The Brunswick news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1906-2016, 1912-05-04
STATEMENT OF ATTORNEY GEN.
ERAL THAT TITANIC RA" 81
KNOTS THROUGH ICE NOTED.
Facts HfSAsht Out Similar to those
Learned by Senators - Surviving
Sailors Objects of fnterest-No New
Evidence Produced. -g. 49,

Aouu0H, may o.-lDe attorney gen
eral, Sir Rufus Isaacs, addressed the
wreck commission which is investi-
eating the loss Of the White Star
liner Titanic today, setting forth the
facts as understood by the govern
ment and laying special emphasis up
on the evidence that speed of twen-
ty-one knots was maintained after
the warnings of ice ahead had been
received, right up to the moment of
the collision.
The whole of the forenoon session
was taken up with this staten ent,
which brought out little that had not
been already developed at the sena-
torial inquiry at Washington. The at
tendance of spectators was small. A
group of sailors survivors of the sea
tragedy who arrived here on the Lap
land from New York, and had been
subpoenaed to testify, were objects
of interest.
,eamen Represented.
When the court opened Lord Mer-
sey, who heads the commission, grant
ed permission to President Lewis of
the Seamen's Union, AMI to an attor-
ney for the Imperial Mercantile Guild
to. participate in the proceedings. The
union is rev Organize tion composed
of 1000 southampton sailors. Two
hundred and twenty eight of its mem
bers were employed on the TITANIC
and Of these only seventy-seven sur.
viyed. The officers Of the Titanic
were mar,S. rs Of the build. The in
auiry is L. ely to extend over severa
weeks, and will be d2vo:si largely t
technical details.
The court today displayed grea
interest in the warnings of ice the
Cunard liner Caronia and the White
Star steamer Baltic sent to the I'll
tanic on the day Of the disaster, April
IA. Lord Mersey inquired particularly
on this point, finally asking: "Am
right in supposing that she ran right
into the region where the ice was
after warning that ice was there
had been received?"
YES" replied the attorney general.
Statement of Sir Rufus.
Sir Rufus said the Titanic's capac-
ity was 3,547 persons, and that she
carried fourteen lifeboats, two cut
ters, four collapsible lifeboats, ac-
commodating a total of 1,167 persons.
She had 1850 life belts. On her first
and last voyage the vessel carried
1916 passengers and 1872 persons in
her crew. She was fitted with fifteen
and a number of water
tight doors, being designed to still
float in the event of any two adjoin-
ing compartments being flooded, un-
der which the top of these bulkheads
would be two and one-half or three
feet above water. The Titanic's s
speed, the attorney general said, on
April IA was twenty-one knots an
hour, which speed was never lessen
ed up to the time of the collision.
During that day the Caronia and the
Baltic had sent wireless messages to
the Titanic stating that icebergs,
GROWERS" and "felders" were in her
tract" :"
Nevertheless" continued Sir Ru-
fus, after dark the Titanic ran right
ahead at twenty-one knots, the night
being clear, but with no moon"
He said he had served notice on
Sir Robert Finlay, chief counsel for
the White Star line, who is repre-
senting the line at the present In
quiry, that the government considered
this fact of extreme Importance, so
that Sir Robert might bring evidences
to the contrary if he had it.
Three Main Points.
Sir Rufus announced that particu-
lar attention would be paid to the
three points:
The Titanic's speed after the warn
ings of icebergs had been received;
the insufficient number of lifeboats
for the persons carried, and the con-
struction of the water tight compart-
He gave a detailed analysis
of the numbers saved and lost by
classes and sexes, and indicated that
he considered that the disproportion-
ate number of first-class passengers
should be a matter of inquiry
1t was extremely difficult, the at
torney general said, to ascertain ex-
act1y what occurred between the
of collision and the sinking
of the ship. 1t appeared there was
no panic. The men took their sta
tions annnrdino To the Iist Ali the