Question No. 25. Whether vessel was fired on while passengers were being taken off? Question No. 29. What was the conduct of the crew during the taking off of the passengers? I do not know, as I was so much occupied in saving myself, that I did not notice what was going on around me. Last question unnumbered. Do you know of any of the survivors of the Ancona who can corroborate your statements? Yes. Donato Farina, from Molfetta, Province of Bari, Italy. TAMBONE DOMENICO. Sworn and subscribed to before me this twenty-sixth day of November, 1915. HERBERT CARLSON BIAR, Vice-Consul of the United States of America. Sworn declaration of Ilazione Azzolini, passenger on board AMERICAN CONSULAR SERVICE, Be it known that on the twenty-sixth day of November, 1915, before me Jay White, consul of the United States of America in and for the city and consular district of Naples, Italy, residing in the city of Naples, duly commissioned and sworn and by law authorized to administer oaths and affirmations, personally appeared, Ilazione Azzolini now residing at the Emigrant Shed at Naples, Province of Naples, Kingdom of Italy, whose home is 55-57 West 26th Street, New York City, United States of America, and being by me duly sworn did depose and say: I was born at Malfetta, Italy, on the sixth day of November, 1884; my father's name was Corado Azzolini and that I have taken out my first citizen's paper in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, on the 15th of December, 1914. I embarked on the S. S. Ancona at Naples on the 5th day of November, 1915; that I have in my possession my first citizen paper as stated above. 1st Interrogatory. Where were you when you were first conscious that something unusual was occurring on board the S. S. Ancona? To the first interrogatory he saith: Down below. 2d Interrogatory. What, at first, attracted your attention to the disturbance? Crew running about. 3d Interrogatory. Were you on deck or below? Below. 4th Interrogatory. If you were on deck, did you have a clear vision of the submarine? When I came on deck, I saw the submarine which was firing on us. 5th Interrogatory. How did the submarine announce her presence to the S. S. Ancona? I do not know. 6th Interrogatory. Was any warning given by the submarine to the master of the S. S. Ancona that he should stop? I do not know. 7th Interrogatory. If a warning was given by the submarine to the master of the S. S. Ancona, how promptly was that warning obeyed by the master of the S. S. Ancona? I do not know. 8th Interrogatory. If you have any well-founded belief as to the nationality of the submarine, state upon what facts that well-founded belief is based. I have no idea as to the nationality of the submarine. 9th Interrogatory. Did the submarine display a flag? I did not see a flag on the submarine. 10th Interrogatory. What was the nationality of the flag displayed by the submarine? I do not know. 11th Interrogatory. Was the flag displayed by the submarine when her presence was first known to the S. S. Ancona; if not, at what period of the attack was the flag of the submarine first displayed? I do not know. 12th Interrogatory. Are you conversant with European languages and customs; and, if so, was there anything that came within your observation or hearing that caused you to form an opinion that the submarine, or the crew of the submarine, were of another nationality than that of the flag displayed? I speak Italian, English, and some French; the crew of the submarine all appeared to me to be blonde. 13th Interrogatory. Did the master of the S. S. Ancona, in your judgment, stop his steamer within a reasonable length of time after the submarine had given warning, if warning was given? The ship was stopped at once after several shots had been fired. 14th Interrogatory. Did the submarine fire upon the S. S. Ancona after the Ancona had hove to? Yes; the submarine did fire on the Ancona after the Ancona had hove to. 15th Interrogatory. Had the passengers remained on board the S. S. Ancona after the attack of the submarine, what, in your judg ment, would have been their fate? We would have perished. 16th Interrogatory. What was the fate of those who remained on board the S. S. Ancona? I do not know. 17th Interrogatory. Did you personally seek safety in a lifeboat? Yes; I did, with twenty-seven others; there were none of the crew in this boat. 18th Interrogatory. What would have been your fate had you not sought refuge in a lifeboat? I would have lost my life. - 19th Interrogatory. How long a time was allowed after the warning signal for the passengers to take to the lifeboats before the ship was torpedoed? About twenty-five minutes, in my judgment. 20th Interrogatory. Did the submarine cease firing while the passengers were being embarked in the lifeboats? My impression is that there was an interval of cease fire of six or seven minutes. 21st Interrogatory. Did the submarine give any assistance or make any effort to rescue the passengers and crew after the ship had been torpedoed? They did not help anybody. 22d Interrogatory. Did the submarine fire upon the lifeboats after they had left the ship? No; she did not fire on the boats after they left the Ancona. 23d Interrogatory. What flag was flown by the submarine? I did not see a flag on the submarine. 24th Interrogatory. What warning shots were given? I do not know. 25th Interrogatory. Was the vessel fired on while the passengers were being taken off? Yes; the vessel was fired on while the passengers were being taken off. 26th Interrogatory. What time, in your judgment, was allowed for such taking off? I do not know. 27th Interrogatory. Were any other vessels in the neighborhood at the time of the attack on the S. S. Ancona? I do not know. 28th Interrogatory. Did the vessel sink before all the passengers were taken off? Yes; the vessel sank before all the passengers were taken off. Question No. 28a. Were there other vessels in the neighborhood? There were no ships in the neighborhood as far as I know. Question No. 29. What was the conduct of the crew during the taking off of the passengers? Part of the crew helped the passengers to embark, and a part of the crew had left the vessel before I did. Answer to last question unnumbered. Give names and addresses of persons known to you who were present at the time. There was no one with me at the time whom I know or whose address I know. ILAZIONE AZZOLINI. Sworn and subscribed to before me this twenty-sixth day of November, 1915. JAY WHITE, American Consul. AMERICAN CONSULATE, Algiers, (Received) December 10, 1915. American steamer Petrolite arrived Algiers seven a. m., December 10th. Captain reports vessel attacked nineteen hours from Alexandria 1 For additional correspondence concerning the Petrolite, see Special Supplement, 1916, p. 306. by submarine flying Austrian flag. One seaman wounded by shell. After examination papers and forcibly taking provisions vessel allowed to proceed. MASON. The Secretary of State to Minister Egan. [Telegram-Paraphrase.] No. 71.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, January 24, 1916. Mr. Egan is directed to obtain statements from the officers of the American vessel Petrolite, which is due to arrive at Copenhagen about the twenty-fifth of January, covering the details of the stopping of the Petrolite in the Mediterranean by a submarine, and to ascertain if the captain of the Petrolite made a vigorous protest against food being taken from the vessel, if the food was paid for, if the Petrolite as it swung broadside to the submarine stopped her headway, if the submarine continued shelling after the Petrolite stopped, and if the shell which wounded a sailor of the Petrolite was fired after the vessel stopped or was among the first fired. No. 904.] Minister Egan to the Secretary of State. AMERICAN LEGATION, Copenhagen, February 2, 1916. SIR: With reference to the Department's telegraphic instructions No. 71 of January 24, 1916, and to the Legation's No. 2131 of January 26, 1916, in reply thereto, I have the honor herewith to transmit to the Department a copy of the statement made by Captain Thompson, master of the Petrolite, together with an attest made by the chief engineer, W. H. Oorschot, as to the amount of damage done to the ship, and a questionnaire prepared by the Legation and signed by the captain. The two last-named documents have been sworn and subscribed to by the consul general at Copenhagen. I have, etc., MAURICE FRANCIS EGAN. 1 Not printed. |