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Show Toll of American lives taken in german submarine warfare More Than 200 Lives of United States Citizens Lost Up to the Time Diplomatic Relations Were Severed Review of the Attacks At-tacks on Unarmed Merchantmen Which Stirred the Government to Action. Washington. The history of the submarine operations of the central powers is one long record of outrages perpetrated on American citizens unu Amertcnn property ; a succession of protests on the part of the government of the United Htntea, nnd of assurances assur-ances and promises made nnd Inter violated by the German nnd Austrian governments. More thnn two hundred Americans had gone to their deaths through this submarine warfare tip to the time diplomatic dip-lomatic relations were severed. Most of the Americans lost were traveling on unarmed merchant ships, nnd, under un-der the prnctlces of International law and humanity, believed themselves secure. se-cure. More thnn two thousand citizens of other nattonalifles lost their lives In the same attacks which cost the lives of Americans, but they compose only a part of the toll of life taken by submarine sub-marine wurfnre. The ships lost, on which the Americans met death ure only n fraction of the number sent to the bottom by torpedoes most of them without warning. , The MM which Involve the United States nnd Germany are primarily those In which American life was lost or endangered. The first American of whom there Is record to lose his life In submarine attack wus Leon T. Thresher, a passenger on the British steamship Fnlnba, bound from Liverpool Liver-pool for West Africa, which wus torpedoed tor-pedoed and sunk on March 27, 1915, off Mllford. England. The Falabu, after a hopeless attempt to escape, stopped, and while boats were being lowered and passengers still were aboard, the submarine drove a torpedo Into her side, and she went down In ten minutes. Of 242 persons, 130 were saved. The American wus iiminig the lost. The first American ship attacked was the Gulflight, an oil-tank vessel, from Port Arthur, Tex., to Kouen, France, torpedoed without warning off the S-cllly islnnds on May 1, 1015. Two men Jumped overboard and were drowned; her captain died of heurt failure. The Gulflight did not sink, and was towed to port by British pu-trols. pu-trols. The Gerinun government acknowledged ac-knowledged the attack ns an accident, expressed Its regrets, nnd promised to puy damages. Destruction of the Lusitania. The nxt attack was the one which shocked he civilized world and brought the Dotted States and Germany for the first time to the verge of war. It was the destruction of the Lusitania, on May 7, 1915. Unarmed, with 1,257 passengers, pas-sengers, of whom 159 were Americans, and a crew of 702. she was torpedoed without Warning and sunk In 38 minutes min-utes off Old Head of Klnsale. as she wns nenrlng Liverpool. In nil 1,198 lives were lost, of which 124 were Atnrrlcaiis, many of them of national prominence. The Case passed Into diplomuric negotiations which never took fill form. While the Lusitania case was still lresh In the public mind, a German submarine torpedoed another American Ameri-can ship the Nehraskan without warning, on May 25. 1915, smith of Fas! net rock. The Nebraskun owed her safety to her seaworthiness. She reached port damaged, under her own steam, nnd no one was Injured. The German government again expressed Its regret for a mistake and promised to pay damages. The Leyland Case. Twenty American negro muleteers on the Leylnnd steamship Armenian were killed on June 2S. 1915, by shell fire nnd drowning when the Armenian failed to escape with her cargo of army mules from n submersible near the Cornwall coast. The Armenian was warned nnd Invited her destruction destruc-tion by flight. The next submarine attack In which Americans were endangered was unsuccessful, un-successful, but only because the steamship steam-ship Orduna, of the Cuiuird line, proved too speedy for her pursuer. After sending a torpedo Just under the Orduna's stern, the submarine mined shells after the fleeing vessel without hitting her and then gave up the chase, Germany explained that the submarine commander had failed to observe his orders, and that more explicit Instructions had been Issued. Three Amerlenns were endangei ed when the ltusslan steamship Leo was torpedoed without warning on her way from Philadelphia to Manchester, England, on July 9. 