Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-12-22
Suit Against Morse
for Lives of. Seven
Lost on Frederick


! New York, Dec. 21-Silas B. Axtell
Z a lawyer Of State street, has
!, brought suit for a total of 100000 in
= the Supreme court against Charles
j W. Morse and the Continental Trad
: ing Company. Mr.. Axtell has seven
I clients, mostly women, who ask 800,
u 900 each for husbands or relatives
r lost on the steamer Frederick.
Z In January, 1916, the Frederick, la
+ den with iron, motor trucks and ma
= chinery, put out from New York Tor
n Archangel She was owhell and OPP
e Grated by Mr.. Morse and the Con-
. tinental Trading Company. There
II We're thirty-three men aboard.
y Her captain, II. II. Keihne, it has
" been testified, refused to sail on her
because she was unseaworthy. The
i. man who took her out of the harbor,
ssys Captain Lynn, left her when she
dragged herself into Portland, Me-,
for repairs after calling at Vineyard
Haven for the same purpose.
Captain Robbins then took charge
Of the leaky, Wheeling craft, witness
es say. Late in January she steamed
out Of Louisburg, Nova Scotia. The
Atlantic took her, and for a year
Z. nothing more was heard of her
1t was only through one OF the
>, strange accidents OF the sea that
messages from men long dead came
back to civilization TO tell the story
Of what -befell the Frederick, the
compliments in the suit say.
=, In January, 1917, Robert Miller, a
farmer of the Orkney Islands, step
home. There were papers in it, scrib-
bled hastily in Spanish, Greek an!
English, two of them in the latter
language. One of them read:
Z Friends of whom it may concern:
We are sinking in mid-ocean and the
r-g captain has deserted us. There are
ten men behind. Faithfully yours,
the steward of the ship.
"GEORGE MATTHEW'S"
One in Spanish read:
"Goodby, my beloved parents. At
this moment / could not possibly love
you more than I do. | say goodby
to you and to my brothers, whom
may never see again. My soul auf-
fers because / cannot die at your side.
I long for and am sorry for YOU, my
parents. Goodby, all members of my
family. I shall never see you again
and l bid YOU all g0odby. GoOdby all
of you. In the year 1916, on the 9th
day of January. Balermino p. Rio"
Others reiterated the story, briefly
told that the Frederick was sinking
and these last words were being sent
in the one chance that they might
some day reach the families Of the
ten about to die.
That one chance won. Miller sent
the flask and its contents to one of
his sons at Kirkwall, Scotland lie
turned it over to the adiutant Of the
garrison there, who in turn forward
ed it to the American Legation in
London. Photostatic copies Of the
pathetic last messages were exhib-
tied yesterday by Mr.. Axtell. He
represents:
Helen NJ. Brown, Jean Carregal,
Joseph Filguerira, Frorencio' Bar
retro. Adelaide Cuthbertson, Nelson
= and Marie Robbins. The last is the
widow of the captain who finally
took the Frederick out to open sea,
after two other masters had refused
the job.
q. The complaints charge agreement
and conspiracy on the part of the
vessels. owners and operators 'for
. the pu1pose of making profits by
purchasing the steamship Frederick
which, at the time of its purchase
was old, worn out and totally unfit
ted for use as an ocean going vcs-
sell"
Insurance Collected, Charge
1t is further charged that the de-
PENDANTS, after taking title to the
vessel, proceeded to prepare her for
sea service when she was unsea-
worthy, and that through contracts
entered into with certain parties
whose names are unknown to the
plaintiff for the carrying Of cargo,
the defendants have since collected
large sums Of money under policies
e. of insurance, the exact particulars of
which are unknown to PLAINTIFF
According to testimony of former
members of the Frederick's crew, de-
duced in the offices of the defendants
attorneys, the ship had been repair
ed prior to departure from New York,
but none Of the officers then on her,
including the captain, III. FL. Keihne
and George McDermott, the chief
steward, of 34S West Fourteenth
street, would consent to make the
voyage and left the ship several days
before she sailed.
McDermott testified that the vessel
was "sieve," she leaked so badly,
and that the removal of stanchions
to make room for the alleged excess
20 sive cargo and concrete patch in
the ships starboard side aft made
her unsafe for sea trip.
After the Frederick left New York
she was forced to put in at Nineya~al
Haven and, Portland Me-, for addi-
tional repairs. Wilbur Hunt, the YES
sells new chief steward, left the YES
sci at Portland. as did also Captain
Lyman. Captain Robbins then took
charge of the vessel, and the last
heard Of her was when she left
:, Louisburg, n. s., rolling and ,careen-
I ing" u
9 Criminal Action Rejected
z The defendants named in the civil
action are Thomas A. Sherman.
: Richard 0. White. Cark X. Crosby,