VQL 10 VALDEZ, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 1914. NO. 277.
SAMPSON IS RAMMED AND SUNK
* >
WENT DOWN IN FEW MINUTES WITH NINE OF CREW
_^i —
SEATTLE, Aug. 26—The Admiral
Sampson, of the Admiral Line, was
sunk this morning at 6 o’clock by
the Canadian liner, Princess Victoria,
which rammed the Sampson near the
after hatch, causing the American
vessel to sink in eight minutes. Cap
tain Zim Moore, Chief Officer E. F.
Kenny, Chief Engineer J. Noon, Miss
Campbell, the stewardess, with three
members of the crew and two pas
sengers were drowned. The passen
gers lost were Mrs. George Banbery
and Ezra Bryan.
The Princess Victoria, commanded
by Captain Hickey, was coming south
from Victoria in a heavy fog and
struck the Sampson a terrific blow on
the port side near the stern, cutting
the stern almost away from the ship
and causing the boat to sink in eight
minutes.
Princess Victoria Reaches Seattle.
The Princess Victoria reached here
at 10 this morning w'ith the surviv
ors of the Admiral Sampson. The
bow of the big Canadian liner w'as
smashed but her compartments sav
ed the vessel from sinking. The Prin
cess Victoria is one of the fastest
of ships.
Valdez Passengers Saved.
The Valdez passengers wrere all
saved. Four women were on the
boat for Valdez, but escaped. They
are: Mrs. Cook and Helen Cook,
Princess Victoria of Canadian Pacific Line Going 18 Miles An Hour In Heavy
Fog Strikes Admiral Liner Near Stern—Captain Zim Moore Stays On
Bridge and Goes Down With His Ship—Bodies Not Recovered—One Pas
senger Dies As Result of Burns.
Catherine Nichalson and Mrs. Nichal
son.
Inspectors To Place Responsibility.
The marine inspectors have started
an investigation to place the respon
sibility for the wreck and the loss
of life. The two steamers were ap
proaching one another in the fog from
opposite directions. The officers of
tne Sampson assert that the Prin
cess Victoria was going at a high rate
of speed, while the Sampson was al
most stationary, having stopped her
engines and Captain Moore was try
ing to locate the other vessel when
she loomed out of the fog and caught
his ship near the stern.
SEAT.TLE, Aug. 26—The steamer
Admiral Sampson left here last night
with fifty-five passengers for Alaska
points. Of the fifty-five twenty-two
we» steerage and were in the for
ward part of the boat. When almost
.opposite point No Point the Canadian
liner, Princess Victoria, came through
the fog at a speed of eighteen knots
an hour and struck the Sampson near
•her stern. Captain Moore was going
slowly at the time and the Victoria
came down upon him in the fog and
heavy smoke before he had an oppor
tunity to save his ship.
Victoria Keeps Bow In Hole.
Captain Hickey, of the Victoria,
realized that he had dealt# a mortal
blow and he kept his propellers go
ing so that the bow of the Princess
Victoria remained in the hole of the
Sampson and many of the passengers
were taken up over the bow of the
Canadian liner.
Many Jumped In Water.
Captain Moore ordered the mem
bers of the crew to rouse all of the
passengers and send them to the
Victoria at once. Others jumped into
the water and were picked up by
boats from the Canadian liner, which
had boats lowered in seven minutes.
The Sampson sunk in eight minutes
after being struck.
Captain On Bridge When Ship Sinks.
Captain Moore was on the bridge
with Pilot Obert when the ship went
down and the pressure of water shot
bridge and all far up into the sky,
the falling debris knocking Pilot Ob
ert unconscious and he was picked
up by the Canadian liner’s boats,
while Captain Moore was not seen
after the bridge blew up and it is
believed that he was also knocked
unconscious or carried down with the
iron debris of the bridge. His body
was not recovered.
Fire Adds To Terror.
Fire broke out a few minutes af
ter the collision in the bow of the
Princess Victoria, adding to the great
danger of the passengers on the
Sampson, who had to run the gaunt
let of the fire. Several were burned.
