The Titanic Wreck

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 250, 22 April 1912, Page 5

The Titanic Wreck

Harrowing Details A Story of Misplaced Confidence Attempted Record-Breaking Frightful Death Roll *~ * •• '"' Heroism and Cowardice Hand in Hand '■ By Cable.—Press Association.—Copyrigkt. Eeeeived 21, 5.5 p.m. LONDON, April 20. _ The women's fund in aid of the wreck survivors amounts to S £7OOO. n , The Mansion House Fund has reached £40,000, and the Southampton fund £6200. The White Star officials state that 1635 persons perished, and 705 were saved. Eighty-five of the latter are in hospital. NEW YORK, April 20. Congress has adjourned as a token of respect to the survivors. It is stated that the Titanic was steaming at 21 knots when she struck, according to instructions to keep up speed in order to break the first voyage record. All commend the captain's heroism. He was literally washed from his post. When the boats were clear of the ship the captain said. "Men, you have done your duty fully. You can do no more. It's every man for himself." Before the vessel sank, the captain megaphoned to the mass on the deck: "Be British!"Later, the captain was seen helping those struggling in the water. He refused an opportunity to save himself. " SILENT, SAFE SECURITY." A HEROIC OPERATOR. • WOMEN TO THE RESCUE. NEW YORK, April 21. Many passengers retired to bed, convinced the ship would not sink. 'Others stood on the rail ridiculing as landlubbers those taking to the boats. Phillips, the wireless operator, stuck to his post till the dynamo * ceased and the water invaded his room. With Bride, his assistant, he was washed overboard. Bride was saved. The survivors think that Mr. Astor and Mr. Stead reached a raft, but succumbed from cold and dropped off. Lady Gordon states #hat a few men rushed her boat. An officer drove them off, but one man persisting was shot dead. His body remained on the boat till the Carpathia picked her up. Six Chinese hid under the seats of the lifeboats prior to launching, and were undetected. THE CRY OF THE CHILDREN. SHIPWRECK AND SUFFERING. NEW YORK, April 21. Seven nameless infants were rescued. One is suffering from scarlet fever, and another from meningitis. Several survivors are suffering from pneumonia. A year-old child named Allison, son of a Montreal banker, is the sole survivor of a family of four. SOME OF THE SAVED. NEW YORK, April 21. Among the lost are Mr. Julian (the well-known metallurgical engineer, and managing director of the Vacuum Oil Company), the Rev. Mr. Carter and his wife (of St. Julius' Church, Whitechapel). Bipde, the wireless assistant, had both his feet injured. He bore testimony to Phillips's courage. Bride strapped a lifebelt on Phillips while the latter was informing the Olympic of the sinking of the vessel. Water then entered the wireless room. A stoker attempted to remove Phillips's belt, but Bride knocked him down. Phillips went aft to the bridge and clung to it, but was washed overboard. * _______ ■ * ' DOTTED WITH THE DEAD. A LAST MESSAGE. ' • NEW YORK, April 21. ' The sea was dotted with people depending upon lifebelts. Another witness saw Phillips die on a raft from exposure. Comtan, operator on the Carpathia, states that Phillips's last message was, "Come quickly; engineroom filling to the boilers." A BRAVE WOMAN. SHAMING THE MEN. NEW YORK, April 21. The Countess Rothes, an expert oarswoman, practically commanded her boat. When she found that the men could not row properly, several women took the places of the weak and unskilled stewards. Philanthropic persons provided 210 of the crew with outfits. Mr. Ismay was rescued in his slippers, pyjamas and overcoat, Hazed with cold. Several narratives testify to his active assistance 4 ki filling and lowering the boats. Charles Williams, the racquet champion, is among those rescued. A NEW ROUTE. r * SHUTTING THE STABLE DOOR. THE CAPTAIN'S FATE. NEW YORK, April 21. The American Hydrographic Office has ordered the lanes for Atlantic liners to be moved 180 miles to the southward of the .Titanic's track. Mr. Gracie declares that when he reached the surface lie found the second officer and Theyer, a junior, swimming near him. One of the funnels fell, scattering bodies in the water. The explosion blew the ship's barber off the deck. When the rafts were full several piteously begged for help, but the crew, for self-preserva-tion, refused to permit more aboard. All on the raft prayed throughout the weary night. Mrs. Widener. whose husband and son were drowned, states that she saw Captain Smith jump off the bridge into the sea. A moment previously she saw another officer commit suicide by putting a bullet through his brain. PRESS COMMENT. The American newspapers pay a unanimous tribute to the valor and discipline of the crew. They complain of the inadequate boat accommodation and of the Titanic being driven at twenty-one knots an hour in a region of icebergs. One hundred and forty survivors of the wreck are m the hospital.

