Newspaper Page Text
TRYING FOR SPEED RECORD
HUGE STEAMER WAS RIPPED
OPEN BY ICEBERG’S FANGS
Survivors Heard Cries of the Brave Ones Who
Went to Their Death.
FINAL COUNT OF DEAD REACHES 1,601
Without Serious Panic, With Her Lights Gleaming
and Her Band Playing, the Greatest Ship Slid
Down Through the Seas to Her Grave
With Her Crowding Victims.
NEW YORK, April 19.—How the White Star liner Titanic,
the largest ship afloat, sank off the Grand Banks of Newfound
land on Sunday night last, carrying to their death 1,601 of the
2,340 persons aboard, was told to the world in all its awful
details for the first time to-night with the arrival in New York
of the Cunard liner Carpathia, bearing the exhausted survivors
of the catastrophe. Os the great facts that stand out from the
chaotic account of the tragedy these are the most salient:
The death list has been increased rather than decreasel.
Six persons died after being rescued.
The list of prominent pesons lost stands as previously re
ported.
Practically every woman and child, with the exception of
those women who refused to leave their husbands were saved.
Among these last were Mrs. Isidor Straus.
The survivors on the lifeboats saw the lights on the stricken
vessel glimmer to the last, heard her band playing and saw the
doomed hundreds on her deck and heard their groans and cries
when the vessel sank.
TRYING TO SMASH RECORD
Accounts vary as to the extent of the disorder on board.
Not only was the Titanic tearing through the April night
to her doom with every ounce of steam crowded on, but she
was under orders from the general officers of the line to make
all the speed of which she was capable. This was the state
ment made by J. H. Moody, a quartermaster of the vessel and
helmsman on the night of the disaster. He said the ship was
making twenty-one knots an hour and the officers were striving
to live up to the orders to smash the record.
“It was close to midnight,’’ said Moody, “and I was on the
bridge with the second officer, who was in command. Suddenly
he shouted ‘Port your helm!’ I did so, but it was too late. We
struck the submerged portion of the berg.”
Os the many accounts given by the passengers most said
that the shock when the Titanic struck the iceberg, although
ripping her great sides like a giant can opener, did not greatly
jar the entire vessel, for the blow was a glancing one along her
side. The accounts also agree substantially that when the pas
sengers were taken off on the lifeboats there was no serious
panic, and that many wished “to remain on board the Titanic,”
believing her to be unsinkable.
SAW LOVED ONES GO DOWN
The most distressing stories are those giving the experi
ences of the passengers in lifeboats. These tell not only of
their own suffering, but give the harrowing details of how they
saw the great hulk of the Titanic stand on end, stern uppermost
for many minutes before plunging to the bottom. As this awful
spectacle was witnessed by the groups of survivors in the boats
they plainly saw many of those whom they had just left behind
leaping from the decks into the water.
J. Bruce Ismay, president of the International Mercantile
Marine, owners of the White Star Line, who was among the
seventy-odd men saved; P. A. S. Franklin, vice president of
the White Star Line, and United States Senator William Alden
Smith, chairman of the Senate investigating committee, held a
conference aboard the Carpathia soon after ihe passengers had
come ashore to-night.
• After nearly an hour Senator Smith said he had no author
ity to subpoena witnesses at this time, but would begin an in
vestigation into the cause of the loss of the Titanic at the Wal
dorf-Astoria to-morrow. He announced that Mr. Ismay had
consented to appear at the hearing and that Mr. Franklin and
the four surviving officers of the Titanic would appear for
examination by the Senate Committee. He said the course the
investigation would follow would be determined after the pre
liminary hearing.
ISMAY’S STORY OF DISASTER
Senator Smith was questioned as to the speed the Titanic
was proceeding at when she crashed into the iceberg. He said
he had asked Mr. Ismay, but declined to say what Mr. Ismay
had replied. Mr. Ismay to-night gave out the following pre
pared statement regarding the disaster.
“In the presence and under the shadows of a catastrophe
so overwhelming my feelings are too deep for expression in
words, and I can only say that the White Star Line officers and
employes will do everything hu
manely possible to alleviate the suf
fering and sorrow of the relatives and
friends of those who perished. The
Titanic was the last word in ship
building. Every regulation prescribed
by the British Board of Trade had
been strictly complied with. The mas
ter, officers and crew were the most
experienced and skillful in the British
service.
