Voices from the Titanic (68 page)

As to the action that should have been taken, the Report stated that for many years the practice of liners using this track when in the vicinity of ice at night had been in clear weather to keep the course, to maintain the speed, and to trust to a sharp lookout. This procedure was probably to be found in competition and in the desire of the public for quick passages rather than in the judgement of navigators, but experience appeared to justify it.

‘In these circumstances,' went on Lord Mersey, ‘I am not able to blame Captain Smith. He made a mistake, a very grievous mistake, but one in which, in the face of the practice and of past experience, negligence cannot be said to have had any part; and in the absence of negligence, it is, in my opinion, impossible to fix Captain Smith with blame. It is, however, to be hoped that the last has been heard of the practice. What was a mistake in the case of the
Titanic
would, without doubt, be negligence in any similar case in the future.'

With regard to the lowering of the boats after the collision the Report stated that the officers did their work very well and without any thought of themselves. The discipline, both among passengers and crew was good, but the organization could have been better, and if it had been it was possible that more lives could have been saved. If women could not be induced to enter the boats, the boats ought to have been filled with men.

Proceeding, Lord Mersey said: ‘I regret to say that in my opinion some of the boats, particularly No. 1, failed to attempt to save lives when they might have done so.

‘The very gross charge against Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon that, having got into No. 1 boat, he bribed the men in it to row away from drowning people, is unfounded. At the same time I think that if he had encouraged the men to return they would probably have saved some lives.

‘As to the attack on Mr Bruce Ismay, it resolved itself into the suggestion that, occupying the position of managing director of the steamship company, some moral duty was imposed upon him to wait on board until the vessel foundered. I do not agree. Had he not jumped into the boat he would merely have added one more life, namely, his own, to the number of those lost.'

Lord Mersey then went on to deal with the circumstances in connection with the
Californian
. The truth of the matter was plain. The
Titanic
collided with the iceberg at 11.40. The vessel seen by the
Californian
stopped at this time. The rockets sent up from the
Titanic
were distress signals. The
Californian
saw distress signals. The number sent up by the
Titanic
was about eight. The
Californian
saw eight. The time over which the rockets from the
Titanic
were sent up was from 12.45 to 1.45 o'clock. It was about this time that the
Californian
saw the rockets. At 2.40 Mr Stone called to the master that the ship from which he had seen the rockets had disappeared. At 2.20 the
Titanic
had foundered. It was suggested that the rockets seen by the
Californian
were from some other ship, not the
Titanic
. But no other ship to fit that theory had ever been heard of.

These circumstances convinced him that the ship seen by the
Californian
was the
Titanic
, and if so, the two vessels were about eight to ten miles apart at the time of the disaster. The night was clear and the sea was smooth. When she first saw the rockets the
Californian
could have pushed through the ice to the open water without any serious risk, and so have come to the assistance of the
Titanic
. Had she done so, she might have saved many, if not all, of the lives that were lost.

Newly appointed Bulkhead Committee should inquire into desirability of longitudinal and vertical watertight bulkheads, of watertight decks above the water line, and of increasing protection given by sub-division.

Life-saving accommodation should be based on persons carried, not tonnage, sufficient for all on board. One boat should be mechanically propelled. All should have protective fender to lessen risk when launching. More frequent boat, fire, and water-tight door drill, and adequate number of men trained and tested in boat work.

A police system to secure proper control, obedience and guidance.

Moderation of speed or alteration of course when ice reported.

Should be called on sub-division of ships, life-saving appliances, wireless, searchlights, speed in vicinity of ice.

(
Daily Graphic
, 31 July 1912)

Halifax, April 18

The closing scenes of the terrible
Titanic
disaster, the sad aftermath of the world's greatest marine tragedy, will be enacted here within a space of ten days, when the sea shall have given up its dead, and when the cable steamer
Mackay-Bennett
will return from its search for the bodies of the drowned passengers.

With her deck piled high with coffins, the
Mackay-Bennett
was tonight just halfway to the latitude and longitude of the spot where the
Titanic
went down, and by midnight tomorrow the first wireless report from her should be received.

Upon the success of her attempt now rests the last sad hope of the relatives and dear ones of the drowned passengers of the sunken giant of the waters – the hope that they may have the bitter satisfaction of burying the dead.

The
Mackay-Bennett
is equipped with the most powerful wireless apparatus of any vessel in these waters, and will flash back the news at the moment the bodies of any of the passengers of the
Titanic
are discovered.

(
Boston Post
, 19 April 1912)

Gruesome Sights Witnessed at Scene of Wreck

A harrowing account was given at New York yesterday by passengers on the German steamer
Bremen
which reported that she had sighted 100 bodies from the
Titanic
.

Mrs Johanna Stunke, a cabin passenger, said: ‘It was between four and five o'clock on Saturday afternoon when we sighted an iceberg. The sun glistening upon it was a wonderful picture, but as we drew nearer we could make out small dots floating in the sea, which we knew were bodies of the
Titanic
's passengers.

‘Approaching closer, we passed within 100ft of the southernmost of the drifting wreckage, and, looking down, we distinctly saw a number of bodies so clearly that we could make out their clothing and distinguish the men from the women.

‘We saw one woman in a nightdress with a baby clasped closely to her breast. Several of the women passengers screamed at the sight and left the rail in a fainting condition. There was another woman fully dressed, with her arms tightly clutching the body of a shaggy dog.

‘We noticed the bodies of three men in a group clinging to a steamer chair, and just beyond were the bodies of a dozen more, all in life preservers, and locked together as they died in the struggle for life. We could see white life preservers dotting the sea all the way to the iceberg.'