A. Button, of New York, a tourist
traveling to Alaska, was so badly
burned that he died in the Seattle
Hospital shortly after his arrival
there. •
Fire Easily Put Out.
Captain Hickey stated that he had
no trouble controlling the flames and
that they caused but little trouble,
only that the fire prevented the tak
ing off of the passengers from the
Sampson over the bow and forced
many to jump into the water.
Crowds Meet the Victoria.
The dock was crowded with men
and women, relatives of the passen
gers and crew of the Admiral Samp
son, when the Princess Victoria dock
ed. A half dozen ambulances were
ready to take the injured to the hos
pitals; physicians were on hand to
give prompt relief, and the officials
of the Admiral Line had the full
force ready to provide for the pas
sengers, who had lost everytning in
the sinking of the boat.
School Teacher Hysterical.
Miss Claire Bour, who was going
north to Juneau on the Sampson to
teach school in the Alaska capital,
was afraid to jump into the water
from the Sampson, although ropes
had been thrown her from the Vic
toria and she would have been haul
ed aboard a few seconds after strik
ing the water. George Peterson, of
Centralia, Wash., who was on the
boat going to Seward to visit his
father, then caught the girl in his
arms and with the rope tied about
them he jumped into the sea and
they were hauled aboard. Miss Bour
was hysterical when ordered to jump
and never would have taken her only
chance for safety had it not been for
Peterson. The flames had cut off
escape over the bow of the Princess
Victoria and many of the passengers
were taken aboard by jumping into
the water with lines tied to them
(Continued on page 4).
DEFEAT SHOCKS GREAT BRITAIN
BELGIANS MAKE SUCCESSFUL RAID FROM ANTWERP
SOON TO OPEN
RESERVE RANKS
WASHINGTON, Aug. 26.—The fed
eral reserve board has decided that
all reserve banks in the United
States shall be opened at once; that
the bank in New York and that in
San Francisco and also all those be
tween shall be opened on the min
ute. The work of organizing the
banks has progressed satisfactorily
and the reserve board hope to open
them within a few weeks.
MARIPOSA SAILS
EROMSEATTLE
■SEATTLE, Aug. 26.—The steamer
Mariposa, of the Alaska Steamship
coiqpany, sailed from here last night
for Valdez and other Southwestern
Alaska ports. The Valdez passengers
are. Mrs. Charles Kraemer, E. Van
dern and wife, F. Davis, Miss Car
nall and John Lynch.
SEEK SHIPS TO
EXPORT COAL
NEW YORK, Aug. 26.—Goal ex
. porters are trying to find ships to ex
port coal to Mediterranean coun
tries, South America and the West
Indies, which received the greater
part of their coal supply from Eng
land before the present war.
While America for some years has
been exporting nearly 1,000,000 tons
of coal a year to the Mediterranean,
the demand from those ports has
greatly Increased. L. Burrows, Jr.,
manager In New York for Castner,
Curran & Burlitt, coal exporters at
1 Broadway, said yesterday that he
believed the ships would be found.
"If the demand becomes pressing,"
he said, "I have Bo doubt that coal
will be shipped free on board, the
consignee assuming the war risk.
This is an unprecedented situation,
and It Is impossible to say, in the
present state of tbe war and of our
laws, what ships will be available, but
I feel confident that the coal export
ers will be able to obtain the ships
they need.”
4
Allies Drop Back To First Line of Forts In France Which Are Now Being
Manned—Germans Trying To Retake Mulhausen—Populace of Berlin
Wild With Joy and Cry “On To Paris”—Austria Declares War On Japan
Belgians Evacuated Namur and Spoiled Plan To Hold German Right Wing.
LONDON, Aug. 26.—All London was
sad last night when the news of the
setback in Belgium had been receiv
ed, and the gloom was all the more
noticeable because of the cocksure
ness of the people here that the Ger
mans would be defeated in the first
great battle of the war.
German Success Inconceivable.
The German victory has bumb
founded the people, who are dazed
at the news and as details of the
fighting in Belgium ar*f received few
can believe that the forts at Namur
have been captured and the lines of
the allies crushed.