1915. On July 25, 1915, came the first destruction de-struction of an American ship by n submarine. It was the LmUUMMV of Kan York, bound from Archangel to Belfast, with flax, which la, contraband. contra-band. She was caught northwest of the Orkney Islands. The American sailing ship William P. Frye was the first American vessel sunk In tie war, but she was de- destroved In different circumstances. Vessel Carried Contraband. The Lcelanaw, besides Carrying contraband, con-traband, attempted to escape. As a neutral ship, her destruction was a doubtful right of any belligerent. She filially stopped, us the German submarine subma-rine wus filing after her, and then Sent her papers over to hc nubnier-lihle nubnier-lihle by a -uiall bout. The German commnnder not only gave the Leelnnaw crew all the time they required to take to their boats, but nfter sinking their ship by shot and torpedo, took the crew on board the submarine nnd towed their boats toward the Orkney mainland. The men reached Kirkwall the next morning. morn-ing. On August 1ft. 1015, came the celebrated cele-brated ease of the Nlcostan of the Leylnnd Ley-lnnd line, and the British patrol bont Bars long The Nlcoslnn, with mules from New Orlenns to Avonmouth, wns stopped by a submarine off the coast of Ireland, nnd her crew. Including 30 Amerlenns, took to the boats. While the subninrlne wns making ready to destroy the Nlcoslnn, the Baralong appeared ap-peared nnd destroyed the submarine by gunfire, took on the Nlcoslnn's rew. nnd towed the ship to safety. The next crisis came on August 10. 1015, when the Arabic of the White Star line, from Liverpool to New York, wns torpedoed without warning near the Lusltunln's grave nnd sunk In nlnHit ten minutes. Out of 875 passengers pas-sengers nnd crew 48 were lost. Thirty Americans were on board and all but two were saved. The German government contended the submarine commander thought the Arabic wus about to ram him, nnd fired In aelf-defense, but disavowed the net, expressed regret and gave additional ad-ditional assurances for the future sufety of passenger ships. A Denial Fssm Berlin. One American of the crew of the Hesperian of the Allan line wns lost on September 4, 1015, when the ship, returning from Liverpool to Montreal, was torpedoed and sunk without wiira-Ing wiira-Ing off the southern coust of Ireland. The (jermnn admiralty contended no German submarine wns In that vicinity, vicin-ity, but a piece of a German torpedo had been picked up ou the Uesperlnn's deck. Austria's first submarine operations of consequence, und those which brought Germany's closest ally Into the sltuntlon, begnn with the destruction of the Itnllon steumshlp Anconn, In the Mediterranean on November 7, 1915. With hundreds of passengers, many of them women and children, from Naples to New York, the An u was chased and stopped by an Austrian Aus-trian submarine. Twelve Americans were on hoard and nine were lost. Italian Ital-ian official figures say ,'108 passengers were lost out of 507 on board. U was one of the heuvlest submurl n disasters. disas-ters. Some of the American survivors swore the Austrian submarine even shelled the lifeboats as the passengers were getting Into them. On December 5, 1915, n submarine, presumably nn Austrian, attacked the American oil steamship Petrol I te off the coast of Tripoli. A sailor was injured in-jured by a shot Into the Petrollte's engine en-gine room, and the submarine continued contin-ued firing nfter the Petrollte had Wang broadside so the submarine commands COVld see her name painted n her side and the American Bag Hying Hy-ing between her masts. The submarine commander finally permitted the Petrollte to proceed after he bad taken some of her stores. New Crisis Appears. A new crisis, and the first suspicion that German submarines were operating operat-ing In (lie Mediterranean, or that Austrian Aus-trian submarines were being manned by German officers ami crews, wns developed de-veloped by the destruction of the Brit Ish Steamship Perslu on December 80 1915, southeast of Crete, while on her j way to the Orient. Mr. McXecley, American consul, on his way to his post at Aden, wns among the 880 persons who lost their lives, I of whom two or tnore were Amerlenns. I The wake of u torpedo was seen, but , tin submarine was visible. Germany, Austria and Turkey denied responsi blllty. The United States again made representations, and ussuranccs were given for what Germany termed "crul- LION CUBS AS PETS Mastci I,,, in, Denny, a New York boy, and Ids DOW pel, m wccks'-old lion cub, which was jus' purchased for him ut u cost of $200. ci warfare, which Involved a prom Ise not to sink any peaceful shifts with out warning or providing for ih' safety of those aboard With the coming of winter and the chilling storms which sweep the North sen. submarine warfare was transferred trans-ferred to the warmer waters of the Mediterranean, and then finally was much restricted until the spring of 191(1. On March 1 the submarine canv palgn was resumed with renewed ruth-lessness, ruth-lessness, Csmpslgn Is Renewed. The Pntrla of