THE MORRO CASTLE

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 115, 12 November 1934, Page 16

THE MORRO CASTLE

A TRAGEDY OF THE SEA

REVELATIONS AT INQUIRY

<• CBEW 'AND PASSEXGEES 1 if' "~~ A week of relentless inquiry into tho Morro Cattle ship" disaster by tho spo cial board set up by tho Depattmcnt of Commerce added somewhat to the confused picture of a tuigedy tint oe eurred m a blindiug lainstoim off the Jeisey Coast on the morning of Sop timber S'/oajs the "I ltciaiy* Digest " Conflicting testimony on the pait of suivivors, radio operators aboaid the ill mtcd Ward hnei, and officci s of ships that hastened to its rescue put tho in- \ vestigators into a quanduy as to tho source of tho disaster and tho methods V%*ed in fighting the fiic and ic=cuing the passengeis. "" At a previous session of tho liiquny conducted by the Fedeial Board seusa tional testimony was ' intiodiiccd to show that unlawful inflammable liquid polish was earned on the Mono Castle md that the \ital tanks ot lifeboats were almost lusted through William O'Sullnan, a loughly diescsd dccW storekeeper w ho spoke in emphatic teims, told the mquny that it was com mon knowledge that many stewards used the inflammable cleaning fluid vvhichr was easier to apply than tho paste which is approved by steamship legulatiorts and by the Ward Line Assertions that the lifeboats were in such condition that it was risky to put out from the ship in them were mado ,by Joseph Spilgis, a seaman who had chaigetof the boats on the staiboaid side. He thaiged that the tanks—in tended,to keep the boats uptight and .(float when^ loaded—woie almost rusted UijQugh and that there would have beon_holes in them if the rust had .ill been off before a coat of lead. p»u?t was applied > HOW IT BEGAN. Rcfoie tie inquiry adjourned it had added the following testimony to its pu7^hng^and confused picture of .how and. why'the fire started on tho Mono Cattle and how it spread so lapidly — %1. The liquid cleaning or polishing fluid •was of a tjpe which piobably would spread the fiie quickly as the 1 wind and the forward movement of tho vessel swept the fire through tho decks, in the opinion of O'Sullivan. He also said1 an enamel,' which would spread the fire, was regularly used on tho ship and a^out 200 gallons of it weic iil a storeroom." Spilgis said some tanks on lifeboats had rusted and had been almost scrap'cd thiough and then painted (ovei. -- -2. An "explosion" in the engine 100 m was reported by Chailes Angelo, v seaman, who said he believed it was ,i dynamo or generator exploding some time after tho fire was under way. The lights wont oat after the "explosion" 'shook tho'ship. ' 3 Joha Kempf, New York Jucman, "aid'he awakened at 12 45 am. and smellcd smoUe'. "Ho ran'out md helped tnunai hose on.,the smoking elcvatoi «haft.- The time given was about two houi's ertihor than most witnesses slid the fire started, but Kempf insisted it T\ai correct. ' %. Fire-ariirarid lifeboat dull on the ship appeared to be an uncertain soit of business, according to scvcial witnesses. O'Sullivan said that Acting Cap tain William F. Warms once had to go below and. "kick out" about twentjfue'men who had failed to attend one dnlU He said records of those -who attended were not propcily kept and that Warms piobably did not know who did or did not attend. It w.is brought out that passengers and stcwlrds never attended and the crew did not take hydrant Stations during dull o. Therft was good discipline among the ere* dn A deck and orders could have"been carried out, but none wcie leceived, o'Sullivan said. He told of many of the crew aiding passengers. . STEEL INTERIOR. Dickerson N. Hoover, in charge of the Department of Commerce investigation of the tragedy1, declared that the cleaning-fluid'testimony was significant in iegard to Jire proofing ships of the ;.future.-. v':.:X*V/™' '"-"■' '■•■"'■"■■■'■■'■ ■"''-'■" li' :,'" ■■■'. ?Jn, c a statement issued at Hyde Park V i earlieiv in tlie >:week President Roosevelt ';urgedv":]egislatiori" lequiring t ho 'use of fsVeel'ratter^than i\ood in the interior •■ of iiieTchant' 'stips ■" ;' In this/ionnection tlie cditoi of the • pointed out tint .ill ino.aeiiri'^hipalo'f'; the meiclunt maunc Vure" built? i^ls&el throughout, the super •i struciurp/alonCiTieing finished m wood •Tnis'.'pbseivertdeclared that the cost "of::the'iliiiKi3v*'iJshe' 1 ""ood used ln tllQ cbnsliucii6nVop.Sihip interior's cost CO : i.lpliarsvpfir^Ubusand feet To imprcg ' iiate:'';-it'4wUli:; aSfiie pioofing substance : woiild; double.'tli.6 puce ! 'ipurinip'the-earlier sessions of Iho in : iiiuiry,'iiit<jrest Avas centred in a dispute 1 l.etwfen'ih'e'bfiage and the radio room o£■■ the Mbrro;Castle over the time at the 80S should ha\c been sent ■■■'■o'ntV.^ii'.'^'M:*-^-^ ' ; ■George-iW,^Rogers, chief iadio opcr ator'o&th^Morro Castle, said'that he telieyedtthe^SOS should have been or- •.•■' clered^hre^quaxteis of an horn earliei ;.:-was..::;His tcstimonv indicated .tiiat'ih'cr* had been confusion and in-competencel'-[in: executing ordeis on the bridgeSwhenihe :was attempting to get •■A'cting;iCaptainiWairns to order tho ■■■• 80S !'■■ Bog'ert's ■■'■ testimony implicated GeoTgeVL'riAiagna, first assistant iadio operator, Cvrh'/*v:was anested, held as a : ma*eiiaV%itness; and subsequently re- ; leasediViftpr;!i«-^vas brought out that tKe Slate^ajitajn Robert R. Willmott, whodiedsixhours before the fire bioke -■ out;cfinsideredVAJagna a trouble makei. Althpugh^Kogers later praised Alagna highiy,;i4he L !iiripression peisisted tliat ; there: ta<C-,beetf-e6nsideiable dishai mony liri';the'iTadi6Vi'Oom. yt :M"L^bK;i<M' discipline." .iV^esiftoqiiy^byAvauous passengeis on tfie •Morro-Castle indicated a laok of dis(iipiine|;abpard the ship and a tcndencyipnVthe.part of the orcw to think of-thenisetyes',first and the passcngcis secpnd^i^n^lSssengcr, a piomincut ; NVv?Yflrfephy*ie)«n. tostified that a numb'er^hosesr had to be manned bj '-. passe'rigersiJbeijause the cicw was no • wKefe: to. be" "found ■ This'particular "phase or the mquny —sslectipri'b'f :the crew by the Waid 'Lifie—iieildi'therattentioii of the inves tigatffrs.''.;tAn4jMlcpondeiit investigation bvJame's'Ed'mnnd Duff\, nianne editor oPth^^e*^6rk "World Telegram," appefcretlVto-inaicato that tho Waid Liie'tipiefisv^ialicn seamen to Amen cans.:Wr.l ; Dn«y.. ]n an !ltticle in» h" riewspaperiVset;i;fOTth the opinions ot Siiai'Bi-Axtollrattoincy foi the Inter ■ -national Union of Amenci '■'^'ThefelSyS'e iio union seamen aboaicl thV^Mbrr^VC^stle ... our men would :'-rhave'*gi^en'it'better account of them selves' thSn-tlioSe-'on board, I assuie jou th*t,i"isaid:Mr. Axtell "But thero are rid 'on Ward Lino ships for the \vell-tiained' and efficient young American'sailors tramping tho waterfront. Despite" the low wages paid by the Ward Line/some of our men in their despcratiotf for-'work had tried to ship oUt'of. -thcse:.boats, but wcie rebuffed ■when they -applied " imlope-ndent yi\ estigalion b\ tliQ '{iiiie;tai?y^ iiigest" tended to suppoit :MW.A%]i'a'clnini'3 that the Waul Line : iSj'payinigtpnl^iJC dollais and 40 dollais ' per mon,thvfor. able dcainen The vumon ' ivage 'is; iso."- dollais. Mi Axtoll said that";the:' Ward.'Kino pajs" 3-30 dollais