Namur Forts Fell In Two Days.
The Namur forts were under fire
for only two days when the Belgian
garrisons withdrew.
Belgians Sick of War.
It is believed here that the Bel
gians are sick of the war, in which
they had no interest and In which
they are being forced to stand the
brunt of the fighting, and that, there
fore, rather than prolong the battles
in Belgium they withdrew and al
lowed the Germans to push the
French line into France, where the
fighting will be on the soil of a
country more interested in the war
than they are.
Brussels Pays War Indemnity.
LONDON, Aug. 26.—It is reported
here that the citizens of Brussels
have paid to the German commander
$4,000,000 as a part payment on a
war indemnity demanded of them un
der the threat that the Germans
would loot and destroy the city if
the $40,000,000 which has been de
manded is not paid.
Liege Refused To Pay.
Although the German commander
at Liege also insisted that the Bel
gian citizens of that city pay a war
indemnity of $10,000,000 the city of
ficials refuse to do so and have told
the Germans to burn the town If they
wish; that it had better be burned
than used as a barracks by the Ger
mans.
English Loss Reported Appalling.
The report has reached here that
the British loss In the week’s fighting
In Belgium have been appalling and
that thousands have either been kill
ed or wounded.
Poverty and Distress In Belgium.
ANTWERP, Aug. 26.—The Industry
of this country has been paralyzed
and distress can be seen. All man-1
by the war and everywhere poverty
ufacturing plants have been closed.
The crops are unharvested, as the
Germans take all in sight, while they
have marched over and destroyed
large sections of the country by
trampling down the grain and other
foods.
Defeat Sickens Paris.
PARIS, Aug. 26.—The news yester
day from Belgium has sickened the
people here, who fear that the Ger
mans will repeat the successful march
to Paris of 1870 and that this city
will be bombarded.
The war ofTice reports that thou
sands of Germans are pouring into
France at Longwy and at Nancy and
have overrun the country, but do not
seem at all worfied at the outcome,
but Insists that the Germans are be
ing led into a trap and asks the
people to remain calm and to have
confidence in the French army.
Allies Manning French Forts.
The French, English and Belgian
troops driven back from Belgium
have now manned the first line of
French forts and are preparing to
resist and to hold back the onrush
ing Germans and if possible to de
lay them for weeks, while the Rus
sians continue the march southVard.
f -
Germans Tell of Victory.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 26.—The Ger
man ambassy has received a wireless
message from Berlin telling of the
great battle just concluded in south
ern Belgium and the ambassador was
informed that 10,000 French were
taken prisoners and that the French,
English and Belgians lost heavily.
Among the French captives were sev
eral generals of the French army.
Germans Control Longwy.
The ambassy also received the in
formation that the German army had
re-crossed into France near Luxem
burg and had captured the city of
Longwy, where they were checked
on the last invasion of France ten
days ago. .
Germans Crazy With Delight.
THE HAGUE, Aug. 26.—The peo
ple of Berlin went wild with delight
and joy when news of the success
of the German arms In Belgium
against the combined armies of
France, England and Belgium became
known. The crowds paraded the
streets and marched to the Kaiser’s
palace and cheered the Kaiserine and
the women members of the royal
family.
Germans Cry On To Paris.
The Germans in Berlin cry “On to
Paris!” "On to Paris!” the battle
cry of 1870 and the people are in
sisting that the war to the south
be settled by the immediate capture
of the French capital.
Allies Loss Was Heavy.
It is reported here that the allies
lost heavily in the battle at Namur;
2,000 Belgians were killed and 50,000
wounded and the French and Eng
lish loss was heavier, according to
the German versions of the battle.
French Hold Mulhausen.
BASEL, Switzerland, Aug. 26.—The
French Arab forces and several di
visions of the French regular army
still hold Mulhausen against the Ger
mans and have inflicted a serious
check to the German attacking forces,
which were strongly reinforced by
the Austrians. The French have been
able to repulse the Germans but may
be forced to fall back, as the Ger
mans threaten to cut the entire di
vision off from France.
Austria Declares War On Japan.
