The Elk Mountain pilot., 1918-07-04

about 1t and asked him why he had given up the
command Of certain British hospital ship, berth
which To my landsmau's eyes had seemed to be the
easiest on the sea today In spite Of instances like
the Rewa.
He didn't look Mt he answered. He looked
far out through his cabin port the tower Of the
W"oworth building. He finally told me that In
spite OF the danger IL was easier on him to take
merchant ship IA transport through the war zone
than to have his heart torn asunder by the suffer-
Ing Of humanity he had seen on hospital ships:
men gassed and writhIng In agony; men wounded
or mutilated out of sheer deviitry FFightfulness-
waste OF manhood because the kaiser wanted to
dominate the wOrid-that's what he hos
pital ship: and when his ship of mercy. like the
Rewn. was torpesiOed without warning and he man.
aged to beach her before she sank he simpay weot
to pieces. as have many hospital ship commanders
before him.
Every hospital ship sunk means that the allies
must replace 1t with . ship which has been carry
Ing food and munitions. That is Germany's game.
Finding her submarine warfare was not succeeding
rs she had hoped. she lessons the tonnage Of her
enemies by fouler means still and covers up her
dastardy motives by oficaIly saying:
The German government can no longer suffer
that the British government should forward troops
and munitions to the main theater Of war under
cover Of the Red Cross and II therefore declares
that from now on no enemy hospital ship will be
allowed In the sea zone comprised between a line
drawn from Flamborough Head to Terschellng
the one hand and Ushant and Lands End the
other. II In this sea zone after the expiry of the
stated time any enemy hospital ship is encountered
1t will be considered q vessel of and 1t will
be attacked without further ceremony"
And knowing full well that no allied hospital
ships were carrying either troops munitions
anything which they shouldn't In their garb of
mercy. Germany has lessened tonnage by sinking
the hospital ship Britannia 10000 tons). Asturias
G1.4OO tons). Gloucester Castle (7993 tOns).
Donegal u.997 tons). Salta (7.2S4 tons), Lanfranc
(6,275 tons). Dover Castle (s.26O tons). Rewa
(7.267 tons). Gienart Castle (9.00O tens). Liam
dovey Castle 10000 tons). and others amounting
to over 100000 tons.
Germany has already begun paving the way to
lessen American tonnage by sinking our hospital
ships whenever we get any. On May i. 1913. she
ofhcially notified the world that
American aviatOrs crossing to Europe as
members Of the Red Cross on hospital ships. This
misuse Of the Red Cross appears from documentary
evidence found American aviators who have
been shot down. An American brought down In
the region Of the army of General Won Hutier car
ried a pass which referred to him as member OF
the American ambulance for France.
~Prisoners openly admit that 1t is the general
practice for aviators to enter American ambulance
service TO. their pa ssage Europe and to
hospital ships After they landed In France
they Immediately transfer to the automobile corps
and thence into the air service.
1.-The captured aviator referred to had. however.
transferred directly from the ambulance service
into the air service. Another carried certificate
the dates of several transfers were ON
i,.'ly Indicated.
Excap, FOR the nava! hospital ship Solace and
hosnital Yacht Surf attached to our feet. and two
Ward liners being converted into the hospital ships
Comfort nnd Mercy. solely for the use OF the navy
rnd at this writing not vet in service. the United
States has had no hospital ships at all Conse-
Quentfy It would be impossible for American avia-
tors to cross on such ships Germany states they
have The aviators which Germany refers to as
having creased to France for Red Cross work
crossed at their own expense on regular passenger