SHIPS THAT PASS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 154, 29 June 1912, Page 20

SHIPS THAT PASS

THE CALIFORNIAN AND THE ] PHANTOM HELP IN SIGHT. £FBOM OOa OWN COEEESPONDENT.] LONDON, 15th May. The evidence of the captain and officers of the Californian in tho Titanic enquiryhas created a mild sensation. The impression is gaining ground that the- Leyland liner was lying actually in sight of the Titanic during the whole of the time until .she sank, and that no steps were taken to go to her assistance in reply to the rockets which 6he sent up. Mr. Stanley Lord, master of the Californian, is a tall, well-built man, with high forehead, and a, keen, clean-shaven face. He gave his evidence in a eelfposscr:ed manner. The Attorney-General: Do you remember sending a, wireless message to the Antillian "l— At 6.30 on 14th April 1 gave him the position of the ship, and told him icebergs were iive miles south. The wireless operator told me he had offered it to the Titanic, and thai sko said she already had it — that ehe had picked it up while we were sending to the Antillian. T stopped and reversed engines at 10.21 p.m., ship's time. At 42deg. smin N.,-Jtnd 50deg. 7min W. The Attorney -General : Close npon 11 o'clock on the Sunday night did you see a steamer's light? — 1 did. It was approaching me from eastward. Did, you- then ask your ■wireless operator what chip» he was in communication with?— lJe said, "Nothing but the Titanic." Did you think the vessel that approached you was the Titanic.? — No. I remarked .at the time that she was not the, Titanic. You can never mistakethose vessels. There is a blaze of light. 1 Eaw a green light on the side, and a. few deck lights. She was six or 6even miles 06. -What eize did the etcamcr appear to be? — Something like ourselves. The third officer .tried to communicate with her with the'Moiee lamp, but could gfct no reply. The third was relievod at 12.10, and witness, who was then on deck, told the second to watch the steamer, adding that it was stopped. When did you notice it was- stopped? — About 11.30. "SHE WOULD NOT REPLY." At twenty minutes to one, witness asked the second officer if the fitecaner had changed its course. He replied that she was just the same, and that he had called her up once, but eh© would not reply. About a. quarter pa«t one the second officer whistled down the tube, and told you'^he was altering her beai'ings? — He eaid he saw a white rockefc from her. The President • (to witness): How did this rocket bear from you? — I have never heard the exact bearing of it. The President : .Ueai- me ! Your second officer is alive, isn't he! Have you never asked him? LORD MERSEY'S BELIEF. The Preeident: You know what is in my brain at present is thifr— that wliafc they caw from the Californian was the Titanic. That is in my brain, and I want to ccc whether thai is right or not. The Attorney-General i Ifc' was certainly very close. The President: Clear it -up if you can. The Attorney-General (to the witness) : Can you tell us whether you saw one or two masthead lights? — I only saw one. Why do you say you only saw one? — The third officer eaid he caw two. When was it that the third officer told you he had seen two lights? — Before midnight. At the time 1 saw one he t<aw one. I asked him, the next day or the following day, I don't^remember exactly, how many lighte that ship had. Fie said two, and I remarked that I only saw one. The President : If you had seen only one, why did you ask him how many there were? — I was curious about the Titanic accident. Do you know of any other vessel there with two lights? — Any amount. At this particular timer and at this particular spot? — I don't know the particular spot. The spot 19 miles from you. — That ie not, in my opinion, the spot where the Titanic hit the berg. She was 52 miks from me,, judging from where I met the wreckage. Did the third officer say she- was evidently a passenger steamer? — No, sir. And did you say that the- only passenger steamer near was the Titanic? — I might have said that with regard to the steamer, but he did iiot*say ,was a passenger steamer. This is about the Titanic?— The Titanic we were in communication with. The President: But-did you say that the only passenger steamer near was the Titanic? — I don't recollect saying that. But you have just told me you did say it. Do collect your mind. — 1 don't recollect saying it, my lord. The AttorneyrGeneral : Did you know of any other passenger steamer except the Titanic?