Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-14
Who WAS TO BLAME2.
Burden of Responsibility for
Wreck of the Madiana.
THE CAPTAINS ERRORS
BERMUDA AND THE STEAMSHIP
COMPANY ALSO BLAMABLE.
Needs: Inspection at New York; New
Lights, Whistling Buoys and Life
Saving Service at Bermuda.

| Editorial Correspondence of The Evening Star.
| The men and women of the Madiana
| whose lives were imperiled on the Ber-
| muda reefs have naturally been keenly In
| terested in fixing the responsibility fer the
| wreck and have followed with eagerness
| the marine inquiry into the disaster which
was conducted in the court house at Ham
| ilton and which recently made Its finding.
The conditions disclosed in relation to
| navigation in Bermudan waters and strong
| ly suggested in relation to ocean travel in
general starting from New York are, how
ever, of such q character as to concern
| not merely the shipwrecked passengers,
| but all of the individual constituent ele-
| ments of that great wave of tourist travel
| which annually flows out from American
| ports Broadly speaking, the Madiana was
| wrecked because, through an error Of nav
| igation which took her many miles out OF
| her course, she was where she ought not
| to have been; because her captain and his
| officers did not know where she was, ana
| because the GIBBS Hill light, which, If in
| perfect order, might have enabled the cap
| tain to detect and correct his error with
| out evil consequences, failed him.
| The findings Of the court bearing especially
| on the captain were, in brief, that the posi-
| ton of the ship as determined by him at
noon on the day preceding the wreck was
Inaccurate; that after having run his dis
| lance and failed to pick up light he was
not justified in keeping his ship at fun
speed, more especially as he knew that his
course would bring him into close proximity
to dangerous reefs; that the captains fail
| ure to inform himself Of the decreased yisi-
| bility of Gibbs Hill light was serious
| omission; that the captain committed an
error by steadying the ships head at east
| soon after being warned of breakers on the
! lee bow; and that this error in connection
| with the inaccuracy of his noon obserVa-
| ton contributed to the loss OF the SHIP
| No action Is taken In respect to cancellation
or suspension of the captains certificate
| inasmuch as the Canadian Board of Trade
| alone has jurisdiction which covers the i'm
| position of such penalty.
Rejecting primarily upon the Quebec
Steamship Company, the court found that
| the law requiring periodic adjustment Of
| compasses did not appear to have been
| complied with, and this omission was re-
| garded as most serious And the court was
| of opinion that only men capable of under
standing and speaking English ought to
| be employed as steersmen on British pas
| senger ships. 7C
This last declaration, coupled with the
| finding that the captain, his officers and
| crew did all in their power to insure the
safety and welfare of the passengers after
| the ship had struck, raises the question Of
| the composition and character of the crew,
| upon which point the passengers of the
Madiana have some positive and vigorous
| opinions
Alter the SNIP, WITH q uOle III her UOltOu
rested on the reef, and it became evident
| that she was lost, and that the captain S
| duty and responsibility centered upon the
| passengers and their safety, it seemed that
| every intelligent effort was made by the off,
GERS to reassure the passengers, to relieve
| their discomforts and to save their lives.
! There was, however, criticism on one point
| of officers as well crew, by passengers
| who thought that it should have been pos
| sible by prompt action to transfer the three
! port lifeboats to the starboard side, where
| they might in an emergency have been
| utilized, instead of leaving them on the
port side, exposed to the fury Of the sea-
until it was too late to save them and If
the sweeping away of these boats had been
a factor In causing loss Of life among the
passengers bitter censure would doubtless
have been visited upon this sin of omission.
The Madiana's Crew.
AS affairs providentially turned out the
crew was not subjected to any great test
good But 1t is justly to be noted that the
| crew. hastily assembled for the cruise, had
not single Englishman in it, though the
Madiana flies the English flag; that many
| of the sailors from southern Europe in
| Guiding even the helmsmen at the time of
| the disaster. could neither speak nor un-
| derstand English: that the crew had alb
| solutely no fire drill or system in handling
| the lffeboats: that some of them were awk-
| ward and unreliable even oarsmen; that
| in manning the lifeboats the first officer
| insisted upon at least one Notwithstanding
| man In the first boat. and that slight indi-
cations of INSTRUMENTATION and of a
| purpose to save themselves no mat
| ter what might happen to others had been
exhibited by some Of the crew, causing un-
easiness and apprehension among both Of
| fcers and passengers.
Mr.: Jughardt OF Brooklyn gives testi-
mony concerning the actions of some Of the
| sailors Immediately after the ship struck
| and since he duplicates himself in. their
discreditable behavior 1t may be assumed
that ne confesses no more than the exact
truth In an interview printed in the New
| York World Of February II he claims that
ne was the first passenger on deck after
the ship struck The crew seemed crazy
| he says Several Of them made a rush
for boat and got in it. asked them to
let me in with them, but they wouldn't do
it. They were trying to leave, so offered
| them money and they let me in. Then the
second mate ran up and made us all get
| out"
| 1 observed personally a selfish, insub-
ordinate spirit in some Of the Italian sail
ors. fingered only long enough In the
social hall to equip my wife and myself
with life preservers and then we went up
to the hurricane deck and stood by the
| side Of the starboard Efeboat nearest to
| the bridge. In this boat at that time three
| sailors were sitting.
Soon the cry was heard that the port life
boats were In danger and an officer ordered
4
| who were trying to save the port boats.
| They responded slowly. and one finally said
| that one OF their. number. indicating him.
| was sick The officer replied that there
could be no such thing as sick man in
| the crew that morning, and drove them
| out Of the Hfeboat. But after the sea had
| swept away the port boats they or three
others of the crew re-entered the same life
| boat. put on life preservers and sheltered
| themselves with a heavy canvas against the
wind and rain and spray. while the unpro-
| tected passengers were wet and shiyerine.
There were only a few acts strongly sugges-
tive Of a lack Of discipline among the crew.
| but these were sufficient to arouse reason
| able apprehensions OF the worst among men
| and women In desperate peril from the sea
| with ifeboat accommodations for only q
fraction of the passengers, even assuming
that the boats could be safely lowered in the
| surging waters during q possible struggle
for life with the officers and passengers on
one side and a part OF the crew on the other
It was providential that the passengers
| were not compelled to rely upon the Ma
dianas sailors and the three remaining life
| boats for transfer from the wreck to the
| Bermudan shore. The Imagination shrinks
1 from picturing the probable scene II the
| ship had begun to slip from the rock, and
| to cry ITO the boats" had been heard.
| Looting the Baggage.