Semi-weekly herald., 1912-04-18

NEW YORK, April l7.-4:3O D. IN.
"A wireless, the first direct message
from the Carpathia. says that the
number rescued Is not ms large as pre-
viously reported. This will bring the
death loss considerably above 1910 as
had been previously given.
NEW YORK, April 17.-Nothing
could show more plainly the heroism
Of the crew and the men passengers
who stood by the doomed ship Titanic,
facing inevitable death, and sent the
women and children away in life boats,
than the fact that four women to
every man were saved.
Some would have to be left, that
was a certainty Hundreds, in fact,
were left. But to all appearances the
men who were left stayed behind de-
liberately, calmly, stepping aside to
let the weaker ones, those to whom
they owed protection, take their way
to safety.
Sinking by the head. Have clear
ed the boats and filled them with the
women and children" This was the
final message these brave men sent
the world, for directly afterward their
wireless signals sputtered and then
stopped altogether.
The picture that inevitably presents
itself, in fact, what is known is of
the men like John Jacob Astor, master
of scores of millions; Benjamin Gug-
genheim, of the famous family Of
bankers; William T. Stead, veteran
journalist; Major Archibald w. Butt,
the soldier; Washington Roebing, the
noted engineer, of any or all Of these
men, stepping aside and bravely, gal
lantIy remaining to die that the place
he otherwise might have filled could
perhaps be taken by some sabot- -shod,
shawl-enthrouded illiterate peasant
woman of Europe.
Thus the stream of women with tod
ding infants or babes in arms, per-
haps most of them soon TO be widowed,
filed up from below and over the side
and away to life.
The men, by far the greater part
of them, remained to die, millionaire
and peasant and man Of middle class
alike bravely it must have been shar-
ing each others fate and going down
to common grave.
OF the survivors what? Their
story of peril and suffering with the
revelation they will furnish Of what
happened on board the stricken ocean
giant remains to be told. From what
can be learned, many of those who
came through the narrowing scenes of
the wreck are in pitiful state. Most
of them had retired and were forced
to leave the vessel in their night gar
ments. Then for hours they were
buffetted about in the sea of ice. Ex-
posed to icy blasts of ocean they drift
ed in small life boats and saw the
great ocean palace with its wonderful
illumination, slowly sink, carrying
with it husbands, fathers, brothers
and sweethearts to whom they had
said hasty farewell.
Officials of the White Star line
graphically described what happened
when the vessel struck the submerged
iceberg from their intimate knowledge
of Captain Smith and the man they
knew him to be. When the ship
struck, stopped and vibrated with the
terrific pounding Of her engines, such
engines that were powerless in the
path obstructed by nature, Captain
Smiths first thought was of the safe
ty of human lives entrusted in his
care. He Immediately ordered all
hands on deck. That all did not an
swer the summons, and that many Of
them occupying forward cabins were
killed by the impact is regarded A.
certain.