Aboard the liner President Coolidge Luther Ch'en was astounded to hear over the radio that the same liner had been sent to the bottom in mid-Pacific. The time was last December 7, the place was somewhere near Samoa, land the least concerned were the five-hundred passengers who were anxious to disprove the first of the false Japanese naval claims, Ch'en stated yesterday.

Ch'en, who had left China secretly because of the refusal of the Japanese authorities to grant passports, had reached Manila aboard a French steamer only 10 days before the outbreak of hostilities. Embarking on the President Coolidge, Ch'en said the first news of the new war reached the boat as it approached the international date line.

The next news was the radio claim of the sinking of the ship, which was greeted with little more than complete surprise and a certain amount of apprehension for those at home who would not be able to get the true reports for a number of days he said.