New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-05-04
Senator Smith Gets First Direct
Testimony of Restraint in
That Part of Titanic
After Striking Berg.
G. E. HARDER A WITNESS
Saw Men Trying in Vain to Close
Doors of the Watertight
Compartments, He Testi-
fies-M. E. Stone
on Stand.

on stand.
Senator William Alden Smith. who -
examining witnesses in behalf OF the
Senate Titanic investigators, brought out
Yesterday the first direct evidence that
| the inquiry has furnished that tenn
porary restraint was placed on the steer
age passengers Of the Titanic just after
the vessel struck the iceberg.
Five witnesses testified yesterday.
among them two steerage passengers
The first, Daniel Buckley, was in the aft
steerage and he told Of a locked gate,
which blocked the men and women from,
that section Of the vessel getting TO the
lifeboats, until they broke 1t down by
sheer force Of numbers. The second
Claus Abeseth. from the forward steer
q sge COMPARTMENTS, testified that he en-
countered no obstacles whatever on his
wav to the upper deck, from which hs
jumped.
Buckley said thae he finally made his
way into boat in which there were
number Of men, as we'll as women. pas
sengers. and that he held his place in the
| DOdL WHcl tllc ulSil "ciO VI iN~'N1 NN' 1
cause some woman who he was after
ward told was Mrs. Astor. threw shawl
over his head.
| Senator Smith examined George A.
Harder, the young bridegroom, of Brook
lvn: Melville f. Stone. general manager
| of The Associated Press, and Jack"
| Binns the wireless operator who sent
out the famous &C Q D" message when
the Republic foundered after her COLI
lson with the Florida.
Harder's story was Of value to the
record Of the inquiry chiefly because or
what he was able to tell the Senator
regarding what appeared to him as
failure Of the doors Of the water tight
commandments to work. Mr.. Stone fur-
nished the committee with a chronolog-
ical record of the various wireless mes
sases received in New York. from the
time when the first flash Of the wreck
of the Titanic came. at 1:37 a. m. Mon'
day. until the final admission Of the real
extent Of the catastrophe by the White
Star Line officials here, at S o'clock Mon-
day evening.
| Senator Examines Jack 6inhs'
Jack" Bnns testified concerning the
wireless efficiency of the Carpathia and
the Californian, and under Senator
Smiths questions he admitted that hs
could not understand why a definite
, message giving the facts Of the disaster
was not sent from the Carpathia to tho
Californian | from that vessel &c the
coast stations early on :tonday morning
Binns also testified, and illustrated his
testimony with diagrams, that ithe
: Titanic had been built 10 withstand
every possible sort of accident except the
identical one which had befallen her.
, The Titanic, Binns said, had a double
hull on the Lotion, but not On the sides.
SO that a glancng blow along the sides
struck the only portion Of the hull which
was not supplemented by an inner shell.
In this respect. he swore, she differed
from the Mauretania and the Lustania,
, which had double hulls throughout re-
a inforced by an arrangement of coal
l bunkers which made these compartments
= watertight.
Commenting upon the work of the In
.
2 tor Smith said that the point which
, chiefly concerned him now was as to
v what became of Ismay's first message to
e Franklin.
That message, which Mr.. Ismay said
, he sent between 4:30 and $50 a. IN. on
Monday, as soon as he got aboard the
? Carpatha, was addressed to 1slefrank,'
, Mr.. Franklins code address" said Sena-
tor Smith, ard read Deeply regrer
| advise you Titanic sank this morning
after collision iceberg, resulting serious
{ loss life. Further particulars later
, Now, then, where was that message de-
r layed for two days, until a. m. on
Wednesday, when Mr.. Franklin says he
got it,"
) Senator Smith had the original tele-
r gram delivered by the Postal company
2 to Mr.. Franklin, stamped as received
l April H." and he asserted that he meant
[ to trace it back and acertain just whers
the message was delayed.
Smith on British Inquiry.
The Senator was asked for his views
on the opening of the British inquiry.
but he said he did not wish TO comment
on It,
II assume that it will be thorough.
painstaking and helpful" III added. "and
. you must remember that they have had
ample time to prepare systematically for
their inquiry We had no time at all.
but were obliged to go at our work with
out any opportunity to arrange its de-
tails am quite certain the record will
, show that no important point has been
omitted, and trust that when the re-
, port is made 1t may be comprehensive
and helpful to a proper understanding OF
events leading up to the accident and
subsequent events relating thereto"
, Daniel Buckley, the first steerage pas
senger to be examined III the Senate In
ouiry, testified that the gate leading
, from the steerage aft deck to the upper
boat decks was locked when he first went
!. out on deck after the crash. He SAID
that when he went on deck first ne
found water there, and rushed back to
/, get lifebelt.
$ After this I started back for the stern
( steerage deck" said Buckley, "and found
the gates locked. One man tried to climb
over them, but an officer OF the boat
pushed him back. Then we all rusneu