“I am informed that a committee of
the United States Senate has been ap
pointed to investigate the circum
stances of the accident. I heartily
welcome the most complete and ex
haustive inquiry and any aid that I
or my associates or our builders or
navigators can render is at the ser
vice of the public and governments of
both the United States and Great Bri
tain. Under these circumstances I
must defer any further statement at
this hour.”
Mr. Ismay said that he left the ship
in the last boat, one of the collapsible
boats on the starboard side.
”1 do not know the speed at which
the Titanic was going.’ said Mr. Ismay
in reply to a question.
"She hit the iceberg a glancing
blow.”
The arrival of the Carpathia brought
a vast multitude of people to the Con
ard docks. They filled the vast pier
sheds and overflowed for blocks,
the nearby streets In a
throng. Throughout, the rain fell
steadily, adding a funeral aspect to
the scene. The landing of the sur
vivors was attended with little excite
ment, the crowd standing in awed-like
silence as the groups from the sheds
passed along.
The docking actually began shortly
after 9 o’clock and the disembarking
of passengers was so quickly disposed
of by the waiving of the usual form
ality that practically everything had
been concluded by 10:30 o’clock. The
crowds remained about the pier long
alter this, however, to get a glimpse
of the rescuing steamer and to hear
the harrowing stories which had been
brought back.
President Taft’s belief that his mili
tary aide. Maj. Archibald Butt, de
liberately went to his death with the
Titanic rather than take a place in a
life boat that might be occupied by a
woman or child, apparently was con
firmed late to-night. A private tele
phone message quoted Mrs. Churchill
Candee of Washington, one of the res
cued. as saying that Maj. Butt placed
her in a boat and remained on the Ti
tanic’s deck.
The report that Mrs. Candee had
both of her legs broken was denied.
No mention is made of the fate of
Jacques Futrelle. the author, in to
night's dispatches. Latest news from
the Carpathia was that his name was
nn lla Has tyf survivor*.
' THE WEEKLY NEWS (TWOTIMESAWEEK) MONDAY, APRIL 22, 1912.
MILLIONAIRE AND PEASANT
GAVEJEIR LIVES FREELY
Heroism of Men on Board Doomed Liner Was Won
derful, as They Gazed Unfalteringly Into the
Face of Death Grimly Advancing.
New York, April 18.—How the Ti
tanic sank is told by Charles F. Hurd,
a staff correspondent of the Evening
World, who was a passenger on the
Carpathia, and who to-night furnished
that newspaper with his account.
He gives the number of lives lost as
1,700. He praises highly the courage
of the crew, hundreds of whom gave
their lives with a heroism which
equalled but did not exceed, the ac
count says, that of John Jacob Astor,
Henry B. Harris, Jacques Futrelle and
others in the long list of first cabin
passengers.
It was the explosion of the boilers,
according to Mr. Hurd's account,
which finally finished the Titanics
career. The bulkhead system, though
probably working, prevailed only to
delay the ship's sinking. The position
of the ship’s -wound on the starboard
quarter admitted icy water, according
to Hurd's Storv. which caused tne
boilers to explode and these explos
ions broke the ship in two.
“Nearer, My God, to Thee.
The ship’s string band gathered in
the saloon near the end, the narrative
says, and played "Nearer My God to
Thee.” The account continues:
“The crash against the iceberg, which
had been sighted at only a quarter of
a mile distance, came almost simultan
eously with the click of levers operated
from the bridge, which stopped the en
gines and closed the water-tight doors.
Capt. Smith was on the bridge a moment
later, summoned all on poard to put on
life preservers, and ordered the life
boats lowered. The first boats had
more male passengers, as the men were
the first to reach the deck. When the
rush of frightened men and women
and crying children to the decks be
gan, the "women first” rule was rigid
ly enforced.
Officers drew revolvers, but in most
cases there was no use for them. Re
volver shots heard shortly before the
Titanic went down caused many ru
mors, one that Capt. Smith had shot
himself, another that First Officer
Murdock had ended his life, but mem
bers of the crew discredit these ru
mors.
Mrs. Straus Dies.
Capt. Smith was last seen on the
bridge just before the ship sank,
leaping only after the decks had been
washed away.
