a daily Bee
HE
THE WEATHER
Unsettled; Colder
VOL. XL VII NO. 202.
OMAHA, FRIDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 8, 1918TWELVE PAGES
0 Train, tt Kt.l.
Ntwi Sta.di, ttc., Jo.
SINGLE COPY TWO CENTS.
GERMAN U-BOA T SI.
fj. TRANSPOR T CARP YING
AMERICAN SOLD
GOES DOWN OFF IRISH COAST
0MAH
rr rp r up
i
. y JVJ vv Liu
f , 'X :
t DESTROYER PROBABLY
SANK SUBMARINE THAT
TORPEDOED TRANSPORT
No Reason to Believe German CNboats Are Engaged in
Definite Offensive Against American Troop Ships;
Chance Attack Probably Sent Liner
Tuscania
(By Associated Pnwa.)
Washington, Feb. 7. Much satisfaction is found by of
ficials here in the unofficial accounts of the destruction of the
British liner Tuscania by a German submarine which showed
that a destroyer, presumably British, gave chase to the raider
and possibly sank it with a depth bomb.
No details of the attack had come tonight from official
sources. They are awaited eagerly. Sorrow over the first loss of
a transport laden with American troops is tempered by the
j; go wing. total of survivors, and
' amy and navy men now is tlfe
AN ISOLATED CASE.'
Navy officials see no reason to
change their opinion that the sub
marine menace is being overcome.
The Tuscania incident is regarded as
j an isolated case, which may serve to
develop additional methods for tt
pelling the undersea craft and im
proving the convoy system,. No de
tails of the action will be passed over
when ful reports from the British
: admiralty are available.
Many devices entr into the battle
against the U-boats, some of which
i have been evolved by American in
ventors. Others v have been greatly
improved since the United States
entered the' war and the detection
apparatus now installed on American
craft is so successful that British
craft are being similarly equipped.
There have been, indications that
the U-boats have learned to fear this
ability" al American raft. to, locate
them at a distance and maneuver to
bnnsr the submerced vessel within
tange. of a depth bomb. With a de
stroyer in the vicinity, the i under
water craft moves carefully, far be
, , low the surface of the water, depend-
i ing on mechanical ear which bring
' . to it the propeller beats of the-sur.-
face vessel. .When a destroyer stops
t to "listen" unhampered by the beat
' of its own engines, the lurking foe
also stops, to lie silent below until
the destroyer moves on again, f
ri Probably Chance Attack.
I' ' Such details, as have "come from
- Europe indicate that the Tuscania
' f was torpedoed by a single submarine
. ' 'vhich slipped under the advance
: screen of destroyers leading the con-
voy fleets There is no evidence of
' ' JxM attack in force, and the U-boat
j I Improbably got into the path of the
' t lmer largely by chance. Sometimes
' as many as 40 vessels make up a con
' ' voved fleet.
' r War department officials would say
nothing today as to the destination
of the Tuscania It Was admitted
" that American troops had been sent
f '"-: forward ' by British trans-Atlantic
' 4 - liners on several occasions. There
' r are reports that the great White Star
i liner Olympic, largest of the British
i merchant - fleet and second only to
, '". the new American Leviathan, for-
merry the German Vaterland, has
been-employed in that work.
f it Aim at Cargo Craft
,.f There'is no indication in the loss
of the Tuscania that a concentration
. ' .of submarines against 'American
t (Continued on I'uge Two, Colnmn Four.)
The Weather
v For Nebraska Unsettled; colder;
, snow west portion.'
v Temperatures at Omaha Yesterday.
UHour. - ueg.
a. m 39
a. m 40
a. m..., 41
a. m 42
a. m 4S
a. m 48
m El
p. m. 63
p. m It
p. m 67
p. m is
p. m 55
p. TT) S3
p. m (1
p. in 47
Comparative Loral Record.
1918. 1917. 191C. 1915.
, tTI(thEt yesterday ... 58 61 1123
Lowest yesterday . .. 37 29 0 14
Mean temperature ... 48 40 6 21
rtviipitation 00 .00 .03 T.
