340.1115A/820: Telegram
The Minister in Ireland (Gray) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 5—3:45 p.m.]
33. Roosevelt sailed with 721. Irish authorities permitted after careful survey 813; of these 655 could be accommodated in usual living quarters and public rooms, 158 hold. Sixty-six were actually booked in hold leaving 92 hold accommodation unfilled. The Department is informed [misinformed?] as to 150 dollar rate. No accommodation offered at less than 300. Saturday morning steamship agents received cable instructing them to forbid holders of hold accommodation to board ship. Much excitement as baggage of some was already on board, others had wives and children in above deck accommodation, all had paid 300 dollars. Klemmer84 telephoned Commissioner Truitt85 Washington and about 3 p.m. steamship agents received order to accept the hold passengers understanding that 150 rebate was promised. Failure to fill ship due in our opinion to failure to announce the 150 fare at beginning. However only 92 more could have been carried instead of 500 as you had been informed. Presumably this figure arrived at on basis of life saving equipment additional to life boats which Irish surveyor found to provide for 1044 passengers, his figure of 158 hold passengers in his view was maximum of those who could reach upper decks safely in case of accident. Recommend that in any future embarkation minimum fare be announced at outset. There are some disgruntled nationals here who ignored Department’s former warnings but would probably have sailed had the cut fare been available. Protests generally based not so much on amount of fare as for charging the same minimum for hold as for cots in public rooms. Reference my telegram 27, May 29. Expensive delays in embarkation due to improper port facilities. Cobh only 32 miles farther could have embarked in 1 day.