The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1918-02-14
DIE WHEN FIRST
SHIP WITH TROOPS SINKS

| nitely what troops were aboard until
the list of survivors was received.
| Later, however, the adjutant gen.
erals office made the list public. It
follows:
10th Engineer train; 10th Enginee
train; 10th Military police; 107th
| Supply train; No. 100 Aero squadron;
15Sth Aaro Squadron; 213th Aero
Squadron; Replacement attachments.
Nos. 1 and 2 of the 32nd division;
Headquarters Detachment and Com
panies. ID, e, and F of the goth En-
gineers; the 32nd division is COM
posed of National guard of Michigan
and Wisconsin. The division trained
at Camp Macarthur, Texas.
Thus, all the soldiers are former
| Wisconsin and Michigan guardsmen
except those in the aero squadron,
VINO probably were recruited from all
| parts of the country.
First Ship With Troops.
The Tuscania was the first ship car
| rying American troops to Europe to be
sunk by German submarine, but the
American transport Antilles was tor
pedoed and sunk in the war o
while returning to the United States
from France and Ia soldiers were lost,
with t56 other persons, including sew
eral members of the naval armed
guard.
American warsnips conveying trans
ports last June twice fought off SUBJ
marine attacks.
Ship Bound for England.
Since then, however, there has been
no report of an attack On a ship car
rying American troops to Europe.
Recently the Navy department has
feared that the Germans would make
a concentrated effort to intercept
transports and the call of many of the
submarines to their bases being inter-
preted as preliminary to a campaign.
The position of the Tuscania when
she was sunk is taken to indicate that
she was bound to England. Her sink
ing definitely discloses that British
can troops abroad, supplementing
American transport tonnage.
Navy officials have insisted that de-
| spite the most careful plans and ef-
forts to safeguard transports there
was always a chance that a transport
would stumble upon q lurking suhma-
rine and the general belief was That
this is what happened in this case.
The same regulations as to life
saving apparatus govern the move
ment of American troops on a British
vessel as would govern their passage
| On an American craft. Those regula.
lions, which are rigidly enforced, pro-
vide for sufficient lifeboats and life
raft capacity for every man aboard
the ship, even If one-half of the boats
are rendered useless through the list
ing of the ship when she is struck.
War Department Statement.
The war department issued the fol-
lowing statement:
British authorities have wired in
structions to their commands in Scot
land and Ireland to afford our troops
from T%uscania every possible assist
L NASO aitu w INC Il Y Siolh~
ing requirements. Officers have been
despatched from Liverpool and Glas-
gov and London to points In Ireland
where survivors now are and they
will wire names Immediately. Ameri-
can Consul at Belfast reports 600 sur
vivors at Larne. AS soo as they are
properly QUILTED they will be brought,
to Winchester"
Remained AAoat Two Hours.
The Tuscania remained afioat for
two hours after being torpedoed.
The condition of some of the sur
vivors of the Tuscania was p~itiable.
Many had cast aside all their clothes
and had been swimming about for two
hours before being rescued.
The Michigan Wisconsin division
has been training in Texas for sew
eral months. 1t is one of the crack
national guard divisions of the coun-
try, ranking second in point of eff
cheney in the recent inspection of the
former militia organizations.
Foresters In Engineer Units.
The engineer units are composed
of foresters recruited to get ont lum-
Der in France for use in the trenches.
camps, supply depots and other struc-
lures employed by the American
troops behind the lines.
Until the Tuscania was sunk no a
single soldier bound to France. had
been lost through a submarine attack.
Submarines have laid in wait for Am
erican transports from the start, but
have been cheated of their prey by
the vigilance Of American naval des-
troyers forming the conveys.