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Show TORPEDOING OF SHINMK Officials View Attack on Transport ass Allied Success Convoying System Nearly Perfect. WASHINGTON, Sept. 11. News of the torpedoing of the British liner Persic, with 2S00 American troops aboard, in the war zone September 6," was given to tho American people today, to-day, first through the British admiralty admiral-ty and then later through tho navy department. de-partment. All the soldiers wero rescued res-cued by accompanying destroyers, the steamer itself was beached and the enemy submarine is believed to have been accounted for. Oflloials here viewed the result as an allied success more than a disaster. The fact that the steamer was torpedoed torpe-doed when endeavoring to overtake the convoyed fleet of transports after overcoming engine trouble indicated that submarine commanders still arc fearful of attacking troop ships in convoy. con-voy. And the immediate and completely complete-ly successful assistance rendered by tho destroyers was taken as additional evidence that the convoying system now in vogue Is practically perfect First word of the attack on the Persic, it was learned officially, reached reach-ed the navy department on tho night of September C in a brief dispatch from Vico-Admiral Sims, although .navy officials have emphatically denied de-nied in tho Interim that any important news of submarine activities wcie being withheld. It was understood that the British admiralty expressed tho request that they be permitted to an-nounco an-nounco tho news of the attack. Rumors that a troop ship had been sunk probably with heavy, loss of life havo been current in Washington since the publication of what evidently wa3 an inspired London dispatch stating that allied naval clrcleshad reason to believe that Gorman submarines soon would concentrate their efforts in an attempt to impede the steady flow of American soldiers overseas. No explanation expla-nation of tlje purpose of this article could be obtained, however, from naval officials here. Attacks on troop ships by submarines subma-rines constantly are expected by officials of-ficials and it may be that a new and more determined campaign has been determined upon by the Germans because be-cause of the reverses suffered by their armies. The greatest possible protection protec-tion is afforded troop ships. |