Mary Bird Whiteway to Woodrow Wilson

11.A Huskisson St.
Liverpool.

So many letters have been lost that I am writing again to thank you very much for the handsome pair of binoculars which you sent to be presented to my husband, William Keen Whiteway, for the part he took in saving the lives of the crew of the Alexander Anderson, at sea, on 1st October, 1916, when he was second officer of the S. S. "Sagamore;" he would have been so proud of the gift had he been here to receive it and would have written to thank you himself.

It is just six months since the "Sagamore" was torpedoed, since which time my husband has been missing, only two out of the crew of 60 have returned home sound and whole, five more were saved but they have all lost their feet through gangrene and then amputation; their sufferings were terrible, they were 10 days in the ship's little boat, and 10 died of exposure while 7 were picked up when the boat was found: they had been five days without water and the weather was dreadful, with 25° of frost, on the 3rd March, when they were torpedoed.

We are so thankful that you have joined the Allies, it will bring the War to a successful ending so much more quickly and so save many lives.

To think that people who call themselves Christians should have caused such world wide misery is dreadful to contemplate: we must all make it impossible for such a thing ever to be repeated, as soon as the war is ended, or Germany will begin again to prepare for another war as soon as she thinks no one is watching her the self-righteous and arrogant Germans will be most difficult to convict of sin.

How can they say they did not cause this war? They had a railway time-table printed & distributed which was to be substituted for the existing one 48 hours after war was declared; I know that for a positive fact!

This generation is willingly laying down its lives but it is for us to see that it shall never happen to a future generation.

My other letters written to America at the time I wrote to you must have been lost therefore, for fear you should not have received my letter, I am writing again.

We have seen numbers of American soldiers in our streets on their way to the Front & it makes our hearts ache for them & those they have left at home in anxiety for their safety, the suspense is dreadful. I believe every English family is bereaved.

With kind regards hoping Germany will soon have to give in,