Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, May 30, 1914, Page 1

& * erything Pacific Liner Empress of Ireland, Rammed in St. ~ Lawrence River, Sinks Within 15 Minutes WIRELESS CREDITED WITH SAVING MANY LIVES Danish Collier Storstad Crashed Into Big Liner Amidship and to Stern—Disaster Happened Not Far Off Shore—Captain of Doomed Ship Begged Master of Collier to Keep and Floundered—Rescue Boats, Responding to “S. O. S.” Call, Found Only Floating Wreckage, a Few Life- boats and Rafts, Buoying Up Less Than Third of Those | who Had Been Aboard the [ll-fated Ship—22 Dead From Injuries and Expocun&—St_eward Did Not Have Time to Rouse People—Very Few Women Among the Rescued— - Captain Stuck to Duty Till Ship Went Down—Surviv- ors Total 437. Rimouski, Que., May 29.8inking in 90 feet of water within 15‘minutes af- ter being rammed amidships in the up- Der reaches of the St. Lawrence river early today, the Canadian Pacific liner Empress of Ireland carried down with her ‘more than 900 of her passengers and créw. Of the 1,367 persons on board tHe liner, only 433 are known to have been saved, death list 984, Looming up through the river mists, as the Empress of Ireland was lying to, waliting for the fog to lift or day to break the Danish colller Storstad crashed bow on into the side of the big ‘anadian liner, striking her about mid- way of her length and ripping her side open clear to the stern. Lives Lost in Sight of Shore. The crash occurred ngt far from the =scanned the horizon with telescopes, | shore off Father Point, 150 miles from Saw the rescue steamers picking up | Quebec, which the Empress of Ireland left yesterday afternocon, bound for Liverpool, and 10 miles from this pomt on the St. Lawrence. In reality, there- fore, aithough the liner was heading for the sea, and the colliey coming in from it, the disaster was not oné of the ocean, but of the rivers. Unlike the Titanic victims, the Kmpress of ireland’s lost their lives within sight of shore—in land-locked waters. As soon as the ship's crew recovered from the shock of the collision and it was seen that the liner had redoived a vital blow, a wireless “S. O. 8.” call was sounded. Rescue Ships Respond Promptly. The hurried appeal was picked up by th here and the government pilot boat lureka at Father Point, and both at once set out to the rescue. So deép was the hurt of the Empress. however, and so fast the inrush of waters, that long before cither of the rescue boats could reach the ‘scene the liner had gone down. Only floating wreckage and a few lifeboats and rafts from the steamer, buoying up less than a third of those who bad set sall on her, were to be round.. The rest had sunk with ize liner, had héen crushed to death in the Storctad’s impact with her or had been forced from exhaustion and ex. posure in the ice-chilled northern w. lose their hold in bits of wreck- d drowned. N Only a few persons were picked up by the Storstad, which was badly crip- pled herseif by the collision, and these were brought here by the cellier, to- cether with those saved by the Bureka and the Lady Evelyn. Twenty-two of the rescued died from injuries and ex- posure The others, most of whom had jumped into the boats or plunged into the wster from the sinking liner, scantily clad, were freely given such ciething as the town could supply, and later those who were well able to travel were placed on board a train and started for Quebec, where they arrived tomight. Accounts- agree that in the brief #pace of time -not more than 14 min- utes_between the shock of the col- 1ision and the sinking of the liner there vas little chance for systematic mar- sghaling of the passengers. Indeed, ev- indicates that hundreds of thuse on the steamer probably never reached the decks. Very few women ‘were among the saved, not more than | a dozen, the lists make it appear. “It all happened so guickly that we did net really know what was going on, and nobody had time to cry ‘Wom- en first,” one of the passengers told Captain Bellinger of the rescue beat Eureka. No Time.to Rouse People. ‘““The stewards dld not have time to rovse . the ople from their berths,” the survivor added. . “Thcse who heard the frenzied colls of the officers for the passensers to hurry on deck lost no time in obeving them, rushing up from thelr cabins in scanty attiré. They piled ints the boats, which were rapid- 1v jowered and were rowed away. Miny who wanted = to, dress were drowned.” Beiler Explosion Adds to Horror. The horror the interval during which tha Bmprass of Ireland was rap- idly flling and the frightened throngs or board her were hurrving every ef- fort to escape before xhe