The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-01-24
Tale of Heroism and Skill
Revealed in Captains
Laconic Message.
UNDER TERRIFIC ODDS
All Hands Saved in Worst
Seas of Winter on
Atlantic.
BY HARRY K. LANDER
United Press Staff Correspondent

SAANENNA ~ OAlO AAClOlO OdEoO VI GllC
sea Is being written today as
Captain George Fried of the United
States liner America ploughs his
way to New York with the thirty.
two members of the crew Of the
abandoned Italian freighter Florida,
rescued In pitch darkness Wednes-
day night in full gale upon the
high seas, 700 miles off the Virginia
Capes.
The Florida itself, waterlogged,
rudderlesS, and loaded with pine
pitch from Beaumont, Tex, en- route
since Jan. 10 to Italy, probably is
at the bottom of the sea.
1t was listing in the cold, westerly
buffeting gale when the rescue YES
sci turned about to race for New
York.
Captains Second Rescue
While Captain Fried, with his 464
passengers and the thirty-two lives
snatched from death were hurrying
on to land, the American tanker
Dannedaike, reported sinking 100
miles farther off the Virginia Capes
Tuesday, had effected temporary re-
pairs and was limping into port in
the BermudaS under her own power.
The British freighter, Teesbridge,
with a crew of thirty men, was
given up for lost after ships which
had sped to her rescue in response
to S 0 S calls failed to find any
trace of her.
The rescue of the Florida's crew
Wednesday night takes its place
alongside the most heroic bits of
seamanship in maritime annals.
It occurred on the night of the
third anniversary of an almost
equally heroic rescue of the crew
of the freighter Antinoe by Captain
Fried under almost similar circum-
stances in the north seas. Fried
then was in command of the United
States liner President Roosevelt.
Those who remember the abashed
demeanor of the doughty master
when he was acclaimed by foreign
governments as well as his own for
that feat accomplished at the cost
of the lives of two of his own men
and five of his lifeboats, considered
message Wednesday night giving
credit to his chief mate.
Save Crew In Terrific Gale
This was his cryptic and dramatic
radio message to the offices of the
United States line here:
Rescued full crew of Florida,
thirty-two men. Chief Officer Harry
Ms nning in charge. Full cold west
erly gale. Life boat lost. Proceed
ing to New York. Full details Later"
The message was timed at 1910
p. m. 1t had been an hour and ten
minutes earlier, 8 p. m, when he
had sent cracking through the
ether the laconic message:
America now standing by the S.
S. Florida"
Men who go down to the sea in
ships know what a full gale means;
a blow" across the unobStructed
hundreds of miles of high seas,
wind hurting unimpeded at a sixty
mile-an-hour pace, rate which on
land would be accounted hurricane
velocity.
Such a wind would spread de-
struction in any city.
The men of the sea know that
when this quiet master takes time in
a radio message to indicate that the
gale was cold, it was.
For a full day and half the
world had watched the odds-on bat
tie which Captain Fried was fight
ing with the storm and the raging
seas in his rescue attempt. He was
approximately $50 miles away when
the radio brought word to him that
the Florida was in dire distress,
rudderless and helpless.
Turns Back to Bring Help
Fried was bringing his ship with
its heavy passenger list to New
York But he turned about and
flashed out to the Florida the simple
but hope-raiSing message coming
TO your assistance"
Fried shot message to the Flor
ida that he would be there in
thirty-five hours.
The America under normal con-
ditions is capable of only sixteen
knots an hour and the elements
were expected to cut this down by
more than half by those who eSti-
mated his chances of success. But
he got more than ten knots an hour
out of the America. under the most
unfavorable weather conditions so
far experienced this winter on the
Atlantic.
FriedS estimate Of thirty-h
hours was exceeded only by four
hours, which professional seafarefs
considered miraculous in that dur
ing those hosTs the Florida had
drifted rapidly from its posi-
ton away from the approaching
America.
Captain Fried succeeded in find
ing the Florida after the President
Harding Of the Dollar Line and the
Yorck Of the North German Lloyd
line had given up the search.