Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1918-07-04

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speaking to merchant ship captain
about 1t and asked him why he had given up the
command of a certain British hospital ship berth
which to my landsman's eyes had seemed to be the
easiest on the sea today in spite of instances like
the Rewa.
he didn't look at me as he answered. He looked
1ar out through his cabin port at the tower of the
sWoolWorth building He finally told me that in
spite OF the danger it easier on him to take a
tnercnant snip or a transport through the war zone
fnan to have his heart asunder by the suffer-
ing OF humanity he had seen on hospital ships.
men gassed and writing in agony; men wounded
OF mutliated out of sheer devltry. Frightfulness-
waste OF manhood because the kaiser wanted TO
dominate the world-tlat's what he saw on q hos
pital ship; and when his ship of mercy, like the
ReWa was torpedoed without warning and he man
aged to beach her before she sank he simnlv went
to pieces as have many hospital ship commanders
before him.
Every hospital ship sunk means that the allies
must replace 1t with a ship which has been carry
Ing food and munitions. That is Germanys game.
Finding her submarine warfare was not succeeding
as She had hoped, she lessons the tonnage Of her
enemies by fouler means still and covers IN her
dastardly motives by officially saying:
The German government can no longer suffer
tnat the British government should forward troops
and munitions to the main theater of war under
cover of the Red Cross, and it therefore declares
that from now on no enemy hospital ship will be
allowed in the sea comprised between a line
drawn from Marlborough Head to Terschelling on
the one hand and Ushant and Lands End on the
other. II IN this sea zone after the expiry Of the
stated time any enemy hospital ship is encountered
1t Will be considered as vessel Of war and it will
be attacked without further ceremony"
And knowing full well that no allied hospital
ships were carrying either troops, munitions or
anything which they shouldn't in their garb Of
mercy, Germany has lessened tonnage by sinking
the hospital ship Britannia 10000 tons), Asturas
LII Flo o,ncN
Donegal C,997 tons), Salta (7.2S4 tons), Lanfranc
(6275 tons}, Dover Castle 1920 tons) Rewa
(7267 tons), Glenart Castle 10000 tons), 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 1, 1915 she
officially notified the world that
american ayiators are crossing to Europe as
members of the Red Cross on hospital ships This
misuse OF the Red Cross appears from documentary
evidence found on American aviators who have
been shot down. An American brought down In
the region of the army Of General Won Hutier car
ried pass which referred to him as member of
the American ambulance for France.
aPrisoners openly admit that 1T is the general
practice for aviators to enter American ambulance
Service for their passage to Europe and to cross
hospital ships After they are landed in France
they Immediately transfer to the automobile corps
nd themes into the air service.
"The captured aviator referred to had, however,
transferred directly from the ambulance service
into the air service. Another carried certificate
IA .shlch the dates OF several transfers were OIL
cia,;y Indicated
Except for the naval hospital ship Soace and
hospital yacht Surf attached to our fleet, and two
Ward liners being converted into the hospital ships
Comfort and Mercy, solely for the use of the navy
and at this writing not yet in service, the United
States has had no hospital ships at all. Conse-
In ho mo oxio.
tors to cross on such ships Germany states they
have The avators which Germany refers to as
having crossed to France for Red Cross work
crossed at their own expense on regular passenger