The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-04-20
Cannot Be Determined With
Amy Degree of Certainty.
PASSENGER LIST WENT DOWN
Total of Survivors Is Now
Fixed at 7O5.
Complete Story Is Being Gath
cred by Senate Committee.

New York, april 20.-Neariy a week
has passed since the Titanic. greatest
marine achievement in the history of
| the world, sank in midocea1- Much
of her story still is untold, and many
a day will pass before the world will
fully comprehend the significance OF
| the disaster. The number of dead prob
| ably will never be exactly determined
| inasmuch as the complete passenger
| list went down with the vessel the
number of survivors is fixed at 100
by the report of Captain Rostron OF
the Carpathia. The White Star line
officials believe the death list totaled
approximately 1,635.
The narratives gathered piecemeal
from the liners survivors pay tribute
without precedent, to the bravery OF
the men and women of these modern
days a bravery of impulse, unstuoieo,
unassuming and instructive alike IN
steerage passenger, stoker ana mil
lionaire BY common consent the
churches of the world will set aside
their pulpits tomorrow for reVerent
consideration of the disaster and 1or
mourning for the lost
AS to the needs of the living, ample
provision is rapidly being made. me
relief funds being gatherea m NeW
York and London already total well
up in the hundreds of thousands. Most
of the steerage passengers who reach
ed New York, distraught and pennies
have already come to realize the gem
eroSity and hospitality OF america
Clad fed and housed, they will be Civ
en- ample time to recover from the
shock of their experience and viii
start their life in the new world with
ample funds and kindly advice OF eN-
cellent counsellors.
tanic's fate yet obtained is being rap
idly gathered in New York by the
members of the senate investigating
committee.
The committee has already listened
to the testimony of J. Bruce Ismey'
the managing director of the mite
Star line; Captain Rostron, OF the Car
pathia; Charles w. Lightholder, sec
ond officer of the Titanic and others.
Titanic Officers Called.
The witnesses called for today's ses-
sion included H. j. Pittman, third Of
ficer of the Titanic; j. @. RoXhaH.
fourth officer; C. Lowe, also in an Of
ficial position on the Titanic, and fif-
teen of the crew.
The committee has the assistance Of
George Uhler, chief of the United
States steamboat inspection service,
and Truman Newberry, who was sec
retary of the navy under Theodore
Roosevelt The burden of testimony
presented emphasized the unquestion-
ing faith of the Titanic officers in
her unsuitable character, the reck-
Iessness of steaming at full speed
through sea where dangerous Ice
bergs were known to threaten ana
the remarkable calmness OF passen-
gers and crew.
The Titanic's fate already has result
ed in action by the transatlantic lines
to insure liners taking a course far to
the south where the iceberg danger Will
no longer be present. The lines il is
announced have agreed on a new
long course, which dips far to the
south Of the Titanic's course. There IS
little disposition to criticise Captain
Smith for following the ocean lane in
which he met disaster. He showed
caution, according to the naval hydro
graphers, in steering a course well to
the south of the regular southern lane.
The northern course, used by vessels
from July to January crosses the Grand
banks in latitude As north, four degrees
further north than the southern or
long course in which the Titanic met
its fate The Titanic was sixty miles
south of the regular southern course
and was even in danger of collision
with eastbound ships.
New Eastbound Route.
The new route eastbound provides
that steamships shall dip to latitude
1920 on the first third of their course,
making a total distance from New
York to Fastnet of 5000 miles, where
the distance now is reckoned at q
s5S miles. The loss of time on the
new course Will be about nine hours
for a "a knot boat. Boats of the
Olympic class may be eleven or four
teen hours longer in crossing. They
will gain, however, in having clear
weather most of the time, avoiding
delays from fog.
There was some criticism among the
survivors here of the Titanic crews
inability to handle the lifeboats Al
bert Major, steward on the Titanic, ad-
mitted that there had been no boat
drills and that the lifeboats were Door
ly handled.
"One thing comes to my mind above
all else" he said. I'VE of the crew
realized at the start of the trouble that
cry man did his best, we were hindered
in getting the best results because we
could not pull together. There had not
been a single boat drill in the Titanic
One story, told by a fireman runs:
The engineers stayed by the pumps
and went down with the ship. The
hremen and stol1ers were sent on deck
five minutes before the Titanic sank.
when it was seen they would ineyits-
bly, be lost if they stayed longer at their
work of trying to keep the fires In
the boilers and the pumps at work
The lights burned to the last because
the dynamos were run by oil engines
with the sailing oe a majority Of
the Titanic's crew on tAS Lapland some
sources of interesting unformation have
been closed until the Red Star liner
reaches the other side. United Slater
senator Smith believed certain mem-
hers OF the crew that he held here for
examination may reveal just -E7af
happened to the Titanic below deckn
when she struck the berg.