New-York tribune., 1918-05-19

eightyfve, all of whom were ruth !
lessly murdered without any reason
whatsoever.
Wanted Britannia
Out of Business
The next torpedoing of note wa,
that of the new White Star liner
Britannia, the largest British ship
afioat and one which the Germans
wished to remove from competing
with their ships at the end of the
war. The Britannia was sunk in the
Egean Sea, and that but fifty lives
were lost out of the 1,1OO wounded
and large crew she had aboard is
remarkable, considering she went
down in fifty-three minutes. A Ger
man newspaper, the "Kieler lei
tung," was the first to admit pub
licly that torpedo and not mine
had caused the disaster, and further
stated:
"The Britannia was transporting
fresh troops for our enemies. If
she had not been doing so our sub
marine would never, of course, have
torpedoed her."
On November "a, 1916, shortly
after the Britannia was sunk, the
British Admiralty published a COM
plete list of all persons on board.
There were no troops. Germany
continued her propaganda to dull
the mind of the world as to her real
intent in sinking hospital ships by
asserting that she had conclusive
proof that in several instances
enemy hospital ships had often been
misused for the transport of troops
and munitions. Under the princi-
pies of the Geneva convention gov
erning maritime war belligerents
have the right to stop and search
hospital ships. Germany never util-
lied this right. Evidently it was
easier to sink the ship outright ani
trust the world to believe the i'm
perial German word.
The illegal and inhuman subma-
rine warfare which Germany has
waged upon merchant shipping, cul-
minating in her savagery against
hospital ships flying the Red Cross
flag and otherwise acting in COM
plete conformity with the require
ments of The Hague and Geneva
conventions, has brought the world
face to face with a situation with
out parallel in civilization. Sinking
hospital ships has no justification
in any conceivable distortion of in
ternational law nor in the most
brutal creed of military necessity.
Asturias Sunk
On Way From France
The big Asturias, commanded by
Captain Laws, known to many Amer
leans who travelled to Bermuda. had
her first experience with a U-boat
on February 1, 1915. She was the
star hospital ship of the fleet, for
at that time neither the Britannia
nor Aquitaria was doing hospital
work. Only the prompt action of
the second officer in turning the shin
as he saw the torpedo coming. saved
her and the scores of wounded she
had on board. Having made one
miss at the Asturias, the Germans
kept at it till they finally got her.
The British Admiralty announced
the following:
"The British hospital ship As
turias, while steaming with all navi-
eating lights and with all the proper
distinguishing Red Cross signs brill
iantly illuminated, wa torpedoed
without warning on the night of
March 20-21 (191O. The torpedo.
ing of this hospital ship is included
IN the list OF achlevements claimed
by U-boats as reported in the Ger
man wireless press message yester-
day."
The Asturias didn't sink, although
forty-three died in the tragedy, in
cluding two women, and thirty-nine
were injured. The torpedo rendered
her helpless, as her rudder had been
carried away. Captain Laws drove
the sinking ship for shoal water.
AS she was off the rocky shore of
Cornwall, if he did succeed IN beach
ing her the chances of saving the ship
would be slight. All Captain Laws
thought of was to get her some
where where she wouldn't sink ere