— No. Do you know whether the steamer was pointed out by Mr. Stone to the third officer, and that he said it was a passenger steamer? — 1 never heard that. The President: You said just now as plainly as possible that you answered the third officer and said : "The only passenger ship near us is tKe Titanic." Do you now suggest that you did not know whether you said that or not? — I d#n't recollect saying that. 1 have heard so many stories., . The Attorney-General: Have you ever thought that the '.steamer approaching you was the- Titanic? — I never thought that. I say the steamer. Tho President : This is exactly what you said: "I might have said the only passenger steamer likely to be near us was the Titanic." The Attorney-General: That is right, isn't it* — I mijjht have said it. I don't recollect it. Do you remember the apprentice Gibson coming down to the chartroom at 1.15? — 1 remember his coming down and opening and shutting the door. I said : "What is it?" and he did not reply. According to you, did she only fire one rocket/— Only one. Next day the second officer told me ehe fired several rockets during hie watch. No, it was the chief officer told me, ibout 5 o'clock. What did you think the rockets were being fired for? — I did uot know anything about these rockets until 7 o'clock n*rt day. But you saw one? — I heard of one at 1.15. • What did you think llio .rocket was stilt up for?— Wo had been laying to communicate with the steamship with the Mor.-e lamp from 11.80. and he would not reply. This w;u at 1.13. . What did you think i?he was sending up the- rocket for? — I thought the was acknowledging our signals. After the white rocket was sent up dul yew teli the second officer to eend 1 Gibson, the apprentice, down to let you know his reply?-*— l did. What was tho message that Gibson brought dawn to you ? — I did net get it, to u;y knowledge. 'T DID NOTiJING FPRTHKK." And yyu_remaiusd fI S chart room

and did rothing further?- -I did nothing further. If it had been a. distress signal the offi-cer on watch would have tokl me. \\ c 6Pine times get these company signals which resorrib 1 o rockf^. You Have already told us you Avcro aji. satisfied that it was a company signal. If it was not it might have been a •'iitress signal. And ycu remained m your chartroom? — 1 remained in im* chartroom. And knew perfectly well {.hat Gibson came down to you? — 1 know now. You knew then? — I did not. But you h-did : "What is it?" and he said nothing, and you were expecting him to tell you of the meaning of the distress signal? — in the meantime I Avas osleeu. Were you quite comfortable in your mind ? — I thought we ought to have eeaft her signals at 19 miles. I thought we might have £ecu them at that distance. Does it not strike you now that the •Mp was ths Titanic ? — No ; I am positive it was not. Why are you positive? — Because it ie an utter impossibility for anyone to mistake a ship like the Titanic at eea. 1 cannot suggest any other passenger steamer that could have been in the neighbourhood or that might have fired rockets. Then, at 2.30, the second officer caw the last of this vessel? — He then saw her stern light. That was the last ne saw of her? — Yes. She has never been Heard of since? — Not to my knowledge. ' "IT DID NOT WORRY ME." Counsel for the Firemen's Union : Would ifc not have been quite a simple thing for \ou at thai time, when you were in doubt as to the name of the ship and the reason of her sending up rockets, to have wakened up your Marconi operator, and asked him to speak this ship? — I would have if it had worried me a great deal, but it did not worry me. Suppose the Titanic was seven or eight miles from you between 11.30 and 12 o'clock, would those on her bridge have been able to see your lights? — Easily. The Attornej'-General : Did Mr. Stone tell you there had been rockets sent up? —He did. I must put it to you, did not the boy deliver the message to you, and did you not enquire whether they were all white ones? — I do nojt know. 1 was asleep. This is a very important matter. It is just as well to tell me exactly what happened. — I have enquired very closely of .the boy. Ho said I opened^my eyes when he