Temperature and precipitation departures
y )m the normal:
Normal temperature 22
Kxeepa .for the day 26
Total deficiency since March 1 729
NormHl precipitation 04 inch
licflclcncy for the day 01 inch
Total ralMall elnce March 1,... 22.49 inch's
Deficiency since March 1 , ... 7.66 Inches
Deficiency for cor. period 1916.. 12.72 inches
Deficiency for cor. period 1915.. n.so Inches
Report From Stations at 7 P. M.
Elation and State. Temp. High- Kain
of Weattjer. 7 p. m. est. fall.
Cheyenne, cloudy ...... 14
Davenport, cloudy 34
Denver, floudy 45
Des Moinei, part cloudy. 4S
Dodite Cliy. clear 5S
' Dander, cloudy 36
Chicago, clear 26
Omaha, pert cloudy 61
Paeblo, clear 64
Rapid City,- cloudy 44
r.4
i
66
70
fj
32
68
66.
64
44
Salt Dako, cloudy
'.ante Fe, clear...
.01
.00
.00
j Shiridan. cloudy 36 4ii'
Klour Pity, clear. . . . S 4s
. VlnUne, elfir 44 C4 '
.03 j
.00
to Bottom.
the dominant emotion among
desire to strick back.
DESTROYERS DROP
BOMBS ON U-BOAT
WHICH FIRED SHOT
Eye Witnesses Tell of the Sink
ing of the tuscania Withv i
n 2,000 Sammies
Aboard
Londonderry, Ireland, Feb. 7.
The subtparyie that torpedoed the
Toscania' was attacked', by:"i
stroycr. " ' ? t
An American ofiicef gave an inti
mation that the submarine was ' de
stroyed. .
Second. Torpedo Misses Mark.
, This officer was next to the last to
leave the Tuscania. He gave the As
sociated Press a vivid account of the
disaster.' . .
The second torpedo fired by the
submarine missed its mark, he said.
Thereupon a destroyer which was
near the sinking-liner dashed off to
ward the submarine, using a bomb
dropping device.
"he claim is made that the, sub
marine was "done in'' by the bombs
thus exploded. '
The American officer said:
"Everything went well with us
during the voyage. Many of our
men had never been to sea before and
(Continued on Page. Eight, Column Four4
CONDITION OF
ROOSEVELT IS
' QUITESERIOUS
New York, Feb. 7. Colonel Theo
done Roosevelt was resting easy to
night irr Roosevelt hospital, where
he was operated on yesterday for
fistula and abcesses in both of iiis
ears.
New York, Feb. 7. The sudden ar
rival this afternoon of the three phy
sicians attending Colonel Roosevelt
at the hospital where yesterday he
underwent an operation foe abscesses
gave rise to reports that the colonel's
condition was not as favorable as had
been indicated earlier.
None of the physician swould make
a statement, although they admitted
they had been summoned- hurriedly.
They went immediately to Colonel
Roosevelt's room.
It was later announced, in explan
ation of the arrival of the physicians,
that the inflammation from the ab
scess in Colonel Roosevelt's left ear
Khad entered the internal car.
After a consultation the physicians
decided that no further operation at
present was necessary, although it
was stated that the colonel's condi-
Chicago Judge to
Arbitrate Packers'
Fight with Employes
Washington) Feb. 7. Judge Sam
uel Alschuler of Chicago today was
appointed arbitrator" of the differ
ences on wages and hours between
the five, big packing companies and
their union employes.
Another Cunard Liner
Is Hit by a Submarine
. New York, Feb. 7. The Cunard liner Aurania, 13,400' tons was tor
pedoed by a German submarine within the last 48 hours while bound
for the United States, it was learned from officials of the Cunard line
today.
Although badly damaged by the explosion, the ship was not sunk
and is believed to be making its way back to port with the assistance : of
;overnment.ve3sels, it was caid. The ship carried but little carga.
German Subs Sink t
. Ships in Irish Sea
(By feKe iated rreai.)
