Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-04-24
LOOKOUT DECLARES BEFORE
COMMITTEE THAT glasses
WOULD HAVE SAVED SHIP.
COULD HAVE DETECTED
BERGs WITH BINOCULARS
Collision Would Have Been Avsrtsd
Had Watch Been Provided with
Proper Equipment-Lifshoats Denied
Aid to Drownins-Memsn Rsfussd to
Leave Sinking Ship.

missing horseshoe nail that cost mon
arch his kingdom, the failure to pro-
vide binoculars or spy glasses for the
( lookouts on the Titanic was one
F.! contributing cause of that ships loss
| and with it the loss of 1900 lives.
Two witnesses before the senate in
vesttgating committee yesterday agreed
! on this. They were Frederick Fleet. n
| lookout on the liner, and Major Arthur
! Godfrey Peuchen, Canadian manufac-
! turer and yachtsman, who was among
/, the rescued passengers.
| Fleet acknowledged that if he had
| been aided in his observations by a
=. good glass he probably could have
! sPie6 the berg INFO which the ship
(; crashed in time 10 have warned the
/ bridge to avoid it.
Major Peucnen also testified 10 the
! much greater sweep OF vision afforded
/ by binoculars and as yachrsman,
said he believed the presence of the
F.! iceberg might have been detected in
/ time to escape the collision had the
! lookout men been So equipped.
Reques. for Glasses Vain.
II was made TO appear that the blame
for being without glasses did not rest
( with the lookout men. Fleet said they
( had asked for them a Southampton
and were told there were none for
: them. One glass in q pinch. would
have ser"ed in the crows nest.
Major Peuchen criticised in strong
terms the lack OF experienced sailors
on board the Titanic. He said that
when the call 10 quarters was sounded
not enough OF the crew responded TO
undertake the work required in lower
! i.g and filling the boats. Furthermore
he said. no drills had been held from
the time the snip left Southampton.
: altho it was customary to hold such
drills every SUNDAY.
Major Peuchen said that IN the life
boat the quarternaster in charge made
z woman roy. while he held the ,iller.
steering FOR a light which the major
declared did not exis, SO far as he could
see. The quartermaster refused TO
turn about and attempt 70 pick UP sur
vivors, said the witness
When we began TO hear signs OF
the breaking UP OF the Titanic We
heard a sort of call for help afte.
the whistle. then runlbling sound. I
think the THAMES lights were still on
other. Then the lights went out and
then those dreadful cries. Il fright
fully affected all the women in our
boats. At first it was horrible to listen
to. But the sounds grew fainter and
fainter. ! think we We're about FIVE
eighths Of mile away.
Captain Attentive to Duty.
DO You think the captain was at
tentive to his duties" =" Senator Smith
asked
Yes do
Major Peuchen said the iifeboat he
vas in was equipped with everythin e
required. Some Of the boats he heard
were not sufficiently equipped with
food
| Did the women row in the coats ?"
Yes, and they were very plucky
about II. too. They worked with a viii.
! one helped me- until she became Il!
from the hard work and was forced to
cease
! DO YOU know who those women
/ were"
Major Peucher said Miss E a. Nor
ton Of Acton Lane, London: Mrs. Wal
ter Clark Of Los Angeles. Mrs. Lucien
3. Smith of Huntington, w Va: Mrs
/ Cavendish. New York; Mrs. Walter
Douglas. Minneapolis. and Nj and
Mrs. 6. 3. Burnham Of Denver were
among others il the boat, many Of
whom handled oars.
! He said the impact was 50 slight
that some Of the passengers were rot
! awakened. He said no alarm was
/ sounded. Two young women, he ga id.
whose stateroom was close to that Of
/ Colonel John Jacob Astor. were awak-
| ened by Mrs. Astor, who led them on
deck
Did you see Mr.. I.nay that night"
asked Senator Smith.
/ He was standing on the port side
| on the boat deck about an hour after
we struck. I did not see him again
until ne came aboard the carpathia.'
Plenty Of Room in Boats.
The major said there was still roorl
! in some boats which left from the port
side and ne could not understand Why
more men were not taken off.
The Carpatlnia steamed all around
the scene Of the wreck and we Gid Iot
see a single body the major sail. sit
| the life belts would have held bodies
up, dead or alive, for four or five
hours
l
could have lived in the city water more
than an hour.
| Several who were on the upturned
boat and were rescued, and who had
their feet in the wtaer," he said, kept
themselves alive by clutching each 9TH
er. Their feet were frozen"
Several senator's asked II the fact
| that there was no general alarm sound
| ed after the collision might account for
the failure Of many women to appear
OF the decks in time FOR the lifeboats.
He thought that probable.
Major Peuchen told the committee he
thought that il the lookouts on the
Titanic had had glasses the ship might
have been saved from the collision.
Two Few Sailors At Work.
From what you observed was there
proper discipline on the part Of the
crew in loading the lifeboa&s?"
/ Those Of the crew that saw work
ing in lowering and filling the boats
could not have been better, but they
were too few. was surprised not to
see more sailors at their stations aIS
also surprised that more people were
not put in the boats"
MAJ. Peuchen rcd Z statsment IN