What became of the men with the
life preservers was a question asked
by many since the disaster. Many of
these with life preservers were seen
to go down despite the preservers and
dead bodies floated on the surface as
the boats moved away.
Mrs. Isador Straus refused to leave
her husband's side and both perished.
Harold Cotton, Marconi operator on
the Carpathia, did not go to bed at
his usual time Sunday night and as
a result caught the first message of the
Titanic's plight, the message which
was responsible for saving the hun
dreds of rescued who were landed in
New York to-night.
It was testified by several survivors
that the Titanic was going 23 knots
en hour when she "rashed into the
Iceberg.
They Knew of Danger.
The morning World will publish Mr.
Hurd's story in detail. In addition to
the foregoing, Mr. Hurd says in part:
"The facts which I havp established
by inquiries on the Carpathia. as posi
tively as they could be established in
view of the silence of the few surviving
officers are:
“That the Titanic's officers knew, sev
eral hours before the crash, of the pos
sible nearness of the Icebergs.
“That the Titanic's speed, nearly 23
knots an hour, was not slackened.
“That the number of lifeboats on the
Titanic was insufficient to accommo
date more than one-third of the pas
sengers, to say nothing of the crew.
“Most members of the crew say there
were sixteen lifeboats and two col
lapslbles; none say there were more
than twenty boats in all. The 700 who
escaped filled most of the sixteen life
boats and the one collapsible, which
got away to the limit of their capacity.
The “Impossible” Happened.
“Had the ship struck the iceberg
head-on at whatever speed and with
whatever resulting shock, the bulk
head system of water-tight compart
ments would probably have saved the
vessel. As one man expressed it. it
was the 'impossible' that happended,
when with a shock unbelievably mild,
the ship’s side was torn for a length
which made the bulkhead system in
effective
"The Titanic was 1,799 miles from
Queenstown and 1.191 from New York,
speeding for a maiden voyage rec
ord. The night was starlight, the
sea glassy. Eights were out in most
of the staterooms and only two or
three congenial groups remained in
the public rooms.
"In the crow's nest, or lookout, and
on the bridge, officers and members of
the crew were at their places, await
ing relief at midnight from their two
hours’ watch.
“At 11'45 came the sudden sound
of two guns, a warning of immediate
danger.
“The crash against the iceberg,
which had been sighted at only a
quarter of a mile, came almost simul
taneously with the click of the levers
operated by those on the bridge which
stopfied the engines and closed the
water-tight doors.
Three Officers Lost.
“Capt. Smith was on the bridge a
moment later, giving orders for the
summoning of all on board and for
the putting on of life preservers and
the lowering jot the life boats.
“The first boats lowered contained
more men passengers than the latter
ones, as the men were on deck first
and not enough women were there to
fill them.
“When, a moment later, the rush of
W (Prickly Ash, Poke Root and Potassium)
|J ■ Prompt Powerful Permanent I
M Its beneficial es« Stubborn cases Good results are I
B frets are usually yield to P. P. P. lasting—
■ a K felt very quickly when ether inex t- you to stay cured
■ cuies are useless
P. P. P. I
Makes rich, red, pure blood—cleanses the entire
system clears the brain strengthens digestion and nerves. ■
S A positive specific for Blood Poison and skin diseases. i
y Drives out Rheumatism and Stops the Pain: ends Malaria; .
H is a wonderful tonic and bodv-builder. Thousands endorse it. ®
I F. V. LIPPMAN CO SAVANNAH, GA. g
frightened women and crying children
to the deck began, enforcement of
the ‘women first’ rule became rigid.
Officers loading some of the boats
drew revolvers, but in most cases the
men, both passengers and crew, be
haved in away that called for no
such restraint.
"Revolver shots heard by many per
sons shortly before the end of the Ti
tanic, caused many rumors. One was
that Capt. Smith shot himself, another
was that First Officer Murdock ended
his life. Smith. Murdock and Sixth
Officer Moody are known to have been
lost.
“The surviving officers. Lightoller,
Pitman, Bothall and Lowe, have made
no statement.
Captain Refuses Life.
“Members of the crew discredit all
reports of suicide and say Capt. Smith
remained on the bridge until just be
fore the ship sank, leaping only after
those on the deck had been washed
away. It is also related that a cook
later sought to pull him aboard a
lifeboat, he exclaimed:
‘Let me go,’ and jerking away, went
down.