THE INVESTIGATION. MR. ISMAY'S EVIDENCE. New York, April S9. The Senate's enquiry has opened. Mr. Ismay stated that he was asleep at the time the Titanic struck. The Titanic was not pushed to the speed limit, and averaged about 21 knots. He was only once consulted by the captain about the vessel's movements, when it was arranged not to attempt to reach New York before five o'clock on Wednesday morning. He only entered the boat when there was no response to the call for women. He left about an hour after the collision. He believed that the vessel struck between the bow and the bridge. AN OFFICER'S TESTIMONY. A STARTLING EXPERIENCE. 'Mr. Lightollcr, second officer, maintained that his boat was well filled. Preference was given to the women. He accounted for the saving of the crew by stating that five out of every six picked up in the water were firemen and stewards. There was no demonstration on board, not even lamentation among those left behind. He dived as the vessel sank, and was sucked under. He was held fast against a blower, when a terrific gust through the blower, due probably to a boiler explosion, blew him clear. He reached the surface near a boat. NO PANIC. : MISPLACED CONFIDENCE. Three French survivors state that they were playing cards when the heard a violent noise like the propellers racing. They saw ice rubbing'the vessel's side, and a tremendous list followed. There was a momentary panic, which speedily subsided, and confidence was restored. The captain said: "Let everyone don a lifebelt. It is more prudent." A FANTASTIC PICTURE. SHRIEKS OE ANGUISH. The band played popular airs to reassure the passengers. None wanted to go into the boats, believing that there was no risk in remaining aboard. Hence some boats had few passengers. Their boat rowed half a mile. The spectacle was fairylike, the Titanic illuminated and stationary, resembling a fantastic stage picture. Suddenly the lights were extinguished. An immense clamor followed, and the air resounded with a supreme cry for help and shrieks of anguish. THE LAST SCENE. A TERRIBLE ENDING. The Titanic sank quietly. The suction was imperceptible, but there was a great backwash. After the boats left, a group of passengers was seen with difficulty launching the collapsibles. They got in, but the boats gradually fillt}dr,vnnd the :::.".- jority of those on board were drowned or perished from cold. The crew showed sublime sacrifice. Much useless sacrifice would have been avoided but for a blind faith in the vessel's unsinkableness. The sea was strewn with dead bodies. There are rumors of atrocities by frenzied members of the crew, including the.shooting of passengers in the boats and the braining of swimmers trying to enter the boats, but the majority of witnesses do not confirm these. The last scenes presented an agonising array of horrors. As the ship split, her stern rose precipitously, and scores of people leaped overboard. Others scrambled madly upwards on t!r. stern. As the incline steepened hundreds lost their footing and toboggoned downwards amidst pitiable shrieking. Hundreds who escaped the vortex clung to the wreckage and the rafts. It is believed that eight hundred people jumped as the vessel sank. Only the hardiest could stand the icy water. A few vigorous strokes and stiffened forms floated away. The boat commanded by the purser was capsized by three women rushing to the side to say farewell to their relatives. It is believed that none of the thirty women on board survived. A RUSH FOR THE BOATS. CX/TARDS shot down. A number of foreigners made an ugly rush, but Mr. Murdoch, the first officer, revolver in hand, said, "I'll kill the first man that rushes." Three rushed forward, and one dropped, shot through the head. Another had his jaw blown away, and the quartermaster felled the third. SHELLING ICEBERGS. Received 21, .12.20 a.m. New York, April 20. The House of Representatives have adopted a measure to provide for the shelling of icebergs by warships as target practice, as well as to clear dangeri from the navigator's path. PASSENGERS' NARRATIVES. DRAMATIC DETAILS. London, April 19. On the arrival of the Carpathia in New York a number of the passengers gave accounts of their experiences on the Titanic. One of these, Mr. Beesly, science master at Dulwich College, in his narrative said: "It was fine weather and a calm sea on Sunday, and it was very cold. A slight jar was felt, lasting ten to fifteen seconds, and then a somewhat greater one, but insufficient to create anxiety. The engines stopped. We thought the ship had lost a propeller, and wont on deck. Only a few persons were about. Some card players in the smoking room noticed the jar, and looking saw an ice-

