Salt Lake Tribune | 1916-12-24 | Page 2 | Big Liner Adrift or at Bottom of Ocean

BIG LIU ADRIFT OH 1 SI BQTTDMOF OCEAN Steamship Voltaire 15 Days Overdue; Fears for Safety of the Ship. Ey International News Service. NEW YORK, Dec. -3. The bier I -'tin-port Hull liiu-r Voltaire still is listed as overdue on the maritime exchange. Cp to a late hour tornwht the leal uiT.ce of the line had reoMved no word that would throw any liu-iit on the fate uf the vt-ss'd and her ci .-w of Hi). The liner now is f i it 1 1-ii day overdue. While rrave fears for the safety of the ship and her crew were openly expressed in shipping circles today, officials of '.lie line refused to tiive up hope. They still : 1 i r i gt to tiie theory th;it the ship has mtt with a in is Imp to her engines and is drifting aSout in the Atlant ie. in this connection they propounded a new idc.i to iiccutin t for her non -appearance. It was to the effect that other vessels are shunning her in fear that she might be the German raider which for the last month has heen reported lurking lurk-ing in the shipping lanes. David Cook, manager of the line, said today: "The Adriatic ran a wa y from a bis ship on her way over last week. They were sure from the ship's behavior that she was the German raider so often reported, re-ported, but the description that nor officers offi-cers gave was a perfect description of the Voltaire. "Not one ship has been sunk since the beginning of the war which was not reported re-ported within the next two or three days. Therefore, I don't believe the Voltaire has heen torpedoed. The Voltaire's Vol-taire's wireless is powerful and unless I the ship was blown to pieces she would be able to tell what had struck her." Mr. Cook was of the opinion that the Vol I aire is drifting helplessly, owing to engine trouble, and waiting for some vessel to come in sight in order to signal it wi;h flag signals and avoid using the wireless. To use the wireless under the circumstances, he was convinced, would be to invite submarine attack. About one-third of her crew are Americans, Amer-icans, according to the belief of the local agents. She carried no passengers and was in ballast on her way to this port.