“To relate that the ship’s string
band gathered in the saloon near the
end and played “Nearer My God to
Thee,” sounds- like an attempt to give
an added solemn color to a scene which
was in itself the climax of solemnity.
But various passengers and survivors
of the crew agree in the declaration
that they heard this music. To some
of the hearers, with husbands among
the dying men in the water and at the
ship's rail, the strain brought in
thought the words:
“ ‘So. by my woes I'll be,
Nearer my God to Thee,
Nearer, to Thee.’
"To the scene of the next two hours
on those decks and in the waters be
low such adjectives as 'dramatic' and
‘tragic’ do but poor justice. The
knowledge of the deadly peril gaining
greater power each moment over those
men and women, the nobility of the
greater part, both among cabin pas
senbers. officers, crew and steerage,
asserted it.
"Isidor Straus, supporting his wife
on her way to a life boat, was hold
back by an inexorable guard. Another
officer strove to help her to a place
of safety, but she brushed away his
arms and clung to her husband, cry
ing ‘I will not go without you.’
Begged for Her Husband.
"Another woman took her place, and
her form, clinging to her husband's,
became part of a picture now drawn
indelibly in many minds. Neither wife
nor husband, so far as any one knows,
reached a place of safety.
"Col. Astor, holding his young wife's
arm, stood decorously aside as the of
ficers spoke to him, and Mrs. Astor
nnd her maid were ushered to seats.
Mrs. Henry B. Harris parted in like
manner from her husband, and saw
him last at the the rail, beside Col.
Astor.
“Walter M. Clark of Los Angeles,
nephew of th? Montana Senator joined
the line of men as his young wife,
sobbing, was placed in one of the
craft.
“ ’Let him come. There is room.'
cried Mrs. Emil Taussig, as the men
of the White Star Lino motioned to
her husband to leave her.
It was with difficulty that he releas
ed her hold to permit her to be led
to her place.
Didn't See Archie Butt.
“Os Maj. Archie Butt, a favorite
with his fellow-tourists; of Charles M.
Hays, president of the Grand Trunk;
of Benjamin Guggenheim and of Wil
liam T. Stead, no one seems to know
whether they tarried too long in their
staterooms or whether they forebore
to approach the fast filling boats, none
of them was in the throng which weary
hours afterward reached the Carpathia.
“Simultaneously those in the boats
saw what those on the decks could not
see, that the Titanic was listing rapid
ly to starboafd and that her stern was
rising at a portentious angle. A rush
of steerage men toward the boats was
checked by officers with revolvers.
Some of the boats, crowded, drifted
for a time. None had provisions or
water, there was lack of covering from
the ice and air and the only lights were
the still undiinmed arcs and Incan
descents of the settling ship, save for
one of the boats. There a steward who
explained to the passengers that he
had been shipwrecked twice before,
appeared carying three oranges and
» green light. That green light many
of the survivors say was to the ship
wrecked hundreds as the pillar of fire
by night. Long after the ship had dis
appeared and while confusing false
lights danced about the boats, the green
lantern kept them together.
“As the end of the Titanic became
manifestly but a matter of moments
the oarsmen pulled their boats away
and the chilling waters began to echo
splash after splash as passengers and
sailors in life-preservers leaped over
and started swimming away to es
cape the expected suction.
Hymn and Screams.
“Only the hardiest of constitutions
could endure for mere than a few
moments such a numbing bath. The
first vigorous strokes gave way to
heartbreaking cries of 'Help! Help!’
and stiffened forms were seen float
ing. the faces relaxed in death.
“Revolver shots were heard. The
first report spread among the boats
that Capt. Smith had ended his life;
that it was that a mate shot a stew
ard who tried to push his way upon
a boat against orders. None of these
tales has been voiced.
The last boat, a collapsible, was
launched too late to get away, and
was overtured by suction Some of
those in it, all, say some witnesses
found safety on a raft or were picked
up by a life beat.
“In the Marconi tower, almost to
the last, the click of the sending in
strument was heard over the waters.
“As the screams in the water multi-
plied, another sound was heard. It
was the melody of the hymn, ’Nearer
My God to Thee’ played by the string
orchestra. Some of those on the wa
ler started to sing the words, but
grew silent as they realized that for
the men who played, the music was a
sacrament soon to be consummated by
death. The siren strains of the hymn
and the frantic cries of the dying
blended in a symphony of sorrow.