Ottawa, Feb. 7. A dispatch to
-Reuters' Limited from London
dated February 6s says announce
ment of the sinking by the Ger
mans of a channel passenger ship
bound for a French port, was made
in the House of Commons by H.
J. McNamara, under secretary of
the admiralty, who said thfet of a
crew of 20 and 25 military and
naval passengers -aboard the vessel,
14 and 18 respectively were lost.
The under secretary also said
the captain was the only survivor
of 25 persons aboard a steamer
from Ireland 0 Liverpool bay,
which also carried 400 head of cat
tle and 200 sheep. y
The information was given in re
sponse to questions from a mem
ber of the house, who further asked
whether a steamer had been sunk
in Liverpool, bay January 26 with
a loss of 12 lives, 156 cattle, 361
sheep and 139 pigs. Mr. Mc
Namara admitted that the details
of the cargo were as stated. He
added that the percentage pf losses
of vessels making the, voyage from
Ireland to Britain was extremely
small compared with the numbers
of voyages.
While it is r not unlikely that
some of the ships mentioned were
sunk by mines the most fogical in
ference is that German submarines
again have penetrated into the
Irish sea and are now carrying on
extensive operations there as well
as at other points off the coast of
Ireland. ,
STRICKEN LINER
STAYED AFLOAT
SEVERAL HOURS
v t ;
RumorThat Tuscania is Still
Afloat Not Confirmed; Off
ciais ceueve uiaiiGe oiiui
Hit Ship. v
Washington, FeDV7.r-The Tuscania.
must have remained afloat for a con
siderable tirnt. Rumors were current
today, which conld not be traced to
any source, that it was still afloat.
It was thbught possible here that
survivors of, the British crew of the
vessel, not reported in War depart
ment advices, might account f6r the
difference in figures as to the number
of missing.
There' was some speculation among
naval officers on the possibility that
the Tuscania might have struck a
mine. The indicated location of the
disaster is. in a region not previously
frequented by s subriiarines.
Boat Was Torpedoed.
But the text of the official an
nouncements say the ship was1 tor
pedoed and until detailed accounts of
the incident are. available for study,
there is nothing to justify going be
hind the formal announcement.
Itis doubtful that the Tuscania
was in a route usually followed by
American transports. As a British ves
sel under Britist! convoy the security
of theN American troops beyond ques
tion was entrusted to British handling.
So far as now known, no American
naval craft shared in the task. Trob
afjly numerous other transports or
army supply vessels were in the con
voy. -
, Convoyed by British.
. The process of convoying has be
come almost routine through practice
in both the British and American
navies.
A screen of destroyers or other
swift craft travels ahead of a con
voyed fleet. .The destroyers are
spread eut over a. considerable area.
It is known that virtually all of the
German U-boats are equipped with
listening devices of considerable dis
tance so the approach of the destroy
ers may have become known to the
U-boat commander even before the
vessels themselves were sighted.
Fear of depth bombs would drive
the U-boat below toJurk motionless
at some depth until the sound of the
destroyers' propellers had faded out,
showing that they had passed.
The U-boat probably would come
to the surface then to explore. , ;
Might Have Been Chance Shot.
Navy officials say that the on!
chance against absolute precaution
wili not guard is that the submarine
will come in the path of the approaching-transports,
obtain a sight that
will -permit Ht to train its torpedo
tubes by compass and again sub
merge. As the listening devices show- that
(Continued on Page Two, Column Three.)
TWO MORE U.S.
SHIPS SUNK BY
GERMAN U-BOATS
Six , Lives Reported Lost in
Sinking of American Steam
ship; Sailint, Vessel Miss
ing Since August.
New York, Feb. 6. Word of the
loss of the American steamship
Alamance, owned by the Garland
Steamship Corporation, and the re
sultant loss of six TTves was received
in shipping circles here today.
Alamance, which left New York,
January 17, was "torpedoed yesterday
olf the English coast, it was reported.
It was a vessel of 3,000 tons. No
Americans were lost.
The ship had a crew of 55 and a
naval gun complement of 23 men. Its
commander was Captain E. E. John
son. American Bark Lort.
