The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1917-03-10
WOMEN, CHILDREN
AND HUSBANDS FIRST
New Regulation Announced
For Boats in Danger
Zone.

ON BOARD, SHIP ENGLISH
CHANNEL, Feb, 13-(Correspond.
ence of The Associated Press)-This
great ocean liner with its human
freight tonight is anchored in com.
parative safety after having spent IN
the Mediterranean danger zone three
of the most strenuous weeks which the
submarine warfare has produced
since the beginning of the world con.
flict- For days the steamers wire.
less has been humming almost stead.
lily with IS. o. S" calls received from
vessels in distress, 1t was only yes.
terday morning that big ship was
torpedoed four miles from u.s. signal.
ed wildly with rockets for assistance
while We did the only thing which
we could do-ran away as fast as the
engines could take US But tonight
we are in quiet waters, and for the
first time in twenty-one days the
commander will remove his clothes
for sleep Tomorrow we shall dock,
and consider ourselves lucky to have
reached port at all
Twice in the past six months a
Press has travelled through the Med
tterranean, on a trip TO and from In.
dia From Indian ports to Port Said
there is of course, practically no dan.
ger to be encountered from hostile
warcraft, but once the Suez Canal
has been passed homeward voyage a
ship is in constant peril.
A day or two after the ship left
Bombay the passengers were sum-
moned to the ships boats to which
they had been assigned. and the chief
officer made the rounds, delivering
instructions which gave to many the
first real idea of what the coming
danger was
After we leave Port Said we shall
be in the danger zone, he began.
Each one OF you will carry lifebelt
about all the time. This is imperat-
i've. Sometimes people get careless
or are forgetful. This must not be.
You should have the lifebelts with
YOU night and day. carrying them
even TO your baths with you.
The officer gave instructions as to
how the lifebelts were to be adjusted
and continued.
IN case we are torpedoed five
short blasts on the ships whistle will
call you to the boats. You will come
Immediately, bringing such warm clio.
thing as you can snatch at the NOM
ent. The unmarried men and those
who are travelling without their wiv.
es will see that all women and chill
dren are in the boats first. You will
put them into the boats by force II
necessary. | may tell you bachelors"
he interiected with a smile. that a
woman will take more rough hand.
ling than you may imagine. So throw
them into the boats IL you have to.
Married couples will get into the
boats together 1t Is the husbands
duty to go with his wife. and I make
1t order that this shall be carried
out. Many times a wife refuses at
the last moment to get into a boat
without her husband. and we want
no delays OF this sort
I'm case you see that the ship is
so badly hit that she is going to sink
Immediately, you will not wait for
the boats. The men will see that the
women and children have their life.
belts properly adjusted and then will
throw themselves. Jump as far from
the side of the ship as you can, and
trust to luck. Probably you will be
picked up by someone"
And so he continued. 1t was not
thing which tended to relieve ner.
vousness More than one woman who
was travelling with little children
turned away white OF face and
Thoughtful, and for the thousandth
time inspected the tiny lifebelts
which she was carrying, to make
sure that they were ready for her
babies
From the beginning of the voyage
no definite information as to when the
ship would reach port or leave was
given to passengers. In fact, there
were few questions which one could
get answered. The correspondent tried
to get the official number of passen.
gers and asked whether any other neu.
trails were aboard, but he was told that
the ships officers had been forbidden
to give any information whatever. AT.
ter leaving Port Said even the emer.
gency compass at the stern Of the
steamer was covered SO that inarisi-