Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-06-13
LADY GORDON GOT
SOUVENIR NAMES
ON HER LIFE BELT
Sir Cosmo Testifies 1t Never Oc-
Cured To Him To Go Back
To Save Others.

London Lady p~uff-Gurdum got the
crew of her boat I" write their names on
her life bel, us a souvenir of the occa-
sion, according Ia evidence given II, the
Titanic inquiry Ny q. Symons. one OF the
lookou,s of the ill-s,arred ship. Symons
WAS in charge of the threc-auarters
empty lifeboat No. /. in which Sir Cos
mo Lady Duff-t;orden and
her maid and several others mad. their
quick escape from the sinking White Star
liner.
Many in the fashionable throng at the
inquiry were notiNe.i To shivcr ut the re
cital nj The souvenir incident, that had
occurred, so il was testified. In The very
presence OF the most Terrible marine dis
astcr in history.
I'm giving his own testimony Sir Cosmo
said he knew when he followed his wife
into lifehoat No. I that tho Titanic was
IN grave danger. Then in his evidence
he mentioned that shortly before taking
10 the boat he had talked In COL. john
Jacob Aston.
Colonel Astur went down With ehc ship,
did ne not?' asked Sir Rufus rslacs. the
attorney general, looking hard Mt Duff
Gordon.
The witness palci and lowered his eyes,
making no reply. \ murmur ram through
the audience.
Never Occurred To Him"
When Duff-t;ordon i'm answer TO a
question. declared it never occurred to
him when he was in the lifcboat that tho
boat ought to go back and rescue any
of those in the water. the attorney gen
eral flung down his papers with q CON
tenlptuous gesture and TOOK his seat.
Sin Cosmos excuse for entering "A life
boat was the same as that given in
America by j. Bruce lslnay.
Sir Rufus Isaacs: Can YOU give amy
explanation as To why the boat left witt,
so few?
Sir Cosmo Duff-t;ordon: There were no
people in sight.
Sir Rufus lsaacs: There mus, have
been people near by.
Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon: ! thought they
would go away in the port boats.
The witness said he guessed his life
boat had succeeded In rowing at least
LOCO yards away from the Titanic when
she sank. Then they started rowing
again.
Sir Rufus 1saacs: You heard the cries
of drowning people. There was room in
the boat. and IL YOU had returned YOU
could have saved some.
Sir Coslno Duff-(;ordon: II is hard to
know what I was thinking about at the
time. was looking after my wife.
II never even heard ii suggested in our
boat" continued the witness. tina, we
should return to the scene OF the dis
aster. ! did not think 1T would be pos
sible to go back there, nor did the idea
of retnrnine enter my mind.
Lots of Room in Boat.
Sir Rufus lsaacs: You know now that
YOU could have saved many?
Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon: don't know.
Sir Rufus Isaacs: You had lots OF
room in the boat"
Sir Coslno Duff Gordon: Yes.
Duff-Gordon had taken the witness chair
1auntilS. He presented an upright figure,
a fair and fashionable looking man. Dur
ing his examination he %nervously clasped
and unclasped his hands and folded and
unfolded his arms. but kept his head, APP
Iarently. throughout the ordeal.
He did not give any sign that hS
noticed any of the looks that were show
cred on him mt different stages Of the
proceedings, as when he explained in "A
feeble voice that really there would have
been more spare room in his iifeboat il
the spare oars, mas, and sail had been
removed.
AT the close of the inquiry Sir Cosmo
turned to his wife with slight gaping OF
the mouth that suggested n forced smile.
II was the only expression Of the. kind
in sight.
Tilted Friends Present.
Lady Duff-Gordon attended the jnu,,i,y
but did not testify. Her time is coming.
She sat beside her husband, within tho
rampar of counsel employed to defend
his reputation. She was dressed in dark
blue. Her hat was black, broad-brimmed.
with q tuft in front. She is "A drcssmaker
in London and New York. Hour after
hour she remained almost motionless in
her chair. Her face was CHASTITY pale.
Once or twice she swept her eyes
troublously over the crowd of listeners.
which included many 0f her friends in
society. among them Mrs. Asquith. the
Marchioness of Grew, Lady Juliet Duff,
Lady Sarah Wilson and the Countess OF
Clarendon. Included in the titled men In
the galleries We're Prince Albert of
Schleswig-Holstein and Prince Maurice of
Battenbers.
The first witness was Charles Hendricks
son. a member of the Titanic crew who
was on the Duff-Gordon l~ifeboat. He had
already testified and came up for cross
examination. He reiterated that II was
the Duff-Gordons who told the crew not
to go back to attempt to rescue any OF
those in the water.
W witnesses swore that agents OF the
Duff-Gordons had asked them to testify
favorably for them.
The Founder Of tho c~hautauquas.