Ogden Daily Standard | 1915-04-08 | Page 1 | Steamer Falaba Was Not Armed

STEAMER EALABA WAS NOT ARMED I Germans Fired Torpedo While Boats Were Still on Davits With Loss of Life Absolutely Ab-solutely Certain. London. April 8. 2 p m -The official offi-cial information bureau issued a statement state-ment today saying that tbe Rritiah steamer Falaba sunk at sea March 28 by a German submarine with a loss of ovr tOO lives was not armed. It Is not true, the statement goes on. that sufficient time was given the passengers and the crew of this vessel ves-sel to escape. The Germau subma rine closed in on the Falaba, asccr-i tabled her name, signaled her to stopi and gave those on board five minute? to take to their boats It would have br-en nothing less than a miracle, it Is pointed out, if all the passengers and the crew of a good sized liner had been able to lake to her boats within the time allowed "While some of the boats were still on their davits." the statement declares, de-clares, "the submarine fired a torpedo at the Falaba at short range. This action made It absolutely certain that there must be great loss of life, and it must have been committed knowingly know-ingly with the intcntiou of producing that result. Tin- conduct oi all on board the Falaba appears to have been exec; lent. There was no avoidable delay de-lay in getting out the boats. It pos sibly Is true, but quite irrelevant, that a trained man of war's crew of equal numbers might have managed to escape in similar circumstances with out loss of life To accuse the Falnba's crew of negligonce under the i circumstances could not easily be I paralleled." nn