berg at the vessel's side. It was a grazing Wow. I wont to the cabin and returned to the deck later, when I found the beat unmistakably down at the head. I went below and heard the cry 'All passengers on deck with lifebelts on!' The passengers merely regarded this as a precaution. There was no panic or alarm, and no visible signs of disaster. The boats being swung out awakened the idea of danger. The next order was, 'All men stand from the boats! 'Women retire to the deck below!' As the boats reached the lower deck the women quietly entered them, with the exception of some who refused to leave their husbands. In some cases these were forcibly torn from their husbands and pushed into the boats. As , the boats touched the water and slipped away into the darkness there was no hysterical sobbing, but an extraordinary calm. The men were then ordered to h the boats. I saw a boat half full of women on the port aide. A sailor asked if there were any more ladies on his deck, and there being none he then invited me to jump in. There were no officrs in the boat, and no one seemed to know what to do. It swung under another descending boat, but the promptitude of a stoker in cutting the fall prevented all being crushed. The stoker took charge." Mr. Beesley, continuing his story, said that from the boat the Leviathan loomed up against the sky with every porthole blazing. At two o'clock she settled rapidly. The bows and bridge were under water, the lights flickered and were then extinguished, the si -n tilted and all the machinery roai'ed down through the vessel with a rattle audible for miles. About 150 feet of the stern protruded straight up for about five minutes; then it made a slanting dive. This was followed by appealing cries for help from hundreds of human beings in the icy water. A LAST FAREWELL. Colonel Astor, after placing his wife is a boat, asked permission to accompany her. The second officer said, "No, sir; no man may enter the boats till the women are oh"." Colonel Astor then assisted in clearing the other boats and in reassuring nervous women. A HEROIC OFFICER. When the Titanic plunged, many jumped overboard, and some were rescued by the boats. A number embarked on the collapsibles, which the boats subsequently picked up. A passenger describes how the fifth officer, Lowe, saved many lives by warning the people not to jump and swamp the boats. When his collapsible was launched he hoisted the mast and sail, collected other collapsibles, arranged an adequate crew for each, and connected them by lines, all moving together. Later, he returned to the wreck and saved a collapsible containing thirty scantily clad people, as it was was on the point of sinking. Some died of exposure whilst being transferred to the Carpathia. A SENSATIONAL EXPERIENCE. Mr. Grscie states that he was driven to the topmost deck, and saw no other survivors after a wave swept the liner. Hie grasped a brass railing desperately, but was forced to release it when the ship plunged. He swirled round for what seemed an interminable time, but eventually came to the surface and seized a wooden grating. When he recovered his breath he discovered a large canvas cork raft. Another man struggled out to the raft, and both rescued others who were floundering in the sea. At dawn there were thirty on the raft, knee-deep in water, and afraid to move lest it should be overturned. They were long and terrible hours before the Carpathia picked them up. RIPPED BY THE ICE. The mass of ice ripped the side of the Titanic like a gigantic can-opener, from the stem to the engine-room. Shortly before the vessel sank she broke in two, abaft the engine-room, carrying hundreds who were grouped on the deck. Their cries were pitiable. The survivors at a safe distance witnessed the plunge, and heard the band playing. FURTHER DETAILS. A MANIACAL STRUGGLE. Mr. Bradon, a passenger, said that the captain was standing alone. Once a wave upset him, and then as the boat sank another wave knocked him down, and he disappeared. Colonel Grace emphatically denies the reports about shooting. A revolver was once fired to intimidate some steerage passengers. Other accounts alleged wild disorder and a maniacal struggle for the boats. Hysterical passengers, who did not give their names, declare that the captain and engineer committed Euicide. These stories, owing to the confusion that took place on landing, could not be confirmed. Several survivors state that the vessel was travelling at 23 knots. AH the steamers that have already started westward have been ordered to travel further south. Mr. Taft was informed that Mr. Butt shot twelve men, and was then himself shot. Among the most affecting scenes on landing was the sight of women steerage passengers, thinly clad, and shivering, with their eyes red from constant weeping. who the charitable organisations speedily succoured. WISE AFTER THE EVENT. , • The stalement of the Committee of Survivors points out the insufficiency