Buenos Aires, Feb. 6. In shipping
circles here it is believed that the Am
erican hark Normandy has been lost
while on a voyage from the United
States.
The boat left an American port last
August with coal for Buenos Aires,
but has not been reported itnee.
Captains of vessels recently arrived
here say they did not sec the Normandy.
There is an American bark Nor-1
mandysof 543 tons, owned nt Bangor,
Me. A British bark Normandy of
1,208 tons, formerly owned in New
York left a gulf port on August 30
for Buenos Aires.
Tuscania Sinking
Wipes Out Anchors
Line of Steamships
4 New . York,'; Feb. ' 7 According;
to the records of the Anchor line
here, the Tuscania carried a crew
of 220. under command of Captain
r Peter McLean, the majority of the
crew being subjects of Great Brit
ain". . '
The loss of the Tuscania, which
was under charter to the Cunard
line, completes the destructidn by
submarine of a fleet of five pas
senger ship aggregating 57,818
gross tonnage owned by the An
chor line at the beginning of the
war.
The other ships were : Caledonia,
sunk in 1916; Cameronia, April, 15,
1917; Transylvania, May, 4, 1917;
California, February, 1917.
Hold Prominent Business
Men on Disloyalty Charge
Phoenix, Ariz., Feb. 6. G. A.
Streitz, vice president of the National
bank of Arizona, aqd Richard Part
ham, wealthy business man of this
city, were taken intoustody tonight
by United States officers on the
charge of aiding the escape of an in
terned enemy alien.
Will Richards, Omaha Boy, Was
Aboard Ill-Fated Tuscania
Will H. Richards, Omaha boy, was
aboard the ill-fated Tuscania, sunk
by a German U-boat.
He was a member of the 158th aero
squadron. ,
His mother, Mrs. Minnie Millray,
lives at 2964 Woolworth street. She
is a widow.
She received a letter from-her son
January 21. He expressed the belief
at that time that he was soon "going
across." The letter was written from
Long Island, N. Y. ;
Richards was 25 years old. He
was graduated from the public schools
of Omaha and was a draftsman for
the Union Pacific for six years.
He is well known at Union Pacific
headquarters.
He. went to Alaska last year, but
returned to the United (States in the
fall, enlisting in J the 158th aero
squadron at San Francisco Novem
ber 24.
UNI1S ON
SHIP SUNK
BY U-BOAT
Washington, Feb. 6.The War
department announced that its
records showed the following were
on board the Tuscania: ,
Headquarters detachmctft arid
Companies D, ,E, and F of the
20th engineers. I
lQ7th engineer train.
107th.' military police.
107th supply train,
100th aero squadron.
158th aero squadron.
213th aero squadron..
Replacement detachtnents Nos.
1 and 2 of the 32d division.
rihy-cne casuals officers.
SAMMIES ARE LOST AT SEA WHEN
BIG CUNARDER IS TORPEDOED IN i
NORTH ATLANTIC BY SUBMARINE
Ship Convoyed by British Vessels; Survivors
Land at Different Ports in Ireland; Sol-
) diers on Transport Were Fi'oni- All .
Section's of the United States
' 4 !TII.MlllllllJIWMaMMMMMMM II III I in II Wll I 1 1 . II Hl TlV
STEAMER TUSCANIA, TORPEDOED BY GERMAN SUBMARINE.
, BULLETIN. V
An Irish Port, Feb. 7.-The Tuscania carried a total of 2,397. The saved
number 2,296, as follows: r r ,
Troops, 2,106; crew, 190. Total lort, 101. V r
Aniohg the American suryors are 76, officers, , There are 81 j American
troops in nospital. y:r-wx v--- .t: iA-'v':"-";'--'! !v:- ?
Washington, Feb. 7.-Torpedoehd : sunt hy a German submarine, the Cun
ard jirier Tuscania,1 bearing 2, 1 79 officers and menof the 32d National Guard di
vision, lies at the bottom of the north Atlantic ocean today, and at least 210
troopers-probably more-are missing -?; -: ; i ; ' 1 v
Ori thebasis of figures reported to the War and State departments here the
missing would be 267; the figures of the British admiralty as they stood early to
day, however, placedthe missing American troopers at 2 10.