gave the message, and 1 eaid, "What time is it?" and that I asked whether there wore any colours in the lights. The President : Has he told the truth? — I think so. I don't doubt it for a moment. Tha Attorney-General : You see wbat that means. That means that the boy did go to the chart-room to you, that he did tell you about the rockets from the ship, and that you asked whether they were white rockets, and told hiai h« was to report if anything further occurred? — So he said. Have you any reason to doubt that that is true? — No. 1 was asleep. Do you. mean to say that you said this in your sleep to him? — I very likely was half awake. I have no recollection of this apprentice speaking to me at all. ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S HINT. ' The Attorney-General : Captain, do really try to do yourself justice. You are explaining first of all that you asked if they were white rockets, because company's signals are coloured, and 1 am asking whether the point of your asking whether they were white rockets was not in order- to know whether they were all distress signals. — -I really don't know what the object was. Do you remember Mr. Stone reporting through the tube to_ you, and that he reported at twenty minutes to 3, and told you the steamer had disappeared bearing west-half-west? — I don't remeinbsr it. He_has told it me since. Have you an}? reason to doubt it? — I don't know anything at all about it. I know Mr. 'Stone lo be a reliable trustworthy man. THE APPRENTICE'S STORY. The apprentice, James Gibson, said that at twenty minutes past 12 he saw a white masthead light and a red sidelight. There was also glare of white ■ light on the after deck. What did you notice between 1 o'clock and 1.20, looking at her through your glasses? — The second officer remarked to me, "Look at her now. She looks very queer out of tho water. The lights look' queer." Did he say what he meant? — I looked at her through the glasses, and the lights did not seem to be natural. She seemed as if she had a heavy list to starboard. Subsequently he was ordered s by the second officer to report to the 'captain that the veseel had disappeared towards the south-west, and that she had fired eight rockets. The Solicitor-General : Did you report that to the captain? — Yea, sir. What did the captain say? — He asked me whether they were all white rockets — whether there were any colours m them. Did he give any instructions ? — No, sir. Did he say anything further? — Ho asked me the time. The President : Was he awake? — Yes. The Solicitor-General : Did you return to the bridge and report that you had done what' you -were told? — Yes. I caw three more rockets about twenty minutes to 4. These seemed to be right on the horizon. Continuing, witness said he got his glasses, but did not then see any signs of a ship or of a masthead litjht, and he went off watch at a quarter to 4. "SHE DISAPPEARED." "He told the captain that the ship they had seen had "disappeaied^ to the south-west." The President : What did you underetand by the word^ "disappeared?" — Could see nothing more of her. Did it convey to you that the 'Bhip had gone down? Did you understand him to mean that? — No, my lord. Dic^ you at any time see both sidelights? — No, it was her red (port) sidelight. It was higher out of the water. THE SUSPECT SHIP CALIFORNIAN OFFICERS UNDER A CLOUD. A LOST SCRAP-BOOK. LONDON, 17th May. The s-snsation of the Titanic enquiry is still the revelations about the proximity of the Californian during the whol* of the tragic event. Herbert Stone, the second officer, in whose watch the distress rockets were seen, was <:locely questioned as to what he thought they meunt, but he replied that he did not know. Tho president remarked : "Do be frank. You do not imtke a good imprefr moil" Stone enid that at tho time he did not think they were distress signalb, but that occurred tiv him after ho heard about tho Titanic. When three, later rockets went up, Gibson, the apprentice, remarked that they were- not being sent up for fun, and, Stone added, '"I agreed with him." Stone admitted that in his examination eighteen months ago he had to answer a question about diktrees eigntil.*. Tin* President: And (he vciy tiling was happening tliaU you ki;uw iiirlicLted <hfctie«f' — I'?*., hlr. Rle judged the bhip U> be a tuaajlifiti tteanwr,.

