New-York tribune., 1918-02-09
Washington Is Still
Unable to Report
Number of Dead

WASHINGTON, Feb. S.-Seventy-
two hours after the British liner Tus-
cania, laden with American troops and
travelling in company with large
convoy, was torpedoed and sunk off the
Irish coast, the War Department to-
night still was unable to relieve the in
creasing anxiety of relatives and
friends of those on board by announc-
ing the list of survivors.
Even an official report of the circum-
stances attending the sinking was
lacking, and official figures still failed
TO accord with press accounts of the
number lost.
The War Department has had no Of
fetal report of losses to change the
estimate of yesterday that 210 persons
were missing, 113 of them being Ameri-
can soldiers.
The British Figures
British Admiralty figures given to
the Associated Press at London to-
American soldiers-four officers and
143 enlisted men. There were 1T
American officers and 1900 men on
board the Tuscania, and the Admiralty
reports among the survivors 113 Off
GERS and 1917 men.
In spite of the realization that the
loss was remarkably small, considering
the number carried by the liner, the
revised Admiralty report was received
here with bitter disappointment Press
dispatches last night indicating that
the dead all told might not exceed 100
had led to the hope that possibly not
more than fifty of the soldiers had
perished.
A cabegram received by the Navy
Department during tie day announced
that 76 officers and 1,274 enlisted men
had been landed at Buncrana, Ireland,
and that 81 soldiers were in hospitals
at Londonderry, while $40 officers and
men were at lslay This gives total
of 2,011, but does not include the scat
tering of survivors reported in unoffi-
cial dispatches as having landed at
ports in Scotland.
Additional details of the splendid
conduct of the untred soldiers, as de-
scribed in press dispatches to-day,
were received with undisguised pleas
IRE by army officials.
The committee on public information
to-day made this announcement:
"The passenger list of the Tuscania,
compiled by the War Department at
the port of embarkation, shows that
the vessel carried 2,177 military pas
sengers and two civilian passengers.
The military passengers consisted of
III officers and 1000 enlisted men.
Much concern has been occasioned
throughout the country by confusion OF
the 10th Regiment Of Engineers with
thh 107th Engineer Train of the 32d
Division. The 10th Regiment of En-
gineers was not listed as having sailed
on the Tuscania."
Physical difficulties in preparing lists
of survivors, it was said to-day at the
war Department, may greatly delay
publication of an accurate list of the
lost. The survivors have been landed
at various points. Until officers man
age to get in touch with them and check
them off against the muster rolls, or
until complete list of the names of
survivors can be assembled at some
ships papers, there is no way to deter
mine who are missing, although the
number may be known.
Hope Others Are Saved
There is also possibility that addi-
tlonal survivors may have been picked
up by patrol boats and will be brought
IN later when the craft come off duty.
The list of llfeboats also must be
checked up, as one or two might have
made shore unaided. News dispatches
show that some of the lfeboats were
destroyed by the explosion of tao tor
pedo, so careful examination of the
experiences OF Survivors is necessary to
lind out how many got away from the
ship safely.
There are instances in the submarine
disasters where crews of ships sent
to the bottom have been taken from
their boats by outward bound vessels
and been landed at distant ports weeks
after they had been given up as lost.
1t is regarded as unlikely, however,
that any survivors Of the Tuscania will
be found to have matched this experi
ence, and when all patrol craft in the
vicinity have reported, the list of miss
ing will be regarded definitely as the
list of dead.