“Sixteen boats were in the proces
sion which returned *o the terrible
hours of rowing, drifting and suspense.
Women wept for lost husbands and
sons; sailors sobbed for the ship which
had been their pride. Early dawn
brought no rescue ship, but not long
after 5 o’clock the Carpathia showed
her smoke stack upon the horizon. In
the joy of that moment the heaviest
griefs were forgotten.
“Soon after Capt. Rostron and Chief
Steward Hughes were welcoming chill
ed and bedraggled arrivals over the
Carpathia’s side. At the ship's side
I saw- the last of the line of boats dis
charge their loads and saw women,
some with cheap shawls about their
heads, some with the costliest of fur
cloaks, ascending the ship’s side. And
such joy as the first sight of our ship
may have given them had disappear
ed from their faces and there were
tears and signs of faltering as the
women were helped up the ladders or
hoisted aboard in swings. For lack of
room several of the Titanic’s boats
after unloaoing were set adrift.
“In his tiny house over the second
cabin smoking room was Harold Cot
ton, the Marconi operator, a ruddy
English youth whose work at his post
on what seemed ordinary duty until
almost midnight probably had saved
the lives of the huddling hundreds be
low.
"Already lie was knitting his brows
over the problem of handling the mes
sages which were coming in batches
from the purser's office. The haste
in which these Marconigrams was pre
pared by their senders was needless in
view of the wait of two days and two
nights for a land connection.
“Few men of the Carpathia’s pas
senger list slept in a bed on any of the
nights that followed. They and the
men of the Titanic lay in chairs or on
the floors. The captain was the first
to vacate his room, which was used
as a hospital.
“To a stateroom Bruce Ismay had
been conducted, his head bowed, an
guish in his face. He is head of the
International Mercantile Marine and
chief owner of the Titanic. He has
made the maiden voyage on each of
his company’s ships. He remained in
his room in a physician's care during
the voyage back to New York. Capt.
Rostron, his only caller, was not ad
mitted to see him until Tuesday even
ing.
He Was at the Wheel.
“Robert Hickens, one of the six sur
viving quartermasters of the Titanic,
the man who was on duty at the wheel
when the ship struck the iceberg, told
me the story of the wreck, on the Car
pathia Thursday night.
"Save for the surviving fourth offi
cer. Boxhall, whose lips are sealed,
Hickens saw Sunday night's tragedy
at closer range than any man now
living His story was:
“ ‘f went on watch at 8 o’clock Sun
day night and stood by the man at the
wheel until 10. At 10 I took the wheel
for two hours. On the bridge from
10 o’clock were First Officer Murdock.
Fourth Officer Boxhall and Sixth of
ficer Moody. In the crow’s nest (look
out tower) were Fleet and another man
whose name I do not know.
“ ‘Second Officer Lightoiler, who was
on watch while I stood by from 8 to id.
sent me soon after 8 to tell the car
penter to lookout for the fresh water
supply as there might be danger of
freezing. The temperature was then
about 31 degrees. He gave the crow's
nest a strict order to look out for small
icebergs.
“ ‘Second Officer Lightoller was re
lieved by First Officer Murdo k at 10
and I took the wheel then. At 11:40
three gongs sounded for the crow’s
nest, the signal for “something right
ahead.”
“ ‘At the same time one of the men
in the nest telephoned to the bridge
(Continued on Page Eight.)
COLD FIGVRES SHOW HOW
GREAT WAS THE DISASTER.
New York. April 18.—The fol
lowing tabulation of tile pas
sengers and crew on board the
Titanic, together with those
saved and lost lias been com
piled from the figures in a state
ment issued by a committee of
passengers:
Approximate number of pas
sengers aboard: First class 330;
Second class 320; Third class
750.
Officers and crew 940.
Total 2,340.
Number of passengers saved
by Carpathia: First class 210:
Second class 125; Third class
200.
Total passengers saved 535.
Members of crew saved: Of
ficers 4: Seamen 39; Stewards
90: Firemen 71.
Total members of crew saved
210.
Total saved, passengers and
crew. 7 15.
Total number itcrished. 1,-
595.
Six of those ’ rescued tiled
later.
First nnd second cabin pas
sengers, 650.