sank was 2dded to by an alxlpuman which quickiy followed the -collision. According to , the explosion, prob- reachi; boats it from moment A when She*finally tebk her: the -bettem scores still left ‘were carried down : trousers and boots. find ” Heads were bared as the government mail tender Lady Eve- : | stem still dung in the gash it had made in the Empress’ side, Captain Kendall begged the master of the col- | Starboard side. | lier to keep his propellers going so that the hole might remain plugged. The Storstad, however, dropped back and the Empress filled and floundered. Captain Kendall stood on_his bridge the ship went down. One of the and he directed its work of saving others until the craft was loaded to the gunwale, The captain was injured in the crash and suffered from expo- sure_Dbut his hurts are not dangerous and ‘his speedy recovery Is expected. When 4 broke this morning the Tescue hoats had not yet returned from the scene of the wreck. People standing on shore at Father Point boats off the river, and prepared to give help to the survivors. They were “surely”in need of help ms most of them had on little clothing and the | temperature was_almost down to the freczing pciri. When they had been given attention and started on their way to Quebec the work of recovering bofies was undertaken. steamers themseives had brought In , nearly fifty of these, and tonight after ;they had continued their search the entire day a total of about 250 bodies had been recovered. One woman and four men who were : still living were picked up during the 1day by the steamers. Few of the bodies had been identified tonight. The wireless is given credit for sav- ing many lives from the sinking liner. Responding promptly to the “S O S" | call the Bureka was on the Spot ap- | proximately twenty minutes after the | disaster and the Lady Evelyn but lit- | ! tle later. ! __Among the missing are Lawrence S. B. Irving, the actor, son of the lat 4 Sir Henry Irving, and his wife, (Ma- bel Hackney). | Corrected Estimate of Victims and Survivors. Of a total of 1,387 persons on board the Canadian Patific liner Empress of Ireland when she sailed yesterday from Quebec for Liverpool, 954 were ‘lost when the liner was rammed by the Danish collier Storstad and sank joff. Father Point in the St. Lawrence ito reyised figures late tonight. ' Only 1433 are known to have been saved. | Ot the 87 first cabin passe! rs, the late figures show 29 to have been saved. Of the 153 in the second cabin 129 were rescued; of the 715 third class | passengers, there ai 101 survivors, while 237 of the crew of 432 were | brought ashore, These figures account for the 396 survivors landed here and taken by train to Quebec, where they arrived. unclassified, complete the total of 433 iknown survivors. 396 OF THE SURVIVORS TAKEN TO QUEBEC. Very Few of Those Rescued Had a Complete Outfit of We —Graphic Description of Scene Aft. | er Collision Given by Ship’s Surgeon. Quebec. Map 29—A train with 396 | survivors from the sunken steamer |Empress of Ireland reached here 1 shortly before eight o’colck tenight. | The rescued on board numbered 29 jfirst class, 29 second class and 101 third class passengers and 237 of the crew. Thirty-seven survivors were left at Rimouski, which would make a total of 433 saved. As revised figures show 1,367 persons to have been on the steamer, this makes the probable number of lost 934, : A full equipment of ambulaneces sup- { plied by the city of Quebec, by the y town of Levis, on the opposite side of the river, and the army medical serv- ; ice conps was awaiting in readiness i Levis .when the special survivors train arrived. The passengers were imme- diately disembarked and transferred to the ferry steamer, which had _been waiting at the special wharf to facili- tate the transfer to the Quebec. It was a pitiful sight when the ferry steamer s docked on the Quebec side at 8.30 o'clock tonight and the 396 man and women saved from the ill- Empress of Ireland trooped fal- down the gangway. - ‘The faces of all plainly regist: thé frightful experience they had gone throygh. . Very few of the survivers possessed & complete outfit of clothes, the rajority wearing only shirts, were. 6 t ashore supported by friends ‘officials of the company. , ad: and third class n- {river before daylight today, according ! vehicles to the Chateau Frontenac. A :tu?h:tldmn and nurses took charge Among the twenty-five survivors of the first cabin there were eight wo- e Thomn among . the twenty-nine rescus the second cabin there were only eight ‘women and one child. Of the 101 per- sons saved from the steerage, four were women. - Among