Tumulty Wot Candidate.
For U. S. Senate, He Says
Washington, Feb. 7. Secretary
Tunmlty, in a formal statement, today
decla.ed he was nfct a candidate for
appointment as senator from New
Jersey nor would he be a candidate
at the election, in November".
He said he considered it more iin
porta: for him to remain as secre
tary to the presidenc.
1
.... L --'.xif
vi i i m;:i: ;:ds.
! . .... ;:
iilfllliff
' LOSS IS MINIMIZED. , '
Thefei ii every hope that the lower number will prove to
be correct. . i .
British convoys neaMo the torpedoed ship closed in quick
ly and did heroic work, as the comparatively small number of
losses show. ' ' " .
The position of the Tuscania off the north coast of Ireland
evidently headed for England, also was such that numbers of
British patroj ships and other vessels rushed to its side and in
that way the losses were minimized. -'
STUMBLED ON U-BOATi
Such reports as were at hand early today gave no details of how the
transport,- supposedly heavily convoyed, fell in with the submarine, but it
was regarded as more probable that the ship stumbled on the submersible,
rather than that the disaster was the first shot in the much advertised Ger
man offensive against the line of American troops and supplies, ' r
' Nineteen hundred and twelve officers and men, according to the State
department dispatches from London, have been landed, and officials today
anxiously await further details of the first disaster to American soldiers en
route to France. They believe that most of the 267 missing have been saved.
First news of the sinking came in a report to the War department early
last night, announcing that 1,100 survivors had begn landed at Buncrana
and Larne, two widely separated Irish ports.
This was made public about 10 o'clock and until the arrival of the State
department dispatch 'two-hours later it was feared that more than 1,400,
including the Cunarder's crew, had perished. ,
' FIRST BIG DISASTER.
The State department said 2,173 troops were aboard the Tuscania. .
No mention of the fate of the crew was made in the State department
advices nor was the landing points of the rescued American troops in
dicated, but the War department's message saying that "1,000 survivors' had
been put ashore at Buncrana and Larne indicated that the convoy vessels
got alongside the sinking transport quickly and relief ships made the scene
of the disaster within a few hours. ' - j -
News of tfie first great disaster in the war to America's armed forces
came in a brief dispatth to the War department from London. 1
' It did not mention the possibility of
i -a m .a 1 .' .
tere upon tne tact tnat au ot tne i.ivu were janaea ai iwo wiaeiy ae
Irish ports and indications that relief vessels were at hand quickly. "
The soldiers on board the Tuscania were small detachments from
. .
every section ot uie country, j
Instructions were sent by wirefess
departments to their representatives
I ffttl Ix (A-mHai1 ha a t- II at
1 The 32d division is composed ot
and Wisconsin. The division trained
PRESIDENT WILSON
The president, Secretary Baker and
up late waiting tor turther news, uniy
and none gave details ot the attack on
cut it was assumed it occurred early this morj
filed at London at 3 o'clock this afternoon,
the relief ships reached the Irish coast. .Tb
when the news was received and he
White House.'' In the meantime the
sent urgent messages by wireless and
in England and Ireland to tocwar,d
The State department's dispatch
as 2,173, six less than the War department t
made for caring tor the survivors,
the
ment: ' '
"The latest advices received by the
at London regarding the Tuscania is
information was that 1,912 officers an
. . Jl if .
further survivors, but hope was built
l a t 3 - t A aW
and cable by the War, Navy a
in .ngiana ana ireiana, aircc
tB. AI CI I I A mnmTtT. , J
national guara troops irom
at Camp McArthur, Tex.
AT
in fact
tne on
the linei .
was n
War.
cablsl
every .
gaye'
f
I
"7' iud.cnt-j- t.-aca j're-jlpilr.lion.
L. Av W'iiiDoii, iie-oi-oHt.
i for out of 2,173. "
t
V
I