Athenia Sinking Recalls Lusitania Outrage

Northern Advocate, 5 September 1939, Page 5

Athenia Sinking Recalls Lusitania Outrage

(Received 11.30 a.m.)

LONDON, September 4. THE TORPEDOING OF THE BRITISH LINER ATHENIA, WITH 311 AMERICANS ON BOARD, ELECTRIFIED THE UNITED STATES, ACCORDING TO A WASHINGTON MESSAGE.

It immediately recalled to Americans the Lusitania outrage of May T, 1915, which led up to America’s entry into the Great War. ... , .*

It is officially announced that all of the 1400 passengers and crew on board the Athenia were saved, except those killed by the explosion of the torpedo.

The .survivors were picked up by other vessels, mostly British destroyers

The Slate Department at Washington confirms that the only casualties were those killed by the explosion.

The Copenhagen correspondent of the American Associated Press says it is reported that the Norwegian ship Knud Nelson picked up 800 survivors of‘ the Athenia and the Swedish yacht Southern Cross 200. .

The American Embassy in London reports that of the 811 Americans on board, 145 embarked at Glasgow, 65 at Belfast and 101 at Liverpool.

There were a number of children on board, and a.party of 100 American schoolgirls returning from a tour of England.

200 Miles Off Hebrides.

The Athenia, of 13,581 tons, was torpedoed in the North Atlantic, 200 miles west of the Hebrides, off the coast of Scotland. ■ s She was taking Canadians and Americans home from Europe, and left Liverpool on Saturday for Quebec and Montreal.

Well-known Americans.

chairwoman of the Cincinnati Women’s City Charter Committee. Baby on Board,

The American passengers included Mrs Addison Mallery, wife of the Mayor of Saratoga Springs; Miss Rowena Simpson, daughter of the vicepresident of the National Bank of Commerce; Miss Helen Hannay, daughter of Judge Allan ..Hannay; Miss Dorothy Pouts, daughter of Mr Pouts, attorney to the Humble Oil and Refining Company; Miss Betsy Brown, daughter of a prominent Texas attorney; Miss Genevieve Morrow, daughter of the president of ' the Houston Chamber of Commerce; Miss Hull, daughter of Mr B. D. Hull, chief engineer of the SouthrWestern Telephone Company; the wife, son and daughter of Mr Robert Bridge, disaster relief director of the American Red Cross; Miss Margaret Rooke,

Canadian passengers included Sir Richard Lake, former Lieut.-Governor of Saskatchewan, and Lady Lake. American children among the passengers included J.ane, daughter of Major-General Archibald Sunderland, chief of the coast artillery of the United States Army, and the ten-months-old daughter of the film producer, Mr Ernst Lubitsch. A governess was bringing the baby back after visiting its mother in London.

The Athenia radioed the Admiralty, at 4 a.m. that she had been torpedoed, and an hour later reported that she was sinking rapidly. The Ministry of Information later officially announced the torpedoing of the liner, which, it was stated, carried 1000 tons of cargo in addition to her passengers and crew. Recently Reconditioned. She had lifeboats sufficient for 1830 persons. The Athenia was recently reconditioned on an extensive scale, involving the entire reconstruction of the passenger quarters. President Roosevelt’s secretary announced: “According to official information, the ship went from Glasgow to Liverpool, and was bound for Canada, bringing refugees. I would point out that this shows there is no possibility, according to official information, that the ship was carrying any munitions or anything of that kind.” President’s Warning. The sinking was announced by radio shortly after Mr Roosevelt’s broadcast to the nation, in which the President had stated:

Of 13,581 tons gross, the Athenia was, a twin-screw turbine steamer built by Fairfield and .Co., Ltd., Glasgow, in 1923. Her speed was 15£ knots. .She was-registered at Glasgow.

“Even a neutral has the right to take accounts of facts. Even a neutral cannot be asked to close

mind or conscience.”

The French freighter Carbet ran for shelter in San Juan, Porto Rico, after being chased by German submarines, says the San Juan correspondent of the American United Press. The correspondent adds that German submarines have been reported off Jamaica. Neutrality Laws Violated. The London correspondent of. the “New York Times” points out .that the Americans on board the Athenia were not travelling in a British, ship in violation of the United States neutrality laws, because they started the voyage homeward the day before war was declared.

Moreover, the American Embassy assisted some of them to obtain a pas-

sage. The torpedoing of the ship was without warning, and, regardless of the neutral passengers aboard, was even more flagrant than the sinking of the Lusitania, and also more reprehensible. This is so because since the Great War, Germany has subscribed to the international treaty pledging the signatories to refrain from sinking merchant ships without warning, and without providing for the safety of the passengers and crew.