Could the bo the Titanic? — Not by any meant. You ki'ew the Titanic was there? — Yes. THE CANDID THIRD. Charles Victor Groves third officer of the Cdlhbrnian. f-aid he went on the bridge at 8 o'clock, at 11.10 he saw the lights of a, hteamer approaching fiom south to weiit, and judged that she was from 10 to 12 miles away. At 11.30 he went down and told the captain. The captain told him to call up the steamer oil llib Morse light. At first he got no reply from the ship, but later he saw a light, and at once signalled "What vessel are you?" but he got no reply. When the captain came on the bridge he said, "That does not look like a passenger steamer." Witness re-plied, "It is. When she stopped her lights seemed to go out, and I suppose they put them out far the night." Lord Mereev : When did she put her lights out?— At 11.40. (It was at 11.40 that the Titanic struck the iceberg). Whan the second officer, Stone, came en the bridge at 12.15 witness told him what had happened, explaining that he believed the ship to be a. passenger vessel because at the time- she stopped her lights .went out. "I thought she put them osit because in the ships I have been ac^ustomod to it has been a habit to put ofit all deck lights at 11.30 or midnight. " IN THE MARCONI ROOM. After he left the bridge Groves went to the Marconi room. "The operator, Mr. Evans, was in bed asleep. I woke him up and said, 'Wlist fcbipts have you got, Sparks?' 'Only the Titanic,' was the reply." ' Witness himself took tip the instrument and listened for fifteen or twenty minutes, but heard nothing. Then he turned in. Next morning, when he heard of the disaster, ha went to Stono's cabin, and Stone said, "Hurry up aud get dressed ; we- shall be wanted in the boats. I saw rockets on my watch." "That conveys to me," said 'Lord Mer. sey, deliberately, "the notion that he was referring to rockets which he believed to have- come from the Titanic. Did he give you that impression?" "It in raliier difficult for me to cay •what impression I got," replied Groves, "berciuso I was i zither excited." Wituebs agreed that if the positions given were accurate the Titanic must have been thirty miles to the south of the California n when both ships had t-toppfd, but he laid significant stress on the phrase "If tho positions given are accurate." Lord Mersey : "Knowing what you Ab now, do you think the steamer that you now know was throwing up rockets, and' that you thought xv&b a passenger steamer, was the 'litanie?" Firmly the ■witness replied, "Most decidedly I do, fit," adding in the wiine breath 'that he did not profess to be a Very experienced seaman. MYSTERY OF THE LOG-BOOK. Witness said that a scrap log-book would last on an average about twentyfive days. They reached Boston on 19th April, and he balieved he started another book soon after they left Boston on tho return journey. Sir John Simon : Where is .this scrapbook? — I expect it was thrown over the side. You and others in your ship knew quite well there was a very serious enquhy being made? — Certainly. Do you know whether that scrap logbook contained any entry of rockets beinij seen Y-r-1 saw none myself. Lord Mersey : Did you took next morning to see whether there was any reference to rockets in ithe book"' — No, I did not. "You must be careful in yoor answers," remarked the President. "If you had seen a series of white rockets with stars goitiy up from the direction of .this vessel, •would you have made a record in the scrap iog?" — "Most decidedly. That i*s what it is for." s THE CHIEF OFFICER. George Frederick Stewart, the chief officer, said he csune on watch again at four on the Monday morning, .to relieve Stone, who told him that a ship had been slopped four or five mik's ofi'J and tint about one o'clock he had fccen Iwr fire some white rockets. He Said 'tlic boat started to fire white rockets and then skirted to steam away. Stone told ma 1k» hud called her up repeatedly -v^kli the steamer's lamp, anJ th-e ship did not answer.' The Solicitor-General : Did it not enter your minds that these might be distress rockets? — It did. At four o'clock he saw a steamer with two masthead lights and several deck lights. I asked him if that was tliD ship that had fired' tho rockets. He replied : "I do not know. Ido not think J have seen that steamer before." AVitness called the captain at 4.30 a.m., and told him that Stone had said he saw rockets in his watch. The captain said, "Oh, yes, 1 know. Ho has been telling me." Can you tell me if, when you heard that the Titanic had sunk, it