of lifeboats, the lack of trained seamen to man the boats, the insufficiency of officers to carry out emergency orders on the bridge and superintend the launching and control of the boats, also the absence of searchlights. The necessity of taking in passengers before lowering the boats to the water prevented boats taking the maximum load. The captain jumped overboard when the decks were awash. Revolver Bhots were heard prior to the sinking. The evening papers published rumors that the officers committed suicide, but the crew discredit the report. Members of the Stock Exchange brought twenty thousand dollars for distribution to the neediest of those rescued. THE INVESTIGATION COMMITTEE. STANDING FIRM FOR EVIDENCE. The unexpected early arrival of the vessel prevented the Senate's Investigation Committee boarding the Carpathia before she was docked. The chairman states that ho has learned that the surviving officers and crew contemplate boarding the Cedric and immediately proceeding to England, placing themselves beyond the committee's jurisdiction. The chairman adds that he intends to tell Mr. Ismay that in order to avoid trouble the company and officers should assist the enquiry. Mr. Ismay wcelomes the fullest enquiry. He left the Titanic in the last | boat, but deferred his statement. j The Department of Justice at Washington believes that the erroneous mesi sageg concerning the fate of the Titanic , were the result of a deliberate attempt to postpone the knowledge of the wreck in order to give time to reinsure the cargo of the Titanic. LOST AND SAVED. MR. STEAD AND MR. ASTOR. New York, April 10. Mrs. Edgar Meyer, of New York, daughter of Mr. Andrew, says that a prominent New Yorker who lost her husband, pleaded with her' husband to allow her to remain with him. but he threw her into a lifeboat, reminding her of their nine-year-old child at home. Mrs. Marvin, who was on her honeymoon, was prostrated when she learned ashore that her husband was drowned. As she was placed in the lifeboat he exclaimed, "It's all right, little girl; you go, I will stay." When the boat was pushed off he threw her a kiss. That was the last she saw of him. Mr. W. T. Stead was last seen on deck near the smoke-room. Another account states that he jumped overboard after the boats left. Mrs. Astor hazily remembers that when amidst the confusion she was about to be placed in ; a boat her husband stood by her side. She had no knowledge how he died. Mr. Thayer and Mr. Straus and his wife are missing. Mrs. Dodge is saved. Mrs. Lucing Smith, daughter of Congressman Hughes, was rescued, but her husband is missing.

MESSAGES OF SYMPATHY., New York, April 10. The Government is in receipt of world-wide messages of sympathy. Rome, April 19. The (Pope condoled with Mr. Taft. A HUGE ICEBERG. THE BOILERS EXPLODE. New York, April 19. The World publishes various details of the disaster, told by passengers. An iceberg eighty feet high was sighted a quarter of a mile away. When the vessel crashed into it the engines stopped and the bulkheads were closed almost simultaneously by levers on the bridge. Captain Smith, who was on the bridge, ordered all to take life-savers. The boats lowered first contained more males, as they were the first to reach the deck, but when the women and children appeared the rule, "Women first," was strictly observed. The officers drew revolvers, but they were not used in most cases. The impact made a hole in the starboard side, admitting ice and water, and causing an explosion of the boilers, which broke the ship in two. SEVERE CRITICISM. New York, April 10. The extreme secrecy in withholding details is severely commented upon. The Carpathia refused to take the cruiser's wireless messages or supply information. Commenting on the Titanic's knowledge by wireless telegraphy of the proximity of ice, the New York Times says she did not avoid the region, and steamed at high speed. This was not merely impudent and reckless, but criminal. A SAILOR'S VIEWS. ONLY HALF THE BOATS AVAILABLE. Auckland, Saturday. Mr. R. F. Bell, organiser of the British Sailors' and Firemen's Union, when interviewed by a reporter, said he wan well acquainted with the builds and methods of working steamers of the Titanic class, and he maintained that no matter if she carried sufficient boats to accommodate every passenger on board, it would be impossible to utilise them all in case of a collision or a wreek ashore. "These vessels do not sink on an even keel," said Mr. Bell, "and therefore it would only lie possible in such a ease to use the boats on one side of the shin. Then the boat-decks do not afford sufficient space to accommodate anything like the full complement of passengers at once. As for third-class passengers and members of the crew, they would n-v----find their way to the boat-decks. These mnmmolh vessels are less like steamer* than floating hotels, and they would bo probably lost en route." Asked as to what remedy he would suggest, Mr. Bell said that the only

thing to 1)« done was to enlarge the passenger space on deck, and reduce the ( number of people carried. Regarding the cause of the disaster, Mr. Bell said' that at this time of the year it was regarded as safe to go further north than later in the season, when the icebergs would have commenced to break up and float south. The visitors aiso mentioned that it : was possible for a man on the look-out to smell bergs many miles before they were encountered. He thought the Titanic must have (struck a very solid one.