamhuco is not alone, but 10
cooperating with one or more other
raiders, the latter active in North
Atlantic waters.
Nothing Known As to Loss Of Life.
AS to the possible loss of life, there
is nothing in the many contradictory
dispatches to permit of any tangible
conclusion. New York was stirred
early today by the published report
that il amounted to 400 lives.
This report was, and is. based solely
upon assumption. The British adj
miralty statement says two vessels.
the Yarrowdale and ST. Theodore.
We're captured and that 1.-The Yarrow-
dale was captured and sent away with
about 400 men, the crews of others OF
the sunk vessels who were to be land
ed.
The T. " s. correspondent at
Buenos Aires cabled this evening that
the St. Theodore and the Yarrowdale
were sunk. This fact. however, Is no
indication that the 400 men mention-
ed by the British admiralty and tho
two steamers crews are dead, since
it is the practice of the German raid
ers OF almost continually transferring
survivors.
AS an instance of the Gordon thrown
out by the allies in their efforts to
apprehend the Teuton raider. Is the
story brought to port by the officers
of the steamer Munamar* Of the Num-
son Line, ain American ship.
Many on Patrol Duty.
They report that between Sandy
Hook and the coast of Cuba they
sighted seven British and French
cruisers. These warships they naiA
were on patrol duty.
The fact that German submA-
rine is operating in the vicinity ot
the Canary Islands was learned t6-
day upon the arrival OF the Norwo-
gian bark Spartan. from Dublin. OF.
ficers of the vessel said that on De-
cemher 2 in the position Of latitude
27.a2. iungituasssa1.0s. = German sub
marine appeared, and ordered the
Spartan to put on boat with a
officer carrying the ships pApeFs.
This was done and after the 0Mcorq
Of the submarine had innpsctU4
papers the Spartan was AlleWe4 en@
continue her voyage. sas
The. nosition EeHak14 I'LL 1
tan u ahout TIL RI U ~ H11l e
r.