Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-05-04
TO TRACE MESSAGE.
Marconi Manager Ready to
Aid Senator Smith.
NO REASON FOR MYSTERY
Mr.. Bottomley Wants to Find Cause
Of Delay in Transmission.
TESTIMONY BY JACK BINNS
Survivor Tells Of Apparent Failure
of Mechanism of Titanic's Water
Tight Compartments.
NO REASON FOR MYSTERY
TESTIMONY BY JACK BINNS

NEW YORK. May Al. Bottomley
general manager of the American Mar
conf Wireless Telegraph Company, ex.
pressed great surprise today that there
should be any attempt to make a mys-
terry of a certain wireless message which
j. Bruce Ismay sent to Vice President
Franklin of the White Star line the
morning of the Titanic disaster, and
which took forty-eight hours to reach its
destination.
Marconi Company was concerned it stood
ready at all times to render any assist
ance within its power, and that if Senator
Smith would take the trouble to furnish
him either the original or a copy of such
dispatch he would be very glad to trace
it as speedily as possible and determine
the reason for any delay in transmission.
In giving out the contents of Mr.. Is
mays message to Mr.. Franklin. Senator
Smith stated yesterday that to trace the
history of this message and to find out
exactly where 1T was held up IL it failed
to reach this city Monday morning was
the most important task still ahead OF his
committee. He intimated that he might
operators from ships in communication
with the Carpathia on the morning OF
the wreck. and from the shore stations
at Cape Race, Halifax and Sable Island.
This is the message Senator Smith says
would have prevented the storm of pro-
test against the White Star line:
steamship Carpathia. At Sea.
April Is, 1912.
"Islefrank. New York:
Il deeply regret to advise you the tt
tanic sank this morning after collision
with an iceberg. resulting in serious loss
of life Further particulars later.
(Signed) BRUCE ISMAY."
Time Of Filing.
"Mr. Ismay," Senator Smith said, 'in-
formed me that he filed this message al
most Immediately after boarding the
Carpathia And that was the thing the
people had a right to expect that he
would do From its text you can see it
was meant to be hurried advance no.
tice. He had not even taken time to fill
in any details but proposed that they
should come later. Mr.. Ismay filed this
message between 4:3O and $50 a. m. Mon
day..
Senator Smith read the text Of the dis
patch from a bundle of messages OF the
Postal Telegraph Company. These ne
brought from a leather portfolio in which
he keeps exhibits in the case.
1.-The marks on this message OF the
Postal company" he said, indicate that
it arrived here at am, Wednesday,
April IL.
There are several matters Senator
Smith has gained a sudden interest in
Concerning the wireless work at sea
following the wreck. They were sug-
gested to him in a further examination
of Jack Binns, the wireless operator
whose work saved the lives OF the Re
clared that the Carpathia had only a
fourth-rate wireless outfit, capable OF
sending in actual practice much less
than the distance claimed for 1t, and
that the one sensible thing for the
Carpathia's operator to have done Mon
day morning was to relay all his mes
sages to the steamship Californian,
whose equipment was only little less
aboard which vessel Binns said he had
worked.
Impressed by Testimony.
The testimony of Binns, who spent
over an hour with Senator Smith, i'm
pressed him very deeply. From what
he tells me-" said Senator Smith, after
Binns had gone Il begin to gather what
at least is a plausible explanation Of
the delay to send messages out Monday
morning"
General Manager Melville e. Stone Of
the Associated Press was also questioned
yesterday about the fake dispatches sent
out on the Monday following the wreck.
He named the Montreal Star as the
source of one such message, the Dow
Jones news ticker in this city as the
source of three, and the Canadian Press,
Limited. as the source of one.
George A. Harder of Brooklyn, who
with his wife. was one Of those saved
from the Titanic, testified concerning the
apparent failure Of the mechanism Of
one of the ships water-tight compart-
meuts to work Harder said that when
he went down to his stateroom to get
life belts he saw four or five members of
the crew on e. deck, on the starboard
side. with wrenches in their hands, one
of whom was trying to turn bolt in a
plate in the floor marked Nv T c." which
Harder said he assumed meant water
tight compartment. The witness said he
heard one Of the men say. Its no use,
this one won't work Let's try another
P. A. S. Franklin, vice president Of the
international Mercantile Marine Com
pany. issued a statement yesterday after
noon. In which he declared he had no
authentic information that the Titanic
had sunk until he received a wireless at
go O'Clock Monday evening, April 15.
Mr. Franklin also said he joined with the
Senate investigating committee in q de-
sire to slit reports to the contrary.