the French line, carrying car-rying no armament whatever, sailing from Naples to New York, was attacked at-tacked without warning by a submarine subma-rine north of Tunis. Passengers and crew saw the torpedo pass harmlessly under the Pntrln's stern and some saw a perlscoH. The Patrlu put on full speed and escaped further attack, but bad another narrow escape in the same way the nett month. Americans were on board In both Instances. With the renewal of the submarine campaign the destruction of ships sometimes numbered as high as ten In one day. but only those cases which Involved Americans nre treated here. On- March ft, 1916, while lying at nn-cbor nn-cbor In Ilnvre rends, the Norwcglnn bark SIHus was torpedoed and sunk without warning. A survivor of the French steamship Loulslane, torpedoed fifteen minutes previously 500 yards Way, swore he saw the submarine. There were seven Americans In the crew of the SltliTs, and one wns Injured. The next great passenger ship destroyed de-stroyed was the Dutch vessel Tiibnn-tln. Tiibnn-tln. While In the North sen, sailing to Illo de Janeiro, an explosion rent the ship asunder, nnd she sank. Three Americans were passengers. All persons per-sons on board were saved except one ltusslan. Germany disclaimed responsibility. respon-sibility. The Dutch government made an investigation which indicated a submarine sub-marine attuck. On March 18, Iftlfl, the British steamship steam-ship Berwlndvule, with four Americans on hoard, was torpedoed without warning warn-ing off Bantry, Ireland, but no lives were lost. On March 24, 1910, a German submarine sub-marine chased the Dominion steamship steam-ship Kngllshman, bound from Avon-mouth Avon-mouth to Portland, Me., and while the crew was attempting to abandon the ship, shot nwuy her starboard llfe-bouts. llfe-bouts. After more firing, ns the crew was leaving the ship, the submarine torpedoed and snnk her. One American Ameri-can of the crew was among the ten lost. Culmination of Atrocities. On the some day came the culmination culmina-tion of the long list of subninrlne outrages out-rages which caused President Wilson to lay the whole situation before congress, con-gress, and to notify Germnny that unless un-less such methods of wnrfure positively positive-ly were discontinued and declnred nt an end, the United States would break off diplomatic relations. It was the destruction of the French Channel 'steamship Sussex, between Folkestone and Dieppe. Kvery bit of evidence went to prove that the ship was torpedoed tor-pedoed without warning. On March 27. 1910, the British ship Manchester Knglneer, outbound from Philadelphia, was torpedoed nnd sunk without warning K! miles south of Waferford. Two American negroes were in the crew of ,'W. All on board were rescued. On March 28 the British steamship Fugle Point was shelled by a German submarine l.'K) miles south of Queens-town. Queens-town. The Fugle Point gave up her attempt to escape, and her crew of 42, which Included one American, tool; to the boats In a heavy swell and u stormy wind. Finally till were savefl, The submarine sank the ship with u torpedo. After Germany gave her promises as the result of the Sussex notes, there was a temporary lull In submarine warfare, but within u few weeks It began again. The next development came when Germany carried the submarine war to the American side of the Atlantic. On Saturday, October 7, 1910. the German war submarine U-5H entered Newport harbor uminuouncts:!, delivered a package pack-age of mall for the German embassy and departed as swiftly as she had come. Within the next 48 hours she sank six ships within sight of the American const--four British, one Dutch and one Norwegian. With the assistance of the American destroyer flotilln, all lives were saved. It appeared ap-peared that In each case the submarine subma-rine commander bad given legal warn Ing and permitted the escape of passengers. pas-sengers. Americans Endangered. On October 20, 1910. the British merchant ship Bowaumore was at tucked by a German submarine, tied, was overhauled und destroyed by gunfire. gun-fire. There was no loss of life, although al-though two Americans and five Filipinos Fili-pinos Gutturalized Americans), the only Americans aboard, declared the submarine shelled the lifeboats as they w ere leaving the ship. On October 80 the British ship Marina, Ma-rina, bound for the United States, was torpedoed and, of more than uny Americans on board six were lost. Then followed the attack on III.' American steamship Chemung, the los., of 17 Americans mi the steamship Uus siati, and finally came the notice that ii campaign of ruthleaencco was to begin be-gin February l. Irrespective of the ooa sentiences. The decision to break of diplomatic relations with Germany followed. |