First and second cabin pas
sengers saved. 335.
Total cabin passengers Io«t.
315.
ASTOR AND STEAD
DIED TOGETHER
THEY WERE ON A RAFT
Survivor Saw Both of Them
Drown.
New York. Apirl IS.—One version of
the deaths of John Jacob Astor and
William T. Stead was told by Philip
Mock, who with bis sister, Mrs. Paul
Schabert, were among the survivors:
“Many men were hanging on the
rafts tn the sea.” said Mr. Mock. "Wil
liam T. Stead. the author, and Col.
John Jacob Astor clung to a raft
Their feet became frozen and they
were compelled to release their hold
Both were drowned.”
CAPT. SMITH S WIDOW
IN GRIEF AND SORROW
I.ondon. April IS.—The widow of
Capt. Smith, commander of the Ti
tanic, has written a p-athetie message
which was posted to-day outside the
White Star effices. It reads:
“To my poor fellow-sufferers; My
heart overflows with grief for you ail
and is laden with sorrow that you are
weighed down with this terrible bur
den that has been thrust upon us. May
God be with us and comfort us all.
Yours in deep sympathy.
"Eleanor Smith.”
BRAVE MEN RELATE GRAPHIC
STORIES OF TERRIBLE NIGHT
OF DEATH AND HEROISM
Last Man to Leave the Plunging Titanic Was Torn
from Her by the Sea.
SAW COL. ASTOR TELL HIS BRIDE FAREWELL
New York, April 18.—The story of the Titanic can not be bet
ter told than in the graphic words of men who came alive from out
that awful scene of death.
E. Z. Taylor of Philadelphia, one of the survivors, jumped into
the sea just three minutes before the boat sank. He told a graph
ic story as he came from the Carpathia to-night.
“I was eating when the boat struck the iceberg,” he said.
“There was an awful shock that made the boat tremble from
stem to stern. I did not realize for some time what had happened.
No one seemed to know the extent of the accident. We were told
that an iceberg had been struck by the ship. I felt the boat rise,
and it seemed to me that she was riding over the ice. I ran out on
deck and then I could see ice. It was a veritable ice, and the
boat was rocking over it. I should say that parts of the iceberg
were 80 feet high, but it had been broken into sections, probably
by our ship.
LAST MAN TO LEAVE TITANIC.
“I jumped into the ocean and was picked up by one of the boats.
I never expected to see land again. I waited on board the boat until
the lights went out. It seemed to me that the discipline on board
was wonderful.”
Col. Archibald Grade, U. S. A., the last man saved, went down
with the vessel, but was picked up. He was met to-night by his'
daughter, who had arrived from Washington, and his son-in-law,
Paul H. Fabricius. Col. Gracie told a remarkable story of personal
hardship and denied emphatically the reports that there had been
any panic on board. He praised in the highest terms the behavior of
both passengers and crew and paid a high tribute to the heroism ol
the women passengers.
“Mrs. Isidor Straus,” he said, “went to her death because she
would not desert her husband. Although he pleaded with her tc
take her place in the boat, she steadfastly refused, and when the
ship settled at the head, the two were engulfed by the wave that
swept her.” '
Col. Gracie told of how he was driven to the topmost deck Wher
the ship settled, and was the sole survivor after the wave that swept
the vessel just before her final plunge had passed.
HE HELPED SAVE OTHERS.
“I jumped with the wave,” he said, “just as I often have jump
ed with the breakers at the sea shore. By great good fortune. I
managed to grasp the brass railing on the deck above and I hung or
by might and main. When the ship plunged down, I was forced tc
let go, and I was swirled around and around for what seemed to be
an interminable time. Eventually I came to the surface" to find
the sea a mass of tangled wreckage.
“Luckily I was unhurt and casting about managed to seize s
wooden grating floating near-by. When I had recovered my breath
I discovered a larger canvas and cork-lift raft which had floated tn*
A man, whose name I did not learn, was struggling toward it from
some wreckage to which he had clung. I cast off and helped him
to get onto the raft and we then began the work of rescuing those
who had jumped into the sea and were floundering in the water
“When dawn broke there were thirty of us on the raft, stand
ing knee-deep in the ice water and afraid to move lest the crank}
craft be overturned. Several unfortunates, benumbed and half dead
besought us to save them, and one or two made an effort to reach
us, but we had to warn them away. Had we made any effort tc
save them, we all might have perished.