per month to oilcis and firemen Tho union wage foi these jobs is 90 doll us "The girat majonty of the men em plojed on A\ard Line -vesscN," said Mr Axtell, "juo considcied second lute so i men by ouumen \ "Tho answer of the Waid Lino and some other Ainctican compuues when asked whj thoy do not cn'plov lull Amciican crows is that the alien is i better scainan than the Amencan Bosh' The ical icason is tho aliens will wotk long horns foi small 'wages live on chcip ±ood, and tolei.itc an) kind of living conditions abonid ship "The Ward Line and otheis ilso know fiom long cxpciicnce that these aliens do not leadily oiganisc in unions. If they do, they belong to Communist unions, ami some o£ the Ameiicin com panics that aie benefited nelily by Gov eminent mail contiaets favoui thot, ndicals U\ then crows—onlj Uie\ don't I now they aie ladicils —m piefejcnee ro Aniencaii &eamen " Charges mado caily in the inqun> that the fiio was of incendiaiv oiigm attributable to Communists in lla\ana wcic not taken seriously by the in\csti gatois, and Government officials in Cuba, who airosted inoic rhan^wentj suspects m Havana, weio umblo to sub stantiate them. JTailuie on the part ot the Piesidcnt Clevclaud of the Doll v Line to lescue any passengeis from the Mono Castle was placed dnectly at the foet of Captain Roboit E Cnroy \ct eian mastor of the President Cleveland, by four mates of that ship James Ilcndcison, chief officci, Jeie micih Smith, second officer, Haiold Peterson, thud officci, md Duight Randall, chief mate, each testified they would not sail again with Captain Carey because they consideicd v he had mishandled the Piesidcnt Cleveland, delayed getting over lifeboats fiorn C 20 am to 7.08 am, and had made eirors in judgment. Officials of the Dollai Line in San Fiancisco attested to the excellent seamanship and chalactcr ot Ca Maart n .nCCo Cnboy, the United States Attoiney conducting the BYdeial Giand Juiy investigation, accused the ship ping company and its lawyeis ot clolng all that they can to prevent the United States Attoiney and his aids fiom leaimng the facts " An attoiney foi tho Ward Line countered by accusing Mr. Conboy of indulging in some "loose talk about my fiun" and demed that he had done anything except 0 piovent mcmbois of the cicw of the Mo?ro Castle iiom making piematiiio statements i