orcurred to you that the steamer eending the distress rockets misrht v have been the Titanic? — Not the steamer we caw. Sir John Simon repeated tho question. Witness hesitated, and Lord Mersey remarked : "Now, come, answer the question." Witness eventually replied. "No, 1 don't think it could have been the Titanic." Witness Gaid he entered up tho log from the records in the scrap log. The , pages of the scrap , log-book .were torn out each day, as «oon as the . entries were transferred to the log. A SILENT LOG. Sir John Simon : Did you enter uU everything you found in the 6erap"-log? —Yes. There is nothing at all in your legbook about peeing distress signals. No reference to any of the events of the night at all?— No. Lord Mersey : How do you account for it not being there? — Witnese was uuderbtood to reply that it might have been forgotten. Di> you think a careful man is likely to forget distress signals? — No, my lord. Lord Mersey : Then don't talk to me about forget fulness. Ths third oflicci' told me in answer to a question that he was tatielied it was tho Titanic. Do you think it might have been the Titanic ? — No. The President : Do you not think that if there had been another steamer firing rockets that night we fchouldhave heard something about it by this time? Mr. Dunlop : Your lordship may yet, Cyril Evans, the Marconi operator, a young man of about twenty, wearing glasses, eaid "that he turned in about 11.50 on^the Sunday night. The Titanic called him up at 7.30 p.m., arid asked him time to check her own. Ho gave her warning of the ice at 11 p.m., and was told to keep out, as ehe was talking to Cape Race. The Thanic must have heard his warning, as life instrument was much louder than Cape Race. At 5.40 o*n the Monday morning, at the lequest of the chief officer, he sent out "0.(^.," a general call to all chips. The Mount Temple aud Frankfurt answered, and told him the Titanic had si ruck an iceberg, and v.jib sinking. The 'J'itanic'e signals were much stronger at 11 p.m. they had been at 7.30 p.m. She could not have been far off. W A JUDICIOUS OPERATOR. The wireless operator of tho Mount Temple pioduceil interesting extinct* from hii> diary, containing all the ihes«aj;es, which ho heard tho Titanic eehdmjr ujiU lcueivin;.;. Sir John Sini'>:i (to ■\wt!:e=e) : If \ou , had biuktu in and talked U> the Titanic ■ you ju/uld have kt'jirujjted her iue£&i<£e I

to other ships?— Yec-, I never said a word after I got her position. You «pent your timo in recording what you could h a ar?— The linst ntlo in wii-elees telegraphy h, "Never interfere." . THE THIRD-CLASS WOMEN. A. third-class steward, John E. Hait, said he was order&d to get out- tho 58 passengeis he had chaige cf, and ho .assisted all who would have them to fit their life-belts and then led them up to the boat deck. "Some were not willing to go, and stayed behind. Some went to the boat deck and, finding it rather cold and seeing the boats being lowered away, thought they were more secure in the ship, and returned to the cabins. I heard two or three saying that they preferred to remain in the ship to beiiig tossed about on the water in a cockle shell." There were barriers' that at ordinary times were clo.«ed, but that were now open. "We were trying to get another collapsible to th© davits, when the ship took a list to port and we cculd not carry it to the davits. We were never able to lower it. Four ov five women were waiting there to get into this boat when wo got it out. While we were trying 1 to got this "boat out the ship took the bridge under water. 1 found the water right up to my legs, and I iumped into the collapsible beat. I cut th« aftor fall, and called out to the- man at the other end to cut thaffall. a-, sho would then float. Tho last I saw of th*> women was that they wore struggling in the water. I could not help them. When I was in the water . it was as if I was in a whirlpool." THE CAPTAIN'S LAST -WORDS. Mr. Asainull : Did you notice Captain Smith? — Ye*., he came past us with a megaphone while we were trying to get the boat away from the deck. Ho said to us : "Well, boys,, do your best for the women and children, and look after yourselves." About that time th<> ship took her final plunge? — A very few seconds after. Another witness said the people in the- boats complained about being "scrunched up" so much that they cculd hot_ sit down properly. And others complained because they had to sit down. Were there any complaints about tho conduct of the men? — Yes. .What were they ? — Because we smoked.