The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-07-14
FAGUET EXPLAINS.
Makes No Defense of La Bour-
gOgne Captain and Crew.

New York, July 14.-The Times today
says:
Paul F'aguet, acting general agent of
the United States and Canada of the
Compagnie Generate Trans-AtIantiqu
has given out for publication a state
ment concerning the charges made in
relation to the conduct of the crew of
La Bourgogne at the time of the recent
disaster. Among other things Mr.. Fag-
uet says;
1T would be useless for ne to defend
the captain and subordinate officers of
La Bourgogne. They showed themselves
heroes by remaining at their posts and
dylng with those they could not save.
OF the Is officers of the deck and en-
CINE departments only three saved
themselves, and then they did not leave
the ship until they had done their whole
duty.
Immediately after the collision Off
GERS and men alike went to the posts
assigned them. Several starboard life
boats were dashed to pieces while the
life boats the port side had been
rendered useless by the heavy list of
the steamer to StarbOard. The crew
aided by some of the passengers, sue
ceeded, however, in lowering two of
them, in which women and children
took their places. Unfortunately these
boats had to be slipped along the hull
OF the steamer to be lowered and thew
capsized- 1t was only at the last min
ute, when all efforts were of no avail
and the steamer was about to disappear
that the sailors, by order of their chiefs
jumped into the sea and IS of the so
were lost
The three life boats that had been
launched after having unloaded their
passengers in safety on board the
CrOmartyshire, made three more trips
and brought all the survivors Captain
Henderson, of the CrOmartyShire has
made to the consul of Halifax a state
ment declaring that the criticisms at
tributed to him by writers in the news
papers are untrue.
The fremen and the coal passers were
down in the engine room until the end,
striving against the water which was in
vading it, to secure the good Workiner Of
the pumps. 1t was only five or six min
utes before the steamer sank that the
chief engineer, who died at his post of
duty, gave at two different times two
blasts of his whistle, signalling the crew
to seek work of rescue and hasten away.
Two occurrences brought to my atten-
ton may have started the reports OF
brutal trea tment on the part of our crew.
showed me scar which he said he had
in the hands of someOne-whether a pas
senger or sailor he did not Know But
he added that the man who did strike him
was justified iE doing SO, because there
were eighteen or twenty on the raft he
was trying to climb on, and if he had not
been repulsed the raft would have been
eapsized and the whole party lost. The
other incident was related to me by one
of the passengers. A friend of his. while
trying to climb upon an already overload
ed raft, was knocked back by the blow
from an oar in a sailors hands. and thus
the lives of Is or 20 men on the raft were
saved What was the duty in these two
cases of those who had charge of the
RATS, repulse one man who might have
been able to find suecor elsewhere, or let
twenty perish?
''AlI of these facts were reported to me
by passengers Several relatives of I'M
fortunate victims, by questioning the
cabin and dining room walters who were
saved have learned few incidents in
the lives of their lost relatives just before
the ship went down, and have been con-
WINGED that the charges of stabbing and
other barbarisms are untrue"