Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-04-20

despite the preservers. and dead bodies
fioated on the surface as the last boats
moved away,
II Is stated positively the ships string
band gathered In the saloon, near the
end, and played Nearer. My God. To
Thee"
Mrs. Isldor straus refused TO leave her
..usband's side and both persisted to-
gether.
Harold Cotton. ths Msrconi operator of
the cafpathia. did not 90 TO bed at his
usual time Sunday night, and Is a result
caught tho first message Of the Titanics
plight. He had been relaying messages
to the Titanic on Sunday night and
shortly after II o'clock babe the Titanic
operator good night. Just as he was
about TO take the receiver off his head
the &C. Q. D." call sounded. This was
followed by the words. We've hit some
thing; come at once"
Cotton at once communicated with the
carpathia's officers and its course was
at once changed In the direction OF The
Titanic at full speed OF eighteen knots
for the full distance OF sixty miles inter-
ycning between the two ships.
Before Cotton could make reply on
the c. Q. D., came the THAMES I'm
afraid We are gone"
Cotton sent word Of the coming of the
carpathia. No further communication
was had with the doomed ship.
Tho Titanio's speed OF twenty-three
knots an hour was never slackened and
I, was going at that speed when II struck.
s. V, silverthorne Of ST. Louis was one
Of three or four saloon passengers on
the Titanic who saw the deadly iceberg
lust after the collision.
II was In the smoking room reading.
near bridge whist game at one Of the
tables" no said. when the crash came
| said:
We've hit somethlns.' and went out
on the starboard side to took. None Of
us was alarmed. II occurred to me that
We might have bumped some small craft.
II went back in the smoking room with
the others One OF the bridge players
had not left the smoking room at ali
and was waiting impAtiently for the
others TO come back and resume the
game. They turned and took up their
hands and We were all about to settle
down when an officer ordered US on deck
and told US to get ilto the boats.
There not being enough women on
deck TO FIJI the first ones, we did not
like the idea of leaving the ship then.
but did. as we We're told. Had. we been
in our rooms We would have had to stand
aside as other men did then"
ship's side Torn.
The Morning World tomorrow will pub
lIsh Carlos F. Hufds story IN detail Mr..
Hurd's story said in part: e..
Facts which have established by In
quiries on the carpathia as positively as
they could be established In view Of the
silence OF the few surviving officers are:
That the. THAMES officers knew sew
eral hours before the crash OF the pos
sIble ntafness. Of the iceberss.
That the. THAMES speed. nearly twen-
ty-three Knots an hour. was not slack
ered
That the number OF lifeboats on the
Titanic was Insufficient to accommodate
nibre than one-third Of the passengers.
to say nothing. Of the crew Most mem
eers Of the crew say there was sixteen
liteboets and two eollapsibles; none say
there were more than twenty boats in
all The 100 who escaped filled most Of
the sixteen lifeboats and the one collapse
bic. which got away. to the limit Of ca
paclty.
Had tho ship struck the iceberg
head.on at whatever speed and with