Show S SUNK BY bf TORPEDO NEARLY ALL passengers AND CREW OF VESSEL BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN LOST two americans Amerl cani on board ship when it was wa attacked by an austrian submarine crisis may be renewed by disaster Olia iter london the british passenger steamship persia with two or more americans on board has been sunk in the eastern mediterranean by a submarine the full story has not yet been told but it Is feared the disaster from a standpoint of loss of life life among nonbelligerent voyagers will rank second only to the sinking of the Lual tanin unofficial figures indicate that there were about passengers on board the persia a vessel of nearly tons and between anil and mem bora bers of tho crew four boats each capable of carrying sixty persons got away and their occupants were picked up by it a steamer bound for alexandria it has not been established how many were able to disembark in the small email boats but a message received at washington from robert 11 skinner american consul general at london based presumably sti lowthe on the british admiral tys report say B that nearly all on board the persia perished robert AteN celey of monroe N C who was on Ms his way to take lake office as american consul at aden arabia charles grant of boston and edward rose of denver sailed on the persia one account of the sinking of the persia says A torpedo struck tho the ship on the port bow at in the afternoon when about forty miles south of the east end of the island of crete no warning was given nor any attempt made to assist within live minutes esthe the ship had sunk it was impossible to lower the starboard boats owing to the heavy list five or six fix boats were lowered c on a the port side elde I 1 see sea this myself as I 1 was washed overboard ja when the he boat capsized the conduct of the passengers and crew was splendid there was no struggling and no panic four boats after thirty hours at sea were picked up by a warship washington official washington is anxiously awaiting details of the tor pt ot the british steamship persia on which american citizens were known to have embarked while it was realized that reports expected from consular and diplomatic resent might show that the submarine commander was justified in sinking of the vessel officials were not inclined to minimize the gravity of 0 the situation confronting the untied states should it develop that there has been ft a violation of 0 american rights new dangers it was admitted threatened the relations between the united states and the central powers which seemingly had just been placed on the road to satisfactory adjustment by the assurances contained in Aus reply to the second ancona note |