Las Vegas optic. (East Las Vegas, N.M.) 1908-1921, 1912-05-28


ion that very few important fact
which were susceptible of being know
escaped our scrutiny. Energy is ofteI
more desirable than learning, and tn
inquisition serves a useful purpose t
the state.
In the construction Of the Titanic,
continued the senator, mo liimt 0
cost eircumscribed their endeavor an,
when this vessel took its place at tn,
head Of the line every modern i'm
provement in shipbuilding was suppos
ed to have been realized; SO confident
were they that both owner and build
er We're eager to go upon the trial
"trip.
when the crisis came state oI
absolute unpreparedness stupefied
both passengers and crew and. in their
despair, the ship went down, carry
ing as needless a sacrifice Of noble
women and brave men as ever clus-
tered about the Judgment Seat in any
single moment of passing time.
I'VE shall leave to the honest judg-
ment Of England the painstaking chas-
tisement Of the British board of
trade, to whose laxity of regulation
and hasty inspection the world is
largely indebted for this awful fatal
ity. OF contributing causes there
were many. In the face Of warning
signals, speed was increased and mes
sages Of danger seemed to stimulate
her to action rather than to persuade
her to fear.
The Titanic rushed onward on her
true course-one recognized as appra-
pirate and agreed upon by mariners
as the international highway foF west. /
bound ve$seis, yetsdahgerals At thisl
season flthe year, when the Labrador
current may be bearing vast masses
OF ice across the track Of ships
scores of these towering glaciers |
planted themselves in the very path
way Of this ship and were so large /
and so numerous that, in the absence |
of fog, they should have been easily
discernible by the lookout, il, as he
says in his testimony, he had been
supplied with glasses.
Captain Smith knew the sea and
his clear eye and steady hand had oft
en- guided his ship through dangerous
paths: for 40 years storms sought in
vain to vex him or menace his craft.
His Indifference to danger was one of
he direct and contributing causes Of
fthis unnecessary tragedy, while his
OWN willingness to die was the exDiat- !.
ng evidence of his fitness to live:
hose OF us who knew him well-not
n anger, but in sorrow-file one spe-
,ific charge aginst him, overconfid-
'nce and neglect to heed ,the oft-re.
'eated warnings of his friends; but.
n his horrible dismay, when his
'rain was afire with honest retribu-
ion, we can still see, in his manly
'earing and his tender solieitude for
he safety of women and little children
ome traces of his lofty spirit. n
The mystery of his Indifference to
LANCER, when other and less preten-
ious. vessels doubled their lookout or
topped their engines, finds no reason
ible hypothesis in conjecture of spec
lation science in shipbuiIdng was
to have attained perfection
nd to have spoken her last word;
mastery of the ocean had at last been
chieved; but overeonfidence seems to
ave dnIled the faculties usaaiIy SO
lert With the atmosphere literally
harged with warning signals and 6
Tireless messages registering their {
asst appeal, the stokePs in the engine !
DOM fed their fires with fresh fuel, I
egistering in that dangerous place
er fastest speed.
Nature gave a warning Of ap-
roaching peril so significant that pas
engers in stateroom and steeraee
hut out the chill and spoke to one {
mother of the sudden cold Sailors {
If the Grand Banks know the impor- !
ance of the thermometer. which is /
Imost as necessary. to their safety as /
J the compass. Even the quartermas-
sr Kitchens, who regularly took the ]
of the water from the (
ca, said 1t suddenly became bit j
Continued on Page Four II