Arizona republican., 1912-07-08
|TS UNFAIR
 SAYS CRITIC
A Retired German Naval Officer Comments on the American Senate Report on the Sinking of the Titanic

BERLIN. Jue 28.-The report of the American senate committee of nves- tigation of the Titanic disaster is strongly criticized in d published statement by Captain von Keuhlwet- ter. retired. of the German navy. who sees in it further attempt on the part of the United States to cripple the foreign owned steamship lines, always thorn in the eye of Amer ica," and to build up her own lines at their expense He looks upon it as q preliminary to one sided legislation aimed to admit the foreign owned steamers to American harbors only under conditions and examination die tated by the United States law. The German maritime expert is able to agree with only four of the seven main conclusions of the senate com mittee's report-that the captain of the Californian saw the Titanic's dis tresS signals and failed to respond to them: that the lifebOats were not loaded to capacity because of lack of discipline of the Titanic's crew: that partly filled ifebOats failed to return to pick up more victims, and that the provisions for lowering the boats would not have permitted their Launching in q heavy sea
 It was not shown. says Non Kuehl- Wetter. that the Titanic's Watertight compartments were not actually wa tertight. as alleged in the senate re- port, and the proposal to require double bottom throughout each ships hull involves a change in construc- ton which cannot be accepted with out deeper cOnsideratiO An alarm system by which each passenger could be instantly notified of danger would. in the German experts opin- ion be pretty sure to cause panic and is not advisable. The blame as cribed in the senate report to the Titanic for disregarding warnings of ice is by Von KuehlWetter shifted to the steamship companies which have, he declares established their present courses with full knowledge that they lie inside the danger zone and have thus presented a temptation to all captains to be careless.
 Captain won Kuehlwetter declares that the inquiry in London is pro ceeding much more quietly and thor oughly than was the case with the American investigation. so that the decision to be reached ther will stand upon much more firm basis"
 The reduction of the Imperial banks discount rate to 412 per cent. on June II, after it had been maintained un- changed at per cent since Septem Der l9, 1911. put an end to the longest period for which the bank ever kept up so high d rate without change. It's adherence to the high rate so long is due to the belief of the managers that the banks extend credit to manu- lecturers and merchants far too lib- orally, so that the whole business system of the country rests too much upon an artficially expanded basis of credit
 The Imperial bank. with it's 800 branches in all parts of the empire. is the bank of bankers" in every com munity, hence the burden of it's eXces- cive credits falls back upon it finally. Owing to this state of things. the president has for several years been carrying on a campaign of reform in banking practice, looking principally toward restricting credits to safe linn it's. Several years ago he induced eight of the leading joint stock banks of Berlin to publish every two months balance sheet. so that the business community may be kept fully in formed as to the changes going on in the financial movement. Last win ter he succeeded in having the banks adopt d much more detailed form for making their returns, and most of the larger banks of the country have now joined in publishing returns, and the Imperial bank issues regularly every two months a compilation of the bal