The Altamont Enterprise, May 14, 1915
LUSITANIA NOT WARNED BY GERMANS
Death List is 1,154; Only 764 Saved.
HER DANGER IGNORED.
Two Torpedoes Fired by Submarine of U Class.
CRITICISE LACK OF CONVOY
Assert that Suggestions That Passengers Be Drilled Were Ignored – “Can’t Get Us,” Captain Reported to Have Told Committee – Question of Boat Orders.
The total list of survivors of the Lusitania tragedy is 764, including 462 passengers and 302 members of the crew. The submarine which caused the catastrophe is believed to be one of the powerful U class craft, held responsible for the loss of the steamship Falaba and other passenger and freight ships in British waters. Only about half of the bodies have been recovered and there is little hope of saving more. Tugs are on the scene, however, dragging the waters.
The suddenness of the attack caused terrific loss of life, as the deadly missiles came without warning while the passengers were dining, and the Lusitania disappeared beneath the waves within fifteen minutes.
These are the points that have been established:
No warning of the attack was given.
Several torpedoes were hurled at the ship; some say four and others seven.
Two or at most three of the missiles struck the Lusitania.
One of the torpedoes entered No. 1 stokehold and another the engine room.
Conflicting reports as to the side struck suggest that more than one submarine may have participated.
There was no panic on the vessel, the crew going coolly about the work of preparing to save passengers. Captain Turner promptly turned the Lusitania toward shore.
The heavy list due to inrushing water prevented the launching of many lifeboats.
Some boats were swamped after launching, the vessel being unable to slow up because of several pipes.
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TRANS-ATLANTIC TRAVEL IN WAR TIMES
The sinking of that gorgeous combination of speed, science, and luxury, the steamship Lusitania, will put a stop to nearly all trans-Atlantic tourist travel until the war is over. A good many Americans who travel often in Europe have been itching to get across and feel the thrill of war scenes. They must now see that any such trip, with the fiends of hell loose on the ocean, is an act of folly.
The French people have been trying to encourage tourists to come over this year. No doubt they have hoped to relieve a little of the war-time poverty by some renewal of the golden stream from our shores. But it would be a most lugubrious time to visit even sections secluded from sights and sounds of war, and even were it safe.
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THE DAZZLING EFFECT OF MOTOR CAR HEADLIGHTS
No Remedy Yet Found for This Necessary Nuisance.
“The dazzling effect exercised by the powerful headlights which are required at night by a motor car on country roads,” say Francis M. Hugo, Secretary of State, “is an undoubted nuisance to other users of the road, and, as motorists are among the sufferers from it, they would welcome an effective remedy as cordially as other sections of the community. As was shown by the trials which, from time to time, have been conducted, considerable progress has been made in the development of devices for minimizing the glare with out destroying the light, but still no completely satisfactory means of dealing with the problem is as yet available.