Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-05-04
sEAMEN'S UNION REPRESENTED
Lord Mersey Grants Permission for
Attorney to Take Part.
COURT TAKES GREAT INTEREST
Precautions Against Wreck Will Be
Taken Note Of.
WERE ICE WARNINGS RECEIvEDl
Number of Lifeboats and Construc-
tion of Watertight BuIkheads
viii BE Gone Into
Carefully.

LONDON. May s.-The attorney gen
eral' Sir Rufus lsaacs, today addressed
the wreck commission which is invesh-
eating the loss of the White Star liner
Titanic. setting forth the sacts as under
stood by the government and laying
special emphasis on the evidence that a
speed Of twenty-one knots was ymain-
had been received, right up to the mo-
ment OF collision.
When the court opened Lord Mersey,
who heads the commission. granted per-
mission to President Lewis of the Sea-
mems union and to an attorney for the
Imperial Mercantile guild to participate
in the proceedings.
Ths union Is a new organization com
Posed Of 1000 Southampton sailors. Two
hundred and twenty-eight of its members
were employed on the Titanic and Of
these only seventy-seven survived The
the guild. The inquiry is likely TO ex-
tend over several weeks and win be de-
voted largely TO technical details.
The court today displayed the greatest
interest in the warnings Of ice which
the Cunard liner Caronla and the White
Star steamer Baltic sent to the Titanic
on the day OF the disaster, April H.
Lord Mersey asked: Am | right In
supposing that it ran into the ice region
after warning had been received?'
Yes replied the attorney general.
Sir Rufus said that the Titanic's capa.
city was 35I7 persons and that 1t car
ried fourteen lifeboats, two cutters, four
eollspsible lifeboats, accommodating a
total Of 1,ls7 persons and $3.50 life belts
The vessel carried 1875 passengers and
sc persons in its crew.
II was fitted with fifteen bulkheads
and a number Of water-tight doors be-
ing designed to float in the event OF any
flooded. under which condition the top OF
the bulkhcads would be two and one-half
or three feet above water
Going at Twenty-One Knots.
The Titsnic's speed, the attorney gen.
eral said on April IA was twenty-one
knots an hour. which speed was never
lessened up TO the time OF the collision.
During that day the Caronia and the
Baltic had sent wireless messages to the
Titanic stating that icebergs. 'growlers'
and 'fielders" were in its track.
Nevertheless, continued Sir Rufus. |
after dark the Titanic ran right ahead |
at twenty-one knots an hour, the night |
being clear, but with no moon"
He said he had served notice upon Sir |
Robert Finlay chief counsel for the |
White star Steamship company. who is |
representing the line at the present in I
duiry that the government considered |
this fact Of extreme Importance so that /
Sir Robert might bring evidence to the
contrary II he had It.
Three Main Issues.
Sir Rufus announced that particular
attention would be given to these three
points:
The Titanic's speed after the warnings
of ice had been received; an insufficient
number Of lifeboats for the persons car
ried by the steamer; the construction Of
the water tight compartments.
lie save n uetdntd dHdtSsis OF the num- |
bers Of saved and lost by classes and
sexes, and indicated that he considered
that the disportionate number Of first
class passengers rescued should be a
matter Of inquiry.
One striking figure" he said, lis that
sll except five women Of the first-class
Nere saved or had an opportunity of
being saved. some refusing to leave their
One fact that stands out is
hat a very large number of men Of the
'irst class we're saved. II may be neces-
iary later to anslyze these figures more
loosely"
Sir Rufus statement took up the early
'ession The court has arranged to ad.
ourn next Tuesday.
says Boiler Exploded. Il
NEW YORK. May 3.-Daniel Buckley,
Who was a steerage passenger on the
Titanic, testified today before Senator
William Alden Smith. chairman Of the
jnitcd states senate committee investl-
'ating the cause OF the wreck. that
fireman who was on the steamer told
i'm that the Titanic did, not, he believed ,
ut an iceberg. but that while trying to :.