New-York tribune., 1918-05-19

crossed to France for Red Cross
work crossed at their own expense
on regular passenger ships before
we entered the war and were driv-
ing neutral ambulances.
When we entered the war. nat
urally they weren't going to return
to the United States to enlist when
they could enlist in their country's
military forces in France and get at
Furnishing the Hun earlier than the
fellows at home. These captured
American aviators Germany speaks
about apparently had on them GER
tificates of service they had rem
dered while driving American neu-
trail ambulances.
AS usual, Germany has distorted
the truth. In this instance she sim.
ply wishes to give a semblance of
excuse for the attempts she is 20.
ing to make to lessen the number of
ships available to transport our bows
overseas, because every hospital
ship sunk has to be replaced with
some ship in military or civil ser
vice. The unsportsmanship and das-
tardliness of it are on a par with the
pillaging of Belgium and the burn
ing of men at the stake on the deck
of submarine, as Germany did with
four U-boat crewA
The first hospital ship the Huns
sank was the Portugal, flying the
Russian flag. She was anchored
off Rick, Black Sea port, when at
about 8 o'clock on the morning of
March II, 1916, a periscope was
seen approaching. The Portugal
had no wounded on board-simply
her hospital staff, which included
many nuns and her full crew. The
Russian government had notified the
Central Powers that the Portugal
was hospital ship and had OBJ
tanned from them recognition of
her status. She was properly
marked under the ruling of both the
Hague and Geneva conventions.
OF course, nobody thought for
one instant that the submarine
would attack the Portugal, and there
was no panic until, when about two
hundred feet away, the submarine
i fired a torpedo which missed its
mark. Then the beast circled around
the anchored ship of mercy and fired
a second torpedo at close range. The
second missile struck the PORTUGAL
In the engine room. There was a
terrific explosion within her and
the hull broke in two. AS one sur
vivor, the secretary of the Russian
Red Cross third ambulance detach-
ment, has officially recorded it:
"The Portugal was sinking at
the place where she was broken in
two, her stern and stem going up
higher all the time as she settled
amidships. All around me unfort-
unate sisters of mercy were
screaming for help. The deck be-
came more down-sloping every min
ute and I rolled off into the water
between the two halves of the sink
ing steamer. 1t so happened that
the disturbance of the water some
what abated and I succeeded in
swimming up again. l glanced
around. The Portugal was no more.
Nothing but broken pieces of wreck,
boxes which had contained medica-
ments, materials for dressings and
provisions, were floating about.
Everywhere could see the heads
and arms of people battling with the
waves and their shrieks for help
were frightful. The Portugal was
painted white, with a red bor-
der all around. The tunnels
were white with red crosses and a
Red Cross flag was on the mast.
These distinguishing signs were
plainly visible, and there can be no
doubt whatever that they could be
perfectly we'll seen by the men in
the submarine. The conduct of the
submarine proves that the men in Il
knew that they had to do with hos
pital ship. The fact of the sub
marine having moved so slowly
shows the enemy was conscious Of
being quite out of danger"
The loss of life on the Portugal
was twenty-cne nuns. who were act
ing as nurses; twenty-four others
of the Red Cross staff, as we'll as
twenty-one of the Russian crew and
nineteen of the French, totallinr