VIENNA, Aug. 26.—The Austrian
government yesterday handed the
Japanese ambassador here his pass
ports because of the action of Japan
in capturing Austrian merchant ves
sels In the Orient. The aid given to
England in the present crisis has an
gered the Austrian government and
it is expected that if the German
Austrian governments are successful
in the war in Europe that a fleet
will be sent to Japan to demand satis
faction.
England Must Make Sacrifices.
LONDON, Aug. 26.—In a speech in
the House of Lords last night Lord
Kitchener, secretary of war In the
present cabinet, told the house that
the present war with Germany would
require large sacrifices from the peo
ple of England and that they were
prepared to make them, because the
success of the Germans meant the
end of the British empire.
Will Put One Million Men In Field.
The war secretary stated that Eng
land would put one million men in
the field and that the department was
now preparing to enlist that num
ber not only in England but from
every section of the British empire.
The army will be sent to France to
operate against the Germans.
Sea Battle In Orient.
TOKIO, Aug. 26.—The German ar
mored cruisers Gneisenau and Sch
arnhorst, two 11,420 ton ships, tried
to run the blockade off Tsing-tau last
night but were driven back by the
Japanese ships, which were lying
outside waiting for them. The Ger
man ships were riddled with shot ac
cording to the reports reaching here
and were forced to turn back and
seek the protection of the German
land batteries. The admiralty repons
that no damage was suffered by the
Japanese fleet as a result of the en
gagement.
Germans Take No Chances.
LONDON, Aug. 26.—The German
newspapers received here through
Holland show that the German war
c.ffico realizes the enormity of the
task they have undertaken to fight
almost all of Europe. The papers
reveal the fact that boys from 16 to
19 years of age have been ordered
to drill under the direction of the
army officers who are too old to
take their places with the troops at
the front.
Germans After the Money.
The German commander has de
manded that the citizens of Brabant
province pay him 190,000,000 by Sep
tember 1 or the Germans will lay
waste the entire province and will
burn the buildings, destroy the crops
and make of the section a desert.
French Forced Back In Alsace.
LONDON, Aug. 26—The French
were forced to drop back in Alsace
after driving the Germans almost
clear of the province, because the
troops were used to reinforce the
French left, but the attempt failed
because of the sudden and unexpect
ed retirement from Namur by the
Belgians, who evacuated the apex of
the allies line and forced the retire
ment. No attempt will be made now
to cut otr the German right, which
was in grave danger yesterday, and
the French maneuver would have
been successful but for the unexpect
ed withdrawal of the Belgians.
Belgians Still Hold Wostem Frontier.
The Belgian army still holds the
(Continued on page *.J
STORM DELAYS
NORTHWESTERN
The steamer Northwestern is hove
to twenty-five miles off Cape St.
Elias, as the weather is thick and
foggy. Captain Hunter does not care
to risk passing the cape until it
clears up. The rain and fog and
heavy winds prevent safe navigation
and the Northwestern will wait out
side for better weather.
REVENUE CUTTER
HEREJONIGHT
Revenue cutter McCulloch is due
this evening at 8 o'clock from the
westward with Judge F. M. Brown
and other officials of the court of the
Third division, who have been hold
ing court at westward points for the
past month.
INSURANCE LOSSES
GUARDED AGAINST
NEW YORK, Aug. 26.—Insurance
men do not anticipate heavy losses
through .heir European agencies dur
ing the present war. Darwin P.
Kingsley, president of the New York
Life Insurance company, states:
“Most American companies op
erating in these countries have their
headquarters in Paris. The business
of Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary
and France, possibly of England, will
temporarily have to oe treated as
though it were a separate and dis
tinct company. Representatives of
the companies in charge within each
country undoubtedly have authority
to sign for the companies whatever
papers may be necessary currently to
carry out the obligations. In the
matter of mortality,” he said, “the
companies have no fear. Business
has been done in Europe for a long
time in the expectation that some
thing like this,might happen.”
The launch Brighton arrived from
Port Wells last evening. Captain
Stamey reports plenty of rain and
wind on this trip.