the fifty passengers left in Rimouski were a number who were so in ot;»so badly injured that they had to be_falen tu the hospital. Special praise was given the heroic work of Dr. James F. Grant of Victo- {ria, B. C,, ship’s surgeon on the Em- To his coolness was credited the saving of a large nubmer of per- sons taken out of the water who prob- ably would have perished had they not received prompt medical attention. Graphic Description of Scene. A graphic description of the scene on board the Empress of Ireland aft- er the ‘collision was given by Dr. Grant. Story of Ship’s Surgeon. “I was in my cabin,” said the ship’s Surgeon, “and knew nothing of the {accident until the boat listed so badly that I tumbled out of my berth.-and | then Tolled under it. I tried to turn on the light, but there was no power. I reached the bolted door, but the list was so strong that it took me con- siderable time to open it, When finally 1 got out and reached the passage- way, it was so steep, due to the way the 'ship was canted, that my efforts to climb up were rendered impossible by the carpet which*I was clinging to breaking away. “I then scrambled up and managed to get my head through a porthole, but I was unable to get my shoulders through. At that time the ship was |lying almost flat in the water on her A passenger who was standing on the plated side of the | ship finally managed to pull “me ! through the port hole. { “About a hundred passengers were | gathered on the sidé of -the ship at |the time, but a moment after I had {joined them the vessel took another list and plunged to the bottom. “I next found myself in the water {and swam towards the lights of the | steamer Storstad, and when nearly exhausted from the struggle and ex- posure, I was picked up by a life boat. | This boat went on to the scene of the | disaster and picked up a load of sur- vivors from the water and then took {them on board the Storstad. There iwe were wrapped in blankets and I was provided with the clothes which I now wear. When able, 1 did what {1 could to help the survivors. Some of them, hawever, were in ssch an ex- hausted condition that -they. died.” Story of Second Cabin Survivor. K. A. McIntyre was in the second cabin with most of-the other Salvation ngers. He told a vivid Army passe The rescue | Story of his own experiences and of ut he saw as he swam to safety, “Virtually every leading officer of the Salvation Army in Canada,” he said, “is gone. ‘wife and the children went down and only three of this family survive. And {out of our Salvation party of 150 on ‘board probably less than 20 were res- ued. { “I was on the upper deck and there- | fore had a better chance to get to safety than those in the lower berths. The water came in through the port holes of the lower decks before the passengers there realized their danger, or that there was any danger at all. “I was aroused from my sleen by the impact and awakened the others in my cabinet. I could then Plainly the rush of water, and I felt sure that | something serious had happened. I ! also heard the machinery of the boat {Tunning. It did not stop immediately after tho crash, but continued until the | explosion occurred. “I grabbed a life preserver and went out to the deck. On deck there were no life belts and quite a pumber of people were standing about, apparent- ly unable to determine what to do. 1 gave my belt to Mrs. Foord, one of ox party. I tied the belt on her my- » : W “My three comrades went to the bot- {tom. I was pulled into a lifeboat be- | longing to the Storstad. When I was taken on board I saw many men res- | cued, practically unclothed. I was al- ! most naked myself and the rest of those on board were shivering from the icy water and the chilly mornnig air. | Soon, however, we were attended to by those on board the collier and made ‘warm and comfortable. “As I swam I heard the dull explo- The remaining 38 rescued perséns, | Sion caused by the water reaching the ! | engines of the sinking ship. It was followed by a burst of stea mthat ipread to all parts of the vessel. Then | came a quick listing of the liner and | she turned over. It looked to me as }if she turned turtle. - i “I do not think many first class cabin | passengers were saved. 