The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1921-10-20
General College News
MR. WEBSTER VISITS BEREA

thursday IN the person OF george STU
ney Webster, Secretary Of the Amer
lean Seamens' Society.
Mr.. Webster is a man of unusual
experience and power. He gave a
stereopticou lecture in the. College
Chapel on Wednesday evening on
The Ships Of the World" The lee
ture was illustrated with ninety col
ored lantern slides, giving Gimp
ses into various parts of the world,
covering chiefly the eighteen ocean
voyages which Mr.. Webster has
made. He also gave very compre-
hensive account of the welfare work
for seafaring men which is being
carried on BY the American Semeans'
Friend Society, which has its head.
quarters at New York City.
Mr.. Webster heard the whistle of
the Lusitaria when she started on
her last voyage. Many of his
friends went down on that Inflated
ship. Some Of them had been guests
at the Sailors Home in New York,
where Mr.. Webster was secretary.
He told us that he had himself seen
the medal published by the Germans
telling of the Lusitania disaster. As
many of our readers will remember,
the Germans had given holiday to
the school children, celebrating the
sinking of the Lusitania, but it hap
pened that she left the American
port two days late, and so the dis.
aster did not come on the day that
the German school children celebrat-
ed. There is no particular motive
for rehearsing this incident except
as it serves to remind us again that
the German machine was planned to
destroy.
There is not sufficient space to give
in detail Mr.. Webster's lecture, but
the following story which he told,
when Captain Pollack's picture was
thrown on the screen, will be of I'M
usual interest to our readers:
Captain Pollock sailed out of New
York harbor, July "a, 1914 (on
the S. S. Kronprinzer Cecilia.
the finest and most luxurious of the
german passenger ships). He had
in his crew thirteen million dollars in
gold, consigned to the German gov.
eminent at Berlh.. He carried a
sealed order which had been given
him two years prior to that time.
When he was within one day Of the
home port, Germany, he received a
wireless which was the signal for
him to open his sealed order and the
order, read, "avoid English, Frence,
Belgian and Russian ports" He turn
ed the ship about, put all the lights
out and ran at full speed with immi-
nent risk for the lives of all the
passengers thru icebergs and fog and
came to Bar Harbor, Main, using one
of its passengers as a pilot at the
tiiu VI Tue NOHdSt.
The ship, Captain, and crew were
interned in Boston Harbor until it |
was taken over by the U. S. govern
ment in 1917. The crew, which had
been one Of the finest, was gradually
displaced, one by one, by very in
ferior men. The machinery was
very badly damaged, all of which the
Captain testified in court was by or
der Of Berlin. She was repaired and
renamed the U. S. S. Mt. Vernon.
The Germans were determined to de-
stroy it, if possible, and while she
had American soldiers on board, she
was torpedoed near the coast of
France. Thirty-six men were killed
in the engine room, the remainder
came on deck to try and save their
lives, expecting that the ship would
90 down at once. It's water com.
partments held, however, and the
Captain saw there was no immediate
danger.
They expected another torpedo any
that would give her the
death blow. As It did not come, the
Captain asked for volunteers to go
down in the engine room and keep
her going. Every man who was
alive went back to his post. She was
repaired and brought
back TO the Charlestown Navy Yards,
costing $4,000 TO completely repair
the damage, then she was used as a
transport all thru the remainder of
the war.
Mr.. Webster spoke Thursday
in the College Chapel on the
'Discoverer, Columbus" Here he
dwelt upon what he called the "out-
characteristics of the dis.
coverer of the new world. Certainly
he possessed qualities which we in