The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-05-28

the forecastle head-that is. right al i the bow of the ship-and I was on l the bridge myself with an officer until half past 10, which I would not have been under ordinary conditions. He thus admits extraordinary condl- tions, and that he received reports ol north from 40o 51' west from Cap tain Barr, of the steamship Coronian. | the day before. and also from the steamship Parfsian on that Sunday, 1 while the steamship New Amsterdam | reported to him several days before
 that they had seen field ice extend ing as far to the northeast as horf- zon is visible
 He further says that when the second officer came on the bridge at 12 o'clock, or 10 minutes past 12, l told him to watch that steamer which
 him; told him we were surrounded by ice; to watch the steamer, that she did not get any closer to her. At 20 minutes to 1 I whistled up the speaking tube and asked if she was getting any nearer. He said, No; she is not taking any notice of us;' so l said, I will go and lie down bit. At quarter past 1 he said. T think she has fired rocket and, continu- ing, She did not answer the Morse lamp, and she has commenced to go away from us' I then said, Call her up and let me know at once what her name is' So he put the whistle back, and, apparently, he was calling. Then I went to sleep" Captain Lord then says, Rockets are used as signals of distress and can not be mistaken" He does not believe that he could have seen the Titanic Morse signals, -bt1t is not quite so doubtful. about be- fa tance.
 Ernest Gill, a member of the crew of the California, says that he came on deck from the engine room at 11:56, ships time, and just before the accident that fatal Sunday evening, starboard side 'tthe lights of a very large steamer about 10 miles away" and that he ''could see her port side lights" that he then went to his cab in and said to his mate, William Thomas, that it was "clear off to the starboard, for I saw a big vessel going along at full speed;" that he could not sleep and went on deck again and saw a white, rocket about 10 miles away on the Starboard side and in seven or eight minutes saw distinctly a second rocket in the same place." saying to himself that must be a ves- sel in distress
 
 Morse signal lamp from the moment of the collision continuously for near ly two hours if they saw nothing? And the signals which were visible to MT. Gill at 12:30 and afterwards, and which were also seen by the. captain and officer of the watch, should have excited more solicitude than was dis played by the officers of that vessel, and the failure of Captain Lord to arouse the wireless operator on his ship, who could have easily ascertain ed the name of the vessel in distress and reached her in time to avert loss Of life, places a tremendous respOn- sibility upon this officer from which it will be very difficult for him to escape. Had he been as vigilant in the movement of his vessel as he was active in displaying his own signal lamp, there is a very strong proba- bility that every human life that was sacrificed through this disaster could have been saved. The dictates of hu- manity should have prompted vigil lance under such conditions, and the law of Great Britain giving effect to article 2 of the Brussels Convention in regard to assistance and salvage at sea is as follows:
 The master or person in charge of a vessel shall, so far as he can do so without serious danger to his own vessel, her crew, and passengers eff any), render assistance to every per- son, even if such person be a subject of foreign State at war with His Majesty, who is found at sea in dan ger of being lost, and if he fails to do so, he shall be guilty of a mis- demeanOr.
 The Senate passed, on the 18th day of April last, bill giving effect to | the same treaty, which clearly indi- l cates the disposition of the Govern nd in matters of this character. Con- l -rast, if you will, the conduct of the | captain of the Carpathia in this em- and imagine what must be | he consolation of that thoughtful and | mariner who rescued the | 'hipwrecked and left the people of the | world his debtor as his ship sailed for distant seas few days ago. By his liter se1f-effacement and his own in- difference to peril, by his promptness md his knightly sympathy, he rend- ,red great service to humanity. He mould be made to realize the debt of gratitude this Nation owes to him, while the book of good deeds, which lad so often been familiar with his unaffected valor, should hencefOrth 'arry the name of Captain Rostron o the remotest period of time. With lered the ships officers to their sta- ions. distributed the doctors into 'ositions of greatest usefulness, pre- ,ared comforts for man and mother nd babe; with foresight and tender less he lifted them from their watery and, when the rescue lad been completed, summoned all of he rescued together and ordered the hips bell tolled for the lost, and ask d that prayers of thankfulness be ffered by those who had been spar d. It falls to the lot of few men to a service so unselfish and he American Congress can honor it. elf no more by any single act than y writing into it's laws the gratitude 1e feel toward this modest and kindly 1an The lessons of this hour are, ndeed, fruitless and it's precepts ill.,