Mrs Stunke said that a number of the passengers demanded that the
Bremen
should stop, but the officers assured them that the
Mackay-Bennett
was only two hours away and was coming for the express purpose of attending to the bodies.

(
Nottingham Evening News
, 25 April 1912)

In the grey of an early spring morning, the Western Union cable steamer
Minia
, transformed into a floating mortuary, stole down Halifax harbour today like a spectre ship and silently headed for the open sea to join in the search for such of the
Titanic
's dead as the sea shall give back to man. On the edge of the Grand Banks, where a week ago human impotence received the most striking exemplification in all the annals of the sea, the
Minia
will take up the work of her sister ship, the
Mackay-Bennett
, whose quest for the dead has been crowned with at least partial success, and which will come to Halifax with half a hundred bodies snatched from the grasp of the waves.

It was not until four o'clock yesterday afternoon that confirmation of the report that the
Mackay-Bennett
's voyage had been successful, reached Halifax. It came from New York in the shape of an order to equip the
Minia
for sea as soon as possible to aid in the search, and within ten hours she had cast off her moorings, and with a gruesome cargo of rough pine coffins in her forehold, was off for the scene.

To outfit the
Mackay-Bennett
a few days ago took every coffin to be procured but, by operating a wood factory until ten o'clock at night, enough receptacles were produced to enclose all the corpses that could be taken back on one trip of the steamer. There were 150 or so of them, mere rough boards knocked together in the crude shape of a human form and destitute of covering. The one touch needed to complete the gruesome spectacle was to be found in the tons of ice stowed away in the cable tan for preservation purposes and the piles of grate bars, pig iron and old cable which, together with bales of canvas, were provided to furnish decent burial at sea for those mutilated bodies which it is feared may be recovered in such numbers.

(
Nova Scotian
, 26 April 1912)

Halifax, Nova Scotia, April 25

Mourners seeking to identify the bodies of the
Titanic
dead are gathering at Halifax, and it is expected that 500 will be on hand when the
Mackay-Bennett
arrives, probably on Sunday. Representatives of the Astor, Harris, Guggenheim, Straus and Widener families are among those already at Halifax, and President Taft has detailed an army officer to report there and search for the body of Major Butt.

Wireless despatches from the
Mackay-Bennett
told of the finding of 205 bodies.

Each incoming train adds to the number of those seeking the
Titanic
's dead to give them a decent burial. The despatch this after-noon from Captain Larnder of the
Mackay-Bennett
, that he had discovered a floating field of bodies caused each of the visitors to hope that the one he sought would be among them. Most of those here are seeking bodies which have not been recognized.

It is believed here the
Mackay-Bennett
will reach the port on Sunday. By then she will have received the wireless instructions to return as well as the supplemental orders carried by Captain de Carteret on the Western Union cable repair ship
Minia
. When she gets in, there will be as many as 500 awaiting her to learn if the relatives they seek are included in her cargo.

The vessel is having great difficulties to overcome in her work of rescue. When she was fitted out the entire town and the vicinity was searched for certain supplies, and as delay was considered unwise she started out without all that she needed. For example, she has embalming fluid for only 70 corpses, the only undertakers who could be spared were the three that went with her, and the city's stock of coffins was exhausted by the 100 that she took.

Today additional coffins reached the city. All afternoon loads of them were driven from the station to the Snow's store, which is ready to be converted into a vast morgue. Four hundred coffins have been sent for, one of the biggest orders ever placed on one occasion. The shipment made 40 wages loads, and as they passed through the streets another touch was added to the solemnity that hangs over Halifax, the city of wrecks.

The undertaker handling the work has arranged to have the bodies exposed for identification in his shop and a big chapel adjoining it. Should these spaces be insufficient, a chapel about a half mile out of town will be pressed into service. It is expected that the
Mackay-Bennett
, which has tonight 207 bodies aboard, will have at least 250 when she gets in, and almost as many are expected through the search of the
Minia
, which is now on the ground, although no report has come in that she has communicated with her sister ship.

A partial list of those brought here in the hope of recovering their dead includes:

George D. Widener Jnr in search of his father, George D. snr, and his brother, Harry Elkins Widener; Morris Rothschild who seeks the bodies of his uncle and aunt, Mr and Mrs Isidor Straus;

E. H. Wallach, for the body of his brother-in-law, Henry B. Harris;

J. D. Richardson of the Pennsylvania forces is looking for the body of John B. Thayer, Second Vice-President of the road.

H. Bull is here in search of the body of Ahme Fahelstrom [sic], the 20-year-old son of a wealthy Norwegian theatrical manager. The boy did not know a single person in America except Bull, so in response to the appeal of the parents, the latter came on here from the Pacific coast in the hope of making the identification.

The Canadian Express Co. and the Dominion and American have announced that all bodies will be carried free for those families upon whom express charges would be a burden.

(
New York World
, 26 April 1912)

The cable ship
Mackay-Bennett
bearing many scores of bodies found in the vicinity of the wreck of the
Titanic
may not reach Halifax till Sunday. A wireless received from the ship yesterday showed that it was the intention of her captain to remain searching for bodies until it should become hopeless to waste any further time there.

Few names of any importance were added to the list of identified dead in the cable despatch, and it is feared that the great majority of the
Titanic
's victims were sucked down to immediate death when the ship foundered and that the terrific pressure to which these bodies were subjected is responsible for their present unembalmable condition.