1 saw only me of the first class boats lowered. “The weather was virtually calm and there was plenty of light on the water when I came on deck. I saw no ifog. I thought at first we had hit i rock. Some of the officers of the ves. { sel came along and said that the ship | would not go any further, for bottom ! had been' struck. | “The behavior of the crew was on | the whole good, though it must be said ; that the men hardly had time to collect | themselves or to effect rescues in any { systematic way. The boat was really { sinking _before the crew eor anybody ! else realized it or eould no anything. i~ “Tnoge of the crew who got to the ‘ deck tried to launch a boat on the up- turned eide of the vessel, but this was { impossible because the list was such | that the boat couid net be put into th water and landed on the side of the at | vessel “The decks were almost perpendicu- 1ar, so that many passengers in order to escape had to slide down frem the | higher side to the lower or water side. CANADIAN GOVERNMENT URGES INVESTIGATION Third Disaster on St. Lawrence Last Two Months. Ottawa, Muy 29.—That a ther- ough investigation must be made into the loss of the Canadian Pacific steam- Empress of Ireland """.'.2;‘ on the Canadian government fomfght by Sir Wilfrid Laurier, lcader of the op- pesition in parliameni. “The hand against Commissioner Rees and his | el Now of ing is to begin probably on July 20. by Wireless. May 29.—Steamer Na- Steamers Reported New Yt poli, Naples for New York, B e st ot a5ndy Hook at noon i NOTE 1S NOT ACCEPTED {zard, May 29.—Steamer Oceanc, New York for Plymouth, Cherbourg. Southampton, signalled 454 miles Due Plymouth-5.30 a. m. et at 618 west at 4.15. Saturday. voters took the trouble to att city meeting tonight and !onm_d of these were in favor of the proposed | Huerta government and the United $100,000 refunding bonds issue, 15 Votors ut Derby Gity Meeting. Derby, Conn., May 29.—Only fifteen WITH “Ibarranza Agen! : at Niagara c]muymuflou SOUTH AMERICAN ENVOYS, Niagara Falls, Ont., May 29—Con- sideration of an agreement between the FOR Contained Message Expressing Sur- prise That Negotiations Were Cona tinuing with Constitutionalists Un- represented—Mediators Silent. States was temporadily interrupted to- TAPS AND REVEILLE —HENRY DENVER to believ the St. Lagrence “l willk not pass j hope it will turn out to be one of disasters swhich could not have Prevented by human agency.” The government steamer Lady here. tion to other vessels. of marine and fisheries. SAYS HULL OF SHIP tended Sea Safety Conventio sinking of the steamer tion officials to activity today cles. ship to have gone down In ten treaty for safety at sea. The ses ! expressed the opinion that if |treaty had been in effect, the The treaty would not make | watertight bulkheads, the to patronize the structed vessels.” EXAMI’NATIOmOKS dangerously No Estimate of Length of Time Morgan Books Will Require. lating to finincial affairs of the Havcn railroad were unable to length for completion of their tasks 4will observe tomorrow as a hol ent to meet financier will be able to stand 'lt!‘!n of questioning during the : will not be accompanied el layman, whether Judge, Rockefell examination, jon on' the disaster, but it is difficult that. such an accident near to Father Polit could not m:g:m»rwmem, nt- and 1 well equipped with medical suppiies, provisions and a number of doctors from Quebec City is due to arrive at Father Point at midnight and will ren- der every assistanee to the survivors according to the marine department The department has taken steps to mark with buoys the place where the ‘Empress of Ireland sank, as protec- An official inquiry into the circum- stances connected with the accident will be begun early next week, accord- ing to Alex Johnston, deputy minister MUST HAVE BEEN SHELL Comment of Serfator Burton, Who At- ‘Washington, May 29.—News of the | Empress of Ireland and the appalling loss of life in the catastrophe stirred administra- 'aroused comment in congressionad cir- “The hull of the Empress of Ireland must have been a mere shell for the utes,”- said Senator Burton, who was one of the American delegates to the London convention which drafted a classification clause would probably have compelled the owners of Empress to have reconstructed her. pulsory the remodelling of existing Vvessels so as to provide for sepafate T MAY DELAY PROCEEDINGS. |nl e lamong the ‘Washingten, May 29.