The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1912-04-17
BY AssoeIaeed Press.

New York, April 16.-These PIN
nacles of fact concerning the worlds
greatest steamship disaster-the sink
ing Of the great White Star liner til
tanic off the banks of New Foundland
stood out prominently early today as
sifted from the wireless reports:
Revised estimate loss of life, 1902
souls.
The 10000 900 steamship with cargo
and jewels worth perhaps $10,000,000
more a total loss.
No mention among the survivors Of
Colonel John Jacob Astor. His bride,
nee Miss Force of New York, has been
saved. Major Archibald Butt Presi-
dent Taft's aide, is still unaccounted
for as are many other persons Of in
ternational Importance. j. Bruce Is
may, president of the International
Mercantile Marine. owners of the White
Star Line, is among the survivors, as
is his wife.
Captain E. ]. Smith, commander of
the Titanic, probably went to his grave
with his Inflated vessel without once
being able to communicate direct with
the agents of his line. Aside from the
c. Q. d. message by his wireless op-
orator not one word from him was re-
ceived up to the time the Titanic sank
bow foremost in the ocean.
The presumption is that he met
death at his post as a gallant skipper
should. .....
ENFORCED UNWRITTEN LAW. .
That he and his crew enforced rigid
ly the unwritten law of the sea-wom
en- and children frst-is plainly indi-
Gated by the preponderance of women
among the partial list of survivors
that the wireless has given.
Although rated as one of the most
able commanders since the advent of
the modern steamship, Captain Smiths
career had been recently marred with
Ill luck. He was in command of the
Tttanic's sister ship, Olympic, when
that vessel was in collision with the
British cruiser Hawk. Exonerated Of
all blame Of this occurrence, he was
placed in charge of the Titanic only to
Craze disaster when his new charge
fouled the steamship New York in the
Solent after leaving Southampton on
her maiden voyage which has ended so
disastrously. He had been in the lines
employ for more than thirty years
His first important command was the
Majestic.
Although s6s souls are reported 10
be on the Carpathia. II is apparent
that all of them are not passengers
for it was necessary for members Of
the Titanic's crew 10 man the life
boats which set out from the sinking
liner. How many of the crew were
assigned to each boat is a matter of
conjecture. A similarly unsettled mat
ter Is the percentage Of first class
passengers among those saved. While
the names of survivors obtained are
largely those of salon passengers, the
rule women first should apply equal
ly to HE second cabin and steerage. q
regulation which may have cost the
lives of many prominent men above
decks. It Is natural also that the
names Of the more obscure survivors
would be slower in reaching land
CROWDS BESIEGE BULLETIN.
False news and false hopes and an
international belief that the palatial
Titanic was practically unsuitable fol-
lowed the slowly unfolding accounts Of
her loss in a way without precedent
Eager crowds in a dozen cities in the
United States besieged bulletin boards
when II became known that the giant
liner had really sunk with terrible loss
Of life and in New York city hysteri-
cal men and women crowded into the
White Star Line Offices seeking news
Of relatives. Vincent utor, Colonel
Astors son, spent the entire night
waiting for some wireless tidings Of
his father, alternately visiting the
White Star Line headquarters and the
newspaper Offices.
The speed at which the Titanic was
going when she shattered herself
against the iceberg will perhaps not
be known until the first OF her sur
vivors reach port Whatever her rate
of progress, however, shtpbuilders here
and abroad must admit that while the
modern steamship may defy the wind
and weather, ice and fog remain an
ever present element Of danger. No
ship, they point out, no matter hon,
staunchly built nor how many water
tight bulkheads protect her, my
plunge headlong against a wall of ice
without grave results. The general
opinion is that the Titanic's equipment
was put to an extraordinary test which
no vessel could have withstood-
Under ordinary circumstances these
watertight compartments viii preserve
a ship from sinking" said A L. Dop-
kins. vice president Of the Newport
News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co
| in New York. but smashing into an
| iceberg could produce shattering ef-
fects that would render a ship help
less beyond the protection OF any de-
sign yet known. In fore and after
collision where the compartments are
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