The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1912-04-28
Steamers Could Not Reach
Vessel Because He Gave
Wrong Position.
CAPTAIN OF THE MOUNT TEMPLE
ATTEMPTED TO GO TO AID OF
SINKING VESSEL, BUT FOUND
she WAS MANY MILES FROM
WHERE WIRELESS MESSAGE
SAID SHE WAS-MANY STEAM
ERS WERE NEAR.
Ry AssocIated Press.

Washington, April 27.-To give her
exact position in the great field of
floating ice, offering a barrier to ships
hurrying to the rescue, and the mis-
take of her own captain in rushing at
top speed through the ice covered sea-
all combined to send the Titanic with
her sixteen hundred victims to a wa
terry grave in the North Atlantic. This
was strongly indicated today in testi-
mony before the senatorial committee
investigating the disaster.
Capt. Moore, of the steamer Mount
Temple, which hurried to the Titanic
IN response to the wireless calls for
help, told of the ice that held him OFF,
Within his view fYom the bridge he
discerned. he said, another strange
steamer, probably a tramp, and h
schooner making their way out of the
ice. The lights of this schooner, he
thought, probably were those seen by
the survivors of the Titanic. Captain
Moore denounced as most unwise' the
action of the Titanic's commander in
rushing 21 knots an hour when he had
been advised of the proximity of ice.
Captain Moore was emphatic in saying
the position sent out by the Titanic
was wrong and the ship was eight
miles further eastward than the oper-
ator reported. With what was vir-
utlally a fleet of steamers within a
radius of fifty miles of the Titanic the
officer said the mistake in fixing ac-
curately the position of the Titanic
was fatal.
Have you seen icebergs by day ano
by night?" asked Senator Smith.
Yes SIR replied Capt. Moore.
How do they look on a starllt
night?"
IcEBERGs LUMINOUS.
White, sir. In fact, they are lunin-
ous."
The night Of the Titanic catastrophe
was clear and the sky was studded
thick with stars.
II wish you would tell the commit
tee just what happened on that Sun
day night and Monday morning" said
the senator.
cat 1880 a. m. April 15." Captain
Moore said, Il was awakened by the
steward with a message from the Mar
conf operator OF my ship which said
that the Titanic was sending out a
COD. message. Here is the message:
Titanic sending C.D.Q. Requires as
Eistc nee. Position 41:44 N 50.24 w.
Come at once. Iceberg This was a
message the operator picked up"
What reply did you send?"
None whatever, sir. We didn't want
to stop those distress messages going
out and the operator said the Titanic
couldn't hear him. At once / ordered
the course toward the Titanic's POSI-
ton. I dressed and went to the chart
room. We steamed up and sailed east
by the compass. We turned right
toward the Titanic. Then l went to
the chief engineer and told him about
the Titanic and to push up the fires,
wake up all extra iremen and to get
them busy. ] said If necessary give
the firemen a tot OF rum sir"
AT the time you got this message
from the Titanic. how far distant did
you figure the vessel was from you?"
About 40 miles"
The senator asked what speed the
Mount Temple made toward the IT,
tanic Captain Moore said a trife
more than eleven knots
About a. m. we ran into our first
ice," continued the witness, "and we
Immediately doubled the lookout watch.
''At 3:25, ships time, we had to stop.
At that time we figured we were about
fourteen miles distant from where the
Titanic signalled-"
He said he had been at sea for thir-
ty-two years, 81 years in the North At
lantic ocean.
"Are you familiar with ice and ice
bergs?" asked Senator Smith.
Yes" said the captain. "A berg is
ice broken of from land in the arctic
regions and may be composed of land.
rocks and most anything that it would
pick UP in its course"
Senator Smith sought this informa-
tion because of some levity caused by
q question he asked several days ago
as to what an iceberg was.
Captain Moore's ship was stopped a
few minutes by ice and again delayed
by a schooner coming from the direc-
ton OF the Titanic. When he saw the
schooner about o'clock he estimated
she was about twelve miles from the
Titanic's position
Asked If the scnooner's light might
have been the one mentioned by officer
Boxhall of the Titanic and others, Cap
tain Moore said they might have seen
IcontInued on PAGE TWENTY Threel