—Examiners of the interstatu commerce commission who are in New York geing over the books of J. P, Morgan & company re- mate, it was stated here tenight, the of.time that would be required | mmi‘ner McAdams of the commission an engagem: ‘William Rockefeller in Greenwich, Cenn., to- merTow to determine whether the aged Haven hearings which will be resumed here next Wednesday. Mr. McAdams by a physi- He will endeavor, it is sai as . ler’s condition is such as to prescribe any attempt to put him to day in fore. the those been with the sented, Grey, tors only then issu. tions. and min- nator the hulls the com- | of Irel con- hen Juan ¥. South constitutionalists a few minutes. ed by the envoys: that Urquidi, a repre- sentative of General Carranza, kgid be- American _envoys “note expressing surprise Mexican negotiations were continuing unrepres- with After the long debate the mediators decided not to permit Urquidl to pre- sent the communication from his chief. Then_ after a conference American delegates, the mediators ad- mitted the Carranza emissary. Urquid! remained with the media- He left the note and expressed the apprecfation of his superiors that so active an interest had been taken by the three diplomats in averting a war. Urquidi was asked | not to disclose the contents of the| note. The following statement was “The mediators have received a com- munication from a representative General Carranza in tenor of which differs eftirely from the version contained in a news despatch ! this morning from Durango and does ! not disturb the course of the negotia- Whether answer will be made to Gen- eral Carranza or his representative in Washington is not known outside the | diplomatic tribunal. refused to answer any questions on the subject. Some of the attaches, how- | ever, “reiterated that the proceedings could be reopened with a constitution- alist present only if General C: za agreed to a subperfsion of hostili- tles 8s originally demanded by three South American envoys. The mediators | FEW PROMINENT ENGLISHMEN AMONG THE PASSENGERS Calamity Not Felt So Acutely in Lon- don as Loss of Titanic. Was. May 29.—The full magni- the disaster to the Empress d ‘was understood by the Eng- lic only late tonight. ‘was one of suspense and eagerness for he explained, but | news throughout the kingdom, while publicity about the condition of | conflicting bulleting succeeded one an- those ships would cause the public not | other from early morning to evening. The papers and the pubiic were dis- The day posed to place faith In the most hope- ful reports, The last regular editions of the eve- mes, ng papers, which were distributed contained the re- That | port that many had been saved, Ex- tras were issued later with the state- ment that New est They liday. amo; the b New de fel 300 Bodies in Wharf Sheds. adian About 360 bodies heds at the wharf here. | bodies have been iden :Jmfrl-daorn!nsm child. Many of i It was L train that took the = of ¥reland lie tonight in e of the le that om board the feom | rict New. Fori g the | of and-claim- | "0 one was injured. od; the others will be kept here uatil|Was immediately made up. give orders for disposition. One of the bodies on the wharf is that of a woman whese -arms ‘are clasped tightly about het the bodies are torm| Gibraltar, burg, New York for Naples. May Steamer Ced- ‘Quebec the The calamity “the chief Marconi oper- ator of the Empress of Ireland has wired from Father Point that a thou- sand people have been drowned.” The worst fears were confirmed by Sir Thomas Shaughnessy’s statement in the extras, which reached the the- atregoers as they emerged from the | places of amusement, that the catas- | trophe was the most serious in the history of the St. Lawrence route, d not come home to | Londoners nearly so acute as the loss | of the Titanie, because comparatively few prominent English people were the passengers. Sir Heary Se- rr and Laurence Irving were the enly persons aboard whose names were well known here. Most of the er English passengers in the first in were business men from provin- cities. Relief Train Derailed. Quebec, May 29.—The special Can- Pacific relief train carrying sur- vivors frem the. steamsship of dead from the | @ Ireland, was derailod shortly after as is known Angther train mouski. So far Steamship Arrivals. Li 00l, May 29.—Steamer Cal- 28.—Steamer Ham- May Y ork for Liverpool May 28.—Steam for Naples; L Empress b Ancona, a the the of ashington, the the | B 5 —_— 3 Emperor William is suffering from a severe cold. " s Severe M’ shooks corded at Sydney Australia. 8t. Louis celebrated the 150th versary of its foundation. 3 The army worm is reported to, be an-lncdmacey to crops in Missourt. The failure of the Metal urgique et Indust: was anhounced. Columbia is celebrating the 50th an- niversary of the foundation of the School of Mines. X Recognition of President Benavides of has been accorded by the United States. John Pollak, of Ba. N.°J., years old, was killed by falling the roof of a three-story building. Chilean Government . officially recognized the new Peruvian adminis- tration under Prsident@Benavides. 