862.8591/645
Memorandum by the Acting Liaison Officer (Notter)
A telephoned message from the Navy Department at 9:30 a.m. today informs that the Tuscaloosa has now on board 579 survivors from the Columbus, of whom 9 are women. The Tuscaloosa is expected to be at Ambrose Lightship by 3 p.m. today, which should bring her to Ellis Island between 4 and 4:30 p.m. today. It is stated that examination discloses no communicable disease among the survivors.
The Columbus was settling slowly at last report, and in the opinion of the captain of the Columbus she should have been under water by 9 o’clock last night. All sea valves of the ship were opened. Until the ship has sunk she constitutes a menace to navigation in her present location, which is latitude 38–01 North and longitude 65–41 West, or 540 miles east of Norfolk and 460 miles southeast of New York. Due to the curvature of our coast, this location is only about 320 miles from Cape Cod.