“The Narragansett, as soon as she heard the S O S call, went to the assistance of the Lusitania. One of the submarines discharged a torpedo at her and missed her by not more than eight feet. The Narragansett then warned us not to attempt to go to the rescue, and I got her wireless call while I was dodging the two submarines. You can see that three ships would have gone to the assistance of the Lusitania had they not been attacked by the two submarines.” The German Government defended the brutal destruction of non-combatants by the false assertions that the Lusitania was an armed vessel and that it was carrying a great store of munitions. Both of these accusations were proved to be mere fabrications. The Lusitania was absolutely unarmed and the nearest approach to munitions was a consignment of 1,250 empty shell cases and 4,200 cases of cartridges for small arms. Intense indignation swept over the neutral world, the tide rising highest in America. It well may be said that the destruction of the Lusitania was one of the greatest factors in driving the United States into the war against Germany. Concerning the charge that the Lusitania carried munitions, Dudley Field Malone, Collector of the Port of New York, testified that he made personal and close inspection of the ship’s cargo and saw that it carried no guns and that no munitions were included in its cargo. His statement follows: “This report is not correct. The Lusitania was inspected before sailing, as is customary. No guns were found, mounted or unmounted, and the vessel sailed without any armament. No merchant ship would be allowed to arm in this port and leave the harbor.” Captain W. T. Turner, of the Lusitania, testifying before the coroner’s inquest at Kinsale, Ireland, was interrogated as follows: “You were aware threats had been made that the ship would be torpedoed?” “We were,” the Captain replied. “Was she armed?” “No, sir.” “What precautions did you take?” “We had all the boats swung when we came within the danger zone, between the passing of Fastnet and the time of the accident.” The coroner asked him whether he had received a message concerning the sinking of a ship off Kinsale by a submarine. Captain Turner replied that he had not received any such message. “Did you receive any special instructions as to the voyage?” “Yes, sir.” “Are you at liberty to tell us what they were?” “No, sir.” “Did you carry them out?” “Yes, to the best of my ability.” “Tell us in your own words what happened after passing Fastnet.” “The weather was clear,” Captain Turner answered. “We were going at a speed of eighteen knots. I was on the port side and heard Second Officer Hefford call out: “‘Here’s a torpedo!’ “I ran to the other side and saw clearly the wake of a torpedo. Smoke and steam came up between the last two funnels. There was a slight shock. Immediately after the first explosion there was another report, but that may possibly have been internal.