4 H. Hayes, assistant secretary- treasurer, of the Baldwin Locomotive, died in Philadelphia, aged 49 years. Senatorial dignity melted the heat and pages were allowed to \bol around the chamber minus their coats. It was announced that China would have the largest display of any for- eign nation at the Panama-Pacific ‘Exposition. Mrs. James Oliver, widow of - the | plow manufacturer and said to be the | wealthiest woman in Indiana, died in South Bend. Transatlantic steamships, conse- quence of the amount of ice in the North Atlantic, will take a more south- erly route. General Steward L. Woodford, sol- dier, lawyer and diplomat, who died in New York last February, left an es- tate of $270,000. More than 50 firemen were overcome by smoke when fire partially destroyed the Union Station at Detroit, Mich. The loss is $30,000. The first drowning of the season at { May’s Landing, N. J., occurred, when Nicholas Rossatl, 16 vears old, lost his life in Lake Lenape. were re- KARLUK MAROONED. ON JANUARY 16th _— Crew Hag Plenty of Food and Wood— Cryptic Message Sent to Herbert Bridgman of Brooklyn, Long Inter- wmmml Worlk. " Minlers, lo at Paris | SANK | Using a barber po ladder, fire- men rescued 10 persons from. a fire which destroyed a three-story build- ing in Newark, 1 This somewhat cryptio message was Herbert o An invitation to spend. July. 4. at Philadelphia was extended, to Presi- dent Wilson by a delegation represent- ing the City Council. Sir Arthur Conan Doyls, the English 3 novelist, visited the Tombs tin ROCKEFELLER EDUCATIGNAL New York and was guest of honor at & * FUND DISTRIB ON. dinner given by the Piigrims. « A number of mills at Youngstown, | Yale Medical School Gets Half Million 10 Get Contrel of Hospital. Ohlo, were compelled to close down be- cause of the expessive heat. The temperature was 95 degrees. “Goed Roads Day” was celebrated throughout West Virginia by 50,000 men, who with picks and shovels, re- paired the public highways. - $1,400,000 to untversities and The steamship J. F. Luckenbach, 3,000-ton vessel with a crew of 29 men, which was due in Baltimore on May 21 is believed to have been lost. Alfred J. Straka, of Cleveland, a sea- man on the battleship Texas, fell from | the deck of the vessel and was drown- ed. The body was recovered. Winston Churchill, first Lord of the British Admiralty, accomplished the first of a series of tests, required in order to obtain an air pilot’s license. Sir Wilfrer Laurier completed 44 years of service in the Canadian | House of Commons. A gold watch was | presented to him by the Libgral party. Ford Margeum, president of the Farmers’ National Bank of Spssex, N. J., is dying from Iinjuries received his automobile went over an embank- ment. Gustav Lloyd, a longshoreman em- ployed on the steamer Bahassire thy Bush Terminal piers In Brooklyn, was killed when a load of crated beef fell op him. Four persons were killed and three seriously injured when an automobile stage skidded off the approach to a bridge across the Snohomish River near Everett, Wash. A resolution was adopted at the Farmers' annual convention in supervisors Stroudsburg, Pa.. setting aside June 1 ated . as “Rooster Day"” when every rooster in the State shall be killed. Miss Annie Kennedy, a milltant suffragette and chief alde to Mrs, Pankhurst, became seriously ill from the effects of a hunger strike and was released from Holloway jail. _ Navigation lights ort the Campeche bank are kept burning and appear to be in goed condition. The commander of the U, S. S. Yankton led the Navy Department to that eect, R ital and to ‘lhtufl e:finn-\hch maim medical an surgieal departments, A sum of $63,000 is not accounted for in the distribution as announced. CHARLES E. BEOKER AGAIN IN DEATH HOU Many Menths WIII Blapse Before Court of Appeals Acts On His Case The Senate has stricken frem the naval appropriation the autherity for an investigation by the Secrtary ef the Navy into the plans for the erection of a government armer plate plant. After making elaborate preparatiens for the celebration of the 100th anni- versary of its foundation, the steeple on the Reformed Church at Bloeming- dale N. J., was struck by lightning and des'.l‘o/ yed. RIVERS AND HARBORS BILL CARRIES $53,500,000. New Appropriatipns Insiude . $11,300 , For Bricgeport. Washington, May 29—Work on the rivers and harbors bill was completed today by the senate commerce com- mittee and the measure will be re- ported next week, mm tions aggregating increase 0,000,000 of about e £ it ) At a I;I i b 1 ‘i’ i i £ H o i i g?i igs | i an the total of the house bill, 094,000 ovér last year's ud The senate committee cut fi small items in the ho doced others, but jones. The new appropriati posed include 311,300 for - Conn. mecticut - Humane an look | g