“The hours that elapsed before we were picked up by the Car
pathia were the longest and mdst terrible that I ever spent.
NO MEN WERE SHOT ’ V
“Practically without any sensation of feeling because of the icy
water, we were almost dropping from fatigue. We were afraid tc
turn around to look to see whether we were seen by passing craft
and when someone who was-facing astern passed the word that
something that looked like a steamer was coming up, one of the men
became hysterical under the strain. The rest of us, too, were near
ing the breaking point.”
Col. Gracie denied with emphasis that any men were fired upon
“This was to intimidate some steer
age passengers.” he said, “who had
tumbled into a boat before it was pre
pared for launching. This shot was
fired in the air. and when the foreign
ers were told the next would be di
rected at them they promptly return
ed to the deck. There was no con
fusion and no panic.”
Col. Gracie was in his berth when
the x-essel smashed into the berg and
was arounsed by the jar. He looked
at his watch, he said, and found it was
just midnight. The ship sank with
him at 2:22 a. m., for his watch stop
ped at that hour.
Hay* Was Prophetic.
“Before I retired.” said Col. Gracie.
“I had a long talk with Charles H.
Havs, president of the Grand Trunk
Railroad. One of the last things Mr.
Hays said was this:
“The White Star, the Cunard and
the Hamburg-American lines are de
voting their attention and energies in
vteing with the other to attain the su
premacy in luxurious ships and mak
ing speed records. The time will come
when this will be checked by some
appalling disaster.”
“Poor fellow! A few hours later he
was dead.
“The conduct of Col. John Jacob As
tor was deserving of the highest
praise." Col. Gracie declared. “The
millionaire New Yorker.” he said, “de
voted all his energies to saving his
Kentucky's Great Whiskey
from Distiller to You
»on trial
2 Gallons for $5.
3 for »7.60 or t for |3.choles
of Rye, Bourbon or Corn
Express Prepaid
Myer* Paieot of Moot., Wye.. Ce'o. 4* »*»•
To prove ¥\x!ton Straight Whiskey is best
you need send no money. We ship on 30 day 3’
credit, if you have your merchant or bank
guarantee vour account. Return if not sat
myßs&company
Warehouse No. 248 Covlntiton, Ky.
Write for Book. A Fair Customer, Sealed, if
bride, nee Miss Force of New York,
who is In delicate health.
Astor's Farewell to Bride.
"Col. Astor helped up In our efforts
to get her in the boat.” said Col. Gra
de. I lifted her into the boat and
as she took her place. Col. Astor re
quested permission of the second of
ficer to go with her for her own pro
tection.
■’ ’No. sir,’ replied the officer, 'not 8
man shall go on a boat until the wo
men are all oft.’ Col. Astor then in
quired the number of the boat which
was being lowered away and turned to
the work of clearing the other boats
and in reassuring the frightened and
nervous women.
"By this time the ship began to list
frightfully to port. This became so
dangerous that the second officer or
dered every one to rush to starboard.
This we did and we found the crew
try ing to get a boat off in that quar
ter. Here I saw the last of John B.
Thayer and George B. Widener Os
Philadelphia.”
Col. Grade said that despite the
warnings of icebergs, no slowing down
of speed was ordered by the com- ,
rnander of the Titanic. There were,'
other warnings, too, he said.
Making a Record.
"In the !’ hours run. ending the
14th.” he said, "the ship's run was M 6
miles and we were told that the next
24 hours would sec even a better rec
ord posted. No diminution of speed
was indicated in the run. The officers,
I am credibly informed, had been ad
vised by wireless from other ships of
the presence of icebergs and danger
jus floes in that vicinity. The sea was
as smooth as glass and the weather
clear, so that it seemed there was no
occasion for fear.” •
"When the vessel struck.” he con
tinued. “the passengers were so Httle
alarmed that they joked over the mat
ter. There was not the slightest in
dication of panic. Some of the frag
ments of ice had fallen on the deck
and these were picked up and passed •'
around for some of the facetious ones, «
who offered them as mementoes of th«
occasion. On the i>ort side a glance
over the side failed to show any evi
dence of damage and the vessel seem
ed to be on an even keel. James
Continued on Page Eight. «-
FIVE