The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1912-04-18
TITANIC, INJURED IN
MID OCEAN COLLISION,
REPORTED TO have SUNK
Sd1IlI anu Gear and land only a
hours away.
virsinian Gets First Word.

calm and clear and land only a few
hours away.
virsinian Gets First Word.
The Titantic's first s. O. S. message
was received by the Allan liner Vir-
g1nian, which, according to the posi-
ton given by the Titantic's operator,
was not more than ITO miles away.
The captain of the Virginian at once
started his boat at full speed for the
scene OF the disaster, announcing to
MS brother officers on the bridge of
the Titantic that the virginian should.
reach him by 10 o'clock this morning.
The Titantic's accident happened in
latitude Alas north, longitude sofa
west. This point is about 1.150 miles
u east Of New York city, and $50
miles south of the Cape Race, New
foundland, wireless station. All the
messages from the ship were sent to
the Cape Race wireless station by the
vlrg1nian, and were forwarded by the
Marcon1 company to New York city.
me I1tantic's twin ship, the Olym-
pic, which left New York last week,
the sinking boat from a point about
800 miles away, and started at once
for the scene.
The Titantic. which is on her maiden
trip, is In charge of Captain Smith,
VINO was on the bridge or the big Oiym-
pic when that boat collided with the
British cruiser Hawke last September.
The Titantic carries 1,470 passengers,
Of whom 318 are in the first cabin and
262 in the second cabin.
Steamship men here today charact-
erie the disaster as the most start
ling news which has come in from the
sea since the advent of wireless teleS-
raphy."
The first word of the accident came
about l O'Clock this morning, when ~
bulletin from Montreal stated that the
Allan line officers there had received
a wireless from Captain Gambell, OF
the steamer V%irginian, stating that the
Titantic was calling for assistance aft
er a collision with an iceberg. The Vir-
ginian's captain added he was head
ing his boat for the Titantic, whose po-
sition was said to1ae about $50 miles
south of Cape Race, Newfoundland.
Immediate inquiry by the Associated
Press, In an urgent dispatch to the
Marconi station at Cape Race was an
sWered soon afterward in the follow
ing words:
First News Message.
AT 1925 last night the steamer I'll
tan1c called C. @. D. and reported hav-
ing struck an iceberg. The steamer
said that immediate assistance was re-
CURED. Half an hour afterward anoth-
er message came, reporting they were
W llC 1lCdd dllo .tfldl "OtllSI
were being put off in the ll1eboats.
Ihe weather was calm and clear, the
Iltanlc's wireless operator reported.
The Olympic at midnight was in lati-
tude 4O.32 north and longitude 61.18
west.
"she was in direct communication
with the Titanic, and now is making all
haste toward her. The steamship Bal
tic also reported herself as about 200
miles east of the Titanic at 1915 a. m.
and making all possible speed toward
her,
Signals End Abruptly.
The last signals from the Titanic
m. The wireless operator on the vir-
glnlan says these signals were blurred
and ended abruptly"
The Titanic is the biggest BOAT in the
world. She has on board more than
1000 persons-1,470 passengers and a
crew of $50 men. A large percentage,
II not the majority of the passengers
are Americans.
The newspaper offices were besieged
early today by inquiry from hundreds
of persons shocked by the f~ragmentary
newspaper dispatches seen at the
breakfast tables, but in the early morn
ing hours there was nothing vital to
add to the alarming reports from Cape
Race. Something further was expect
ed every moment, but there was MOTH
ing at hand to relieve the anxiety
shown in every quarter.
Vice President P. A. S.. Franklin. of
the International Merchant Marine, the
highest official of the White sta line
here, was one of the first to be notified
of the reported disaster, but it was only
through the Associated Press that he
learned of it, and for hours thereafter
he could only express his establishment
at the news and his doubt tina such a
large and tnnrp1lphjv prntaota1 shin nc
the Titanic could be in danger at sea.
White Star Officials Calm.
Upon hearing the first reports he
spoke reassuringly. saying hat only
eight or 10 hours before the White Star
offices had received a wireless giving
the liners position. He was sure if she
had met with any accident he would
have heard from her promptly.
we are absolutely satisfied hat eve
if she was in collision with an iceberg
she is in no danger" he said. with
her numerous water-tight compart-
ments she is absolutely unsuitable, and
it makes no difference what she hit.
The report should not cause any seri-
Gus anxiety"
from Cape Race a little LATER, Mr.
Franklin qualified his statement with
the hope h a the reports were not true
He doubted that they could be correct
No News at 7:3o.
AT 1880 a. m. the White Star line
offices a only the newspaper reports
of the disaster. They felt assured thai
whatever the situation, there was this
reassuriDg feature, that at least three
liners had reported themselves in touch
with the Titanic; hat all of them were
stealning toward her, and that an I'm.
usually large number of other ships
were within the zone of wireless com
munication.
Situation Alarming.
The fact that at best the Virginian
which appeared to be neares to the I'll.
tanic, could not reach her until II
o'clock this morning, however, only
added to the anxiety of those here who
had friends on board. The bare reporf
that the vessel was sinking at the bow
at midnight; that women We're beine
taken off it in lifeboats then. and tina
half an hour later wireless communica.
ton was broken, were all viewed will
the utmost anxiety. There was excel.
lent reason. however. for belief tina
even though the Titanic was In dire
straits, there was a fair chance that M
lives would be lost.
The Cape Race dispatch reported tn,
weather as calm and clear, and in
reasonably quiet sea there is little dan,