Voices from the Titanic (63 page)

He paid a tribute to Phillips and Bride, the wireless operators of the
Titanic
, who stayed till the very end was at hand before seeking to rescue themselves, and commented on the lucky fact that the
Carpathia
's operator, listening for a Cape Race message, kept his telephone over his head while undressing and so was able to receive, just as he was turning in for the night, the distress call of the
Titanic
.

‘The spirit of venality' that brought about the ‘systematic reign of silence' in the wireless operation of the
Carpathia
was strongly condemned by Senator Smith, and he declared also that the White Star Line officials in New York received information ‘containing absolutely the entire story' about 8.30 Monday morning, yet ‘battled against the truth all day', and after seven o'clock that night sent a message to Representative Hughes assuring him that the
Titanic
was safe and being towed to Halifax.

‘It is little wonder,' said the Senator, ‘that we have not been able to fix with definiteness the author of this falsehood.'

Of Capt. Lord's conduct in failing to proceed to the
Titanic
's rescue when her distress signals had been seen from the
Californian
Senator Smith spoke in scathing terms. He read the English law which makes it a misdemeanour for the master of a vessel to fail to proceed forthwith to the assistance of any person or vessel in danger of being lost at sea.

Senator Smith compared with Lord's the conduct of Capt. Rostron, and concluded with a declaration that ‘obsolete and antiquated shipping laws should no longer encumber the parliamentary records of any government,' and that the best way to honour the dead of the
Titanic
was to pass such laws as would serve to prevent the recurrence of such disasters.

(
New York World
, 29 May 1912)

The London morning papers print lengthy extracts from the Senate Committee's report on the
Titanic
disaster and from Senator Smith's speech, but only a few comment upon the matter editorially. The
Daily Mail
says the report is not likely to provoke serious criticism, but thinks it regrettable that Senator Smith was not content to allow it to speak for itself, as it regards his speech as ‘a violent, unreasonable diatribe, in which the Senator betrays once more the amazing ignorance that prompted some of his questions during the inquiry.'

The
Daily Express
says: ‘Although much of the report sounds sensible, the grotesque oration of Senator Smith deprives it of much value. That extraordinary mass of grandiloquent bosh is probably without a parallel in the history of parliaments. Its mock heroics and ludicrous verbosity relieve it of any taint of sincerity or sense.'

The
Express
thinks that in view of Senator Smith's behaviour at the inquiry the report will not benefit from his association with it, but admits there is some justification for the charge of lack of discipline in loading the boats after the collision. As regards the censure of the
Californian
's captain, it believes the British people will reserve judgement until after the report of the Mersey Commission.

The
Daily News
, on the contrary, believes Senator Smith has no need to apologize for his committee, which got its witnesses when the facts were too fresh in their memories for art or delusion to colour them and whose questions were a model of rigorous investigation.

‘Some, at least, of its conclusions,' it declares, ‘are irresistible, and they are very disturbing. We cannot believe the
Titanic
alone of British ships had these defects.'

(
New York World
, 29 May 1912)

The British Board of Trade Inquiry convened for the first time on 2 May under the auspices of Wreck Commissioner Lord Mersey. The Board of Trade, represented by the Attorney General, Sir Rufus Isaacs, drew up a list of 26 questions to be answered by the court relating to the construction of the
Titanic
, navigation, ice warnings, and the proximity of the
Californian
. To clarify the events on the night of the sinking, Lord Mersey and his team of five assessors were able to refer to a large model of the
Titanic
, specially built for the hearings. By the time the jury retired on 21 June, the testimony of the various witnesses had amounted to 25,622 questions and answers.

Able Seaman
Joseph Scarrott
was the second witness to testify at the Board of Trade Inquiry.

Able Seaman William Lucas, an ex-Navy man, another witness at the
Titanic
inquiry, said he was playing ‘nap' when the ship struck.

He got into a collapsible boat and they had only just got clear when the
Titanic
went down.

Lucas said he knew there was some ice ‘knocking about'. The shock of the collision nearly knocked him off his feet.

‘After the collision what did you do?' – ‘I went down and put on an extra jersey.' (Laughter)

Lucas said that as far as he knew the passengers on the boat deck were all of the first class. The boats lowered from that deck were not full by a long way. That was ‘because there were no women knocking about'.

He got into the last boat to get away on the port side – a collapsible boat – but Mr Lightoller ordered him out.

He then went to the starboard side to see if there were any boats left there, but there were not, so he went back to the collapsible boat. A lady called out that there were ‘no sailors or plugs' in the boat, so he got in. The water was then up to the ship's bridge. With the rising of the water and the tilting of the
Titanic
the boat ‘floated off'.

Lucas said the women were afraid of the collapsible boat when it had been lowered, and he transferred them to another boat. Afterwards his boat rescued thirty-six people clinging to an overturned collapsible boat. Two boats rowed back to the scene of the wreck, but they found nobody alive.

