The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-19
Click of Water Tight Doors Sounded Almost Simul- taneously With Crash MRS. STRAUS DIED
 WITH HER HUSBAND New York World Correspondent on Board Carpathia Gives Vivid
 Account of the Stories
 Brought by Survivors

New York, April 1s.-How the Titanic
 sank Is told by Charles F. Hurd, stan
 correspondent of the Evening World. who
 was a passenger on the Carpathia, and i who tonight furnished that newspaper
 with his account.
 He gives the number of lives lost as 17oo.
 Tfe praises highly the courage of the crew, hundreds of whom gave their lives with a heroism which equaled but could not
 exceed, the account says. that of John
 Jacob Astor, Henry H. Harris Jacques ] Futrelle and others in the long list of
 first cabin passengers
 It was the explosion of the boilers, ac-
 cording to MT. Hurds account which
 finally finished the Titanic's career. The
 bulkhead system, though probably work
 ing, prevailed only to delay the ships
 sinking. The position of the ships wound on the starboard quarter admitted icy
 water according to Hurds story, which
 caused the boilers to explode and these
 explosions broke the ship in two. The ships string band gathered In the salon
 near the end, the narrative says and
 played Nearer My God, to Thee' The
 account continues
 Levers Worked We'll
 The crash against the iceberg which had been sighted at only quarter of 1 a mile distance came almost simul-
 taneously with the click of the levers
 operated from the bridge. which
 stopped the engines and closed the
 water-tight doors Captain Smith was
 on the bridge a moment later, sum-
 moned all on board to put on life pre-
 servers, and ordered the life boats
 lowered
 The first boats had more male pas
 sengers as the men were the first to
 reach the deck. When the rush of
 frightened men and women and crying children to the decks began the
 women first rule was rgidly en- | forced
 Officers drew revolvers. but in most
 cases there was no use for them Re volyer shots heard shortly before the Titanic went down caused many ru-
 mors, one that Captain Smith had shot
 himself, another that First Officer
 Murdeek had ended his life, but mem
 bers of the crew discredit these ru-
 mors.
 Smith Stuck by Ship Captain Smith was last seen on the
 bridge. just before the ship sank, leaping only. after the decks had been
 washed away. s qfsF1Ekv
 What became of the men with the
 life preservers was question asked | by many since the disaster. ] Many of these with life preservers were seen to go down despite the pre- servers, and dead bodies foated on the surface as the boats moved away. | Mrs Isdor Straus refused to leave her husbands side, and both perished to- | gether.
 Harold Cotton. Maronci operator on the Carpathia. did not go to bed at his usual time Sunday night and as a result caught the first message of the Titanic's plight, which was respon- slble for saving the hundreds of the rescued who were landed in New York tonight
 | It was testified to by several sur Iv.vors that the Titanic was going 23 knots an hour when she crashed into | the iceberg.
 The Morning World tomorrow will publish MT, Hurds story in detail. h addition to the foregoing, MT. Hurd says in part:
 Imminence of Icebergs | Facts which I have established by l inquiries on the Carpathia. as postive- l ly as they could be established. in view of the silence of the few surviving of | ficers are:
 | | eral hours before the crash of the pos-< | lsible nearness of the icebergs. That the Titanic's speed, nearly 23 knots an hour. was not slackened That the number of lifeboats on the | Titanic was insufficient to accommo- idate more than one-third the passen- gers. to say nothing of the crew. Mem bers of the crew say there were 16 life 1 boats and two scollapslbles; none say there were more than 20 boats in all. The TOO who escaped filled most of the Is lfeboats and the one collapsbls which got away to the limit of their capacity.
 Had the ship struck the iceberg headon at whatever speed and with whatever resulting shock, the bulkhead lsystem of watertight compartments probably would have saved the vessel. As one man expressed it. 1t was tho Impossible that happened when, with la shock unbelievably mild, the ships side was torn for a length which made the bulkhead system ineffective "The Titanic was 1T99 miles from Queenstown and 1191 miles from New York, speeding for maiden voyage record The night was starlight, the sea classy. Lights were out in most iof the staterooms and only two or three congenial groups remained in the public rooms.
 the bridge, officers and members of the lcrew were at their places, awaiting relief at midnight from their two hours watch
 At f1:45 came the sudden sound Of two guns. warning of immediate dan ger.
 Crash Against Iceberg The crash against the iceberg, which had been sighted at only a quar- lter of mile. came almost smultane- uusly with the click of the levers op- erated by those on the bridge which stopped the engines and closed the wa tcrtight doors.
 Captain smith was on the bridge a moment later giving orders for the sum monng of all on board and for the put tinr on of life preservers and the lowering of the life beats
 -The first boats lowered contained more
 men passengers than the later ones as the men were deck first and not enoueh women were there to i'll them.
 When a moment later rush of, fright ened women and crying children to the deck began, enforcement of the women first rule became rigid. officers loading some of the boats drew revo1vers, but in