THE TAHITI TRAGEDY

NZ Truth, Issue 854, 1 April 1922, Page 5

THE TAHITI TRAGEDY

Relatives Left In Ignorance

why was the news suppressed ?

Callous "Conspiracy of Silence."

A fortnight after "Truth" had already given the details of the^ unfortunate tragedy on the S.S. Tahiti, at San Francisco, the Wellington, dailies came out this week with flaring headlines describing the catastrophe. But' even then they got badly bushed m the details, and this journal now proposes to supplement its original "story with some further . accurate details. Not only were John Newton, the ship's carpenter, and Lawrence Fauchelli, an able seaman, killed m this- unfortunate calamity, but four other members of the crew, m A BRAVE ATTEMPT AT RESCUE, were overcome by the cyanide fumes and had to be removed to the hospital m a precarious condition. The details of the tragedy, which have already been briefly given, are as follows: The vessel, m preparation for cargo loading, had been fumigated, cyanide gas being used for the purpose, and the holds,- of course, were hermetically sealed during the process. At the noon hour adjournment the hatches were removed, and, later m the afternoon, haying been assured that everything' was m order, the ship's carpenter, John Newton, ■descended to holdi No. 1 to make some minor repairs. As ihe did not return to deck, seamen Lyons and Fauchelli went below to ascertain the trouble. They found Newton > unconscious, and attempted to make a rope fast to his body, m order that he mifht be hauled on deck. Lyons worked m the stifling fumes till he. could stand it no longer, and managed to make his way to the main deck, wherejhe collapsed-. In the meantime Fauchelli stuck to his unconscious comrade, and . the chief officer, who had just come on board, then went to the rescue, but was forced out by the gas fumes. Nothing daunted, Jack Nbrris and George Archibald, two • able seamen, .at once bravely volunteered to make a further attempt at rescue, and FOUGHT THEIR WAT BELOW, but both were overcome and had to return to the deck. Chief Officer McDonald made a second attempt to get to the unconscious men, and was himself overcome and unable to return to deck. \ „ Then Captain John Kearney, of the fire boat Dennis Sullivan, took a hand m the proceedings, and although temporarily iovercome toy the Ifuntes, managed to last . out long enough to tie ropes to the three unconscious sailors, and they were drawn on deck and at once despatched to the hospital, along with Norris and Archibald, who had been badly gassed earlier by the noxious fumes. Newton and Fauchelli, as already related, failed to recover, and when the Tahiti left for New Zealand on her return trip the other three men were still lying m hospital m a dangerous condition. The statement that the Tahiti: was informed by wireless that the men had recovered is incorrect, but a message iwas received to the effect that they were getting on satisfactorily. This message does not appear to have been transmitted to New Zealand, or to the relatives. They were left m the hospital, and nothing further was known of, -their condition until Tuesday of this week, when, at the> instigation of Mr. Norris, the father of one of the gassed men, the Union Company volunteered to send a telegram to ascertain the condition of Mr. Norris's son, -with, it is satisfactory to report, most reassuring tidings. So far, the simple story of the tragedy. .... But what this journal wants to. know* is: Why was it left to "Truth" to make public the ' details of i this lamentable occurrence, which were already m the possession of the Union Company? Why did not the Union Company make it its business to communicate with the relatives of the men m hospital, assuring them of their condition and set-/ ting forth the details of the accident? This, admittedly, was done m the case of the two men who died, but so far as the four others were concerned! their relatives were left IN ABSOLUTE IGNORANCE of anything having happened to their loved ones. As a matter of fact, Mrs. Norris journeyed; cheerfully down to the wharf iwhen the Tahiti was berthed m the confident anticipation of meeting her son, only ' to bo casually informed that he and others had been left behind m hospital at 'Frisco after beflng badly gassed m a. valiant attempt to rescue their perishing comrades, and that nobody iknew any thingfurther about them. Inquiry at the shipping office resulted m a similar, disconcerting lack of any information, and it was only Mr. Norris's persistency that at last resulted m inquiries being set m motion with the above result. This "CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE" is distinctly sinister, riot so much at this end, where details when not meagre were non-existent, but at the other end. Had a Chinaman m Chinatown been drugged m his sleep,, the Press Association would ■ have hastened to cable the details to the newspapers m full. But when a tragedy of this sort occurs on a New Zealand' boat, resulting m loss of life among our own neighbors, the facts are . calmly ignored. We simply ask: Was this the , result of carelessness or expediency? It leaves a nasty taste, and is certainly a matter which calls for the immediate attention of the Minister of Marine. There appears to have been nothing to gain by this policy of suppression. Then why? A prompt publication of the -news of the accident, the responsibility for which has yet to be allocated, would have saved the relatives and friends of the sufferers a good deal of mental anguish and suffering, and have helped to relieve the. public uneasiness which has (been a natural result of the whole unfortunate incident. . '■ The injured men are returning to New Zealand by the Tahiti.