He said that after the boat drill at Southampton he went ashore. ‘It is a regular thing for the sailors to go ashore and have a final drink.'

‘In the lowering of the boats was there sufficient interval to enable the female passengers from the steerage to get on to the boat deck?' – ‘They would have been able to if there had been anyone there to direct them to the boat deck.' Lucas did not think there was anyone directing them.

There were two girls on deck when he left with the collapsible boat. ‘I said to them, “Wait a minute, there is another collapsible boat being put down from the funnel. You had better get into that.” I could not take them because my boat was full.'

Lucas said that he and Mr Lightoller helped one elderly lady into the collapsible boat and then had to help her out again as she would not go without her husband. ‘There were several cases like that,' he said.

The inquiry was adjourned.

(
Daily Sketch
, 8 May 1912)

Reginald Lee
, forty-two, from Oxfordshire, was on lookout duty with Frederick Fleet in the crow's nest when the iceberg suddenly loomed into view. The Attorney General was greatly concerned by the absence of binoculars on the
Titanic
.

‘You have had about 15 or 16 years' experience at sea altogether?' – ‘Yes.'

‘Have you had experience in mail steamers?' – ‘Yes.'

‘Are glasses usually supplied to the lookout man in mail steamers?' – ‘Not that I know.'

‘Have you acted as lookout man in other ships before the
Titanic
?' – ‘Yes.'

‘On mail steamers?' – ‘Yes.'

‘Have you ever had glasses for use as a lookout man?' – ‘Yes, but I do not know whether they were private or supplied by the company.'

‘Have you found them of use?' – ‘They are better than ordinary eyesight.'

‘Are they of use at night at all?' – ‘Certainly: night glasses.'

‘Do you know whether they are supplied in any other vessels of the White Star Line?' – ‘I cannot say they are for certain, but my mate in the crow's nest, Fleet, who was four years in the
Oceanic
as lookout man, told me they had them there.'

‘Were there any on the
Titanic
?' – ‘No, not for our use anyway.'

‘Was there any place in the crow's nest for glasses?' – ‘Yes, there was a small box.'

‘Did you look for glasses at all in the crow's nest?' – ‘We asked for them. I did not personally ask for them, but one of the other fellows did, and they said there were none for us.'

‘Did you come on the lookout at 10 o'clock on Sunday night the fourteenth of April?' – ‘Yes. We relieved Symons and Jewell.'

‘Did one of you take the starboard side and one the port side of the crow's nest on the lookout?' – ‘I generally took the starboard side and Fleet took the port side.'

‘When you relieved Jewell and Symons, did they pass any word to you?' – ‘Yes, they told us to keep a careful lookout for ice – and growlers in particular.'

‘What sort of a night was it?' – ‘A clear, starry night overhead, but at the time of the accident there was a haze right ahead. In fact it was tending more or less round the horizon. There was no moon. And no wind whatever, barring what the ship made herself. The sea was quite calm, but it was very cold, freezing – the coldest we had had that voyage.'

‘Did you notice this haze, which you said extended on the horizon, when you first came on the lookout, or did it come late?' – ‘It was not as distinct then, not to be noticed, but we had all our work cut out to pierce through it just after we started. My mate happened to pass the remark to me. He said: “Well, if we can see through that we will be lucky.” That was when we began to notice there was a haze on the water.'

‘At the time you came on watch, up to the moment just before the collision, can you tell us whether there was any difference in the speed at which the vessel was travelling compared with the rest of the voyage?' – ‘She seemed to be going at the same rate all the way.'

‘Did you receive any orders from the bridge at all during this watch?' – ‘No. The orders were turned over by the people we relieved.'

‘Before half past 11 on that watch – that is seven bells – had you reported anything at all?' – ‘There was nothing to be reported.'

‘What was the first thing you did report?' – ‘It was some minutes after seven bells struck, it might have been nine or ten minutes afterwards. Three bells were struck by Fleet, warning, “Right ahead,” and immediately he rung the telephone up to the bridge: “Iceberg right ahead.” The reply came back from the bridge: “Thank you.” As soon as the reply came back, the helm must have been put either hard-a-starboard or very close to it, because she veered to port, and it seemed almost as if she might clear it, but I suppose there was ice under water. As she struck on the starboard bow, there was a certain amount of ice that came on board the ship. That was the forewell deck. It seemed as if she struck just below the fore-mast. The berg was on my starboard side. It was higher than the forecastle, which was about 55 feet out of the water. It was a dark mass that came through that haze and there was no white appearing until it was just alongside the ship, and that was just a fringe at the top. That was the only white about it, until she passed by, and then you could see one side seemed to be black and the other side seemed to be white.'

‘When you are at sea in a fog is it usual practice to station a watchman at the bows in addition to the lookout in the crow's nest?' – ‘The captain of the ship has to be responsible for that kind of thing.'