Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-04-24
there and that WAS the order enforced.
No men passengers got in that boat
Sailors Not at Their PoSta

No men passengers got In that boat"
Sailors Not at Their Posts.
Did you see any man attempt to get
in?" asked Senator Smith.
mo. The boat was safely lowered.
There were about thirty-six or thirty
seven person in 1t. Then We turned to
the next boat. was surprised that the
sailors were not at their posts as they
should have been. I have seen fire drills,
and the action of the sailors did not i'm
press me-"
Prom what you observed, was there
proper discipline on the part of the crew
in loading the lifeboats?"
Those of the crew that I saw working
in lowering and filling the boats couldn'
have been better. but they were too few.
I was surprised not to see more sailors
at their stations, and also surprised that
more people were not put in the boats"
The men had had no practice the wit
ness said the men of the crew had told
him.
They seemed to be short of sailors
around the nfeboats where l was. When
/ came on deck first 1t seemed to me
that about 100 stokers came up with their
gunny sacks and crowded the deck"
''One of the officers. splendid man,
drove these men right off the deck. He
drove them like sheep"
when we got to the next boat quar-
boat was then filled with women. We
called out for more women and some
would not leave their husbands
Appeals of Victims Ignored.
Maj Peuchen said that in the lifeboat
the quartermaster in charge made Wom-
an row while he held the tiller, steering
for a light, which the major declared did
not exist so far as he could see. The
quartermaster refused to turn about and
attempt to pick up survivors, said the wit
ness.
Then we began to hear signs Of the
breaking up of the Titanic. We heard
sort of call for help after the whistle;
then a rumbling sound. l think the II
tanics lights were still on. Then there
was an explosion. then another. Then
the lights went out and then those dread
full cries. 1t frightfully affected all the
rible to listen to. But the sounds grew
fainter and fainter / think we were
about five-eighths Of q mile away
He did not see the vessel sink, but his
water. caused by the heavy pressure
when the boat started to dive down by
the head.
How many explosions were there?"
asked Senator Smith.
About three: but 1 was excited"
Did you see the captain after he told
you to go below and get through the
window into the lifeboat?"
mo. I never saw him after that"
Did you see him before the accident?'
Il think I saw him about o'clock
in one Of the companionways."
DO you think he was attentive to his
duties%
Yes, I do
Maj. Peuchen said the lifeboat he was
in was equipped with everything re-
quired. Some Of the boats, he heard,
were not sufficiently equipped with food.
When he got on the Carpathia he ex-
amined several lifeboats and found they
had lights, bareback and water.
Did the women row in the boats?"
Yes, and they were very plucky about
It, too. They worked with will. One
helped me until she became i'll from
the hard work and was forced to cease"
DO you know who those women were?''
Maj. Peuchen said Miss E. A. Norton OF
Acton Lane. London: Mrs. Walter Clark
OF Los Angeles, Mrs. Lucien B. Smith.
Huntington. w. Va; Mrs. Cavendish,
apolis, and Mr.. and Mrs. G. B. Burnham
OF Denver were among others in the boat,
many Of whom handled oars.
The major said there was still room in
and he could not understand why more
men were not taken of. Neither could
he understand why life belts had not kept
bodies af1oat longer
1.-THE Carpathia steamed all around the
scene of the wreck and we did not see
single body" the major said. ''It seems
strange to me, as should think the life
belts would have held bodies up, dead OF
alive, for four or five hours
He said he was certain that none could
have lived in the icy water more than
an hour.
Several who were on the upturned
boat and were rescued, and who had
their feet in the water he said, kept
themselves alive by clutching each other.
Their feet were frozen
No General Alarm Sounded.
Several senators asked il the fact that
there was no general alarm sounded
after the collision might account for the
failure Of many women to appear on the
decks in time for the lifeboats. He
thought that probable.
Maj. Peuchen read a statement in order
to make clear his position, as follows:
Il do not criticise Capt. Smith, but I
do criticise the policy and method pur-
sued by the company, for l feel sure
averted a terrible calamity. have been
given credit for saying many things abb
solutely untrue, and / wish to state that
l have not said any personal or unkind
things about Capt. Smith,
The major was then excused.
Frederick Fleet, the lookout then was
recalled to the stand. but before his
examina ton was begun the committee
decided to adjourn the hearing until 10
o'clock today.
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