The Washington times., 1912-04-17
T|TAN|C'S CAPTAIN
HAD LONG RECORD.
ON THE HIGH SEAS
AS Captain of Olympic
Smiths Vessel Hit British
Cruiser Last Fall. $50.


and the human passions of natural
forces, the termination Of the career Of
Capt. e. ]. Smith, OF the Titanic, would
AFFORD stunning example Of the Jealous
power of Neptune, for this captain, after
clear record of forty-three years on
the high seas, was the victim of q series
Of accidents that mounted in serious
ness to the final humiliation of Captain
Smith and his vessel.
Last September. as captain of the
Olympic, the Titanic's sister ship, Cap
tain Smith underwent the ordeal of an
inquiry after his vessel crashed into the
British cruiser Hawke. He was re.
tained in the service. In February the
olympic struck what is supposed to
nave been a submerged wreck, and lost
. propeller blade. The vessel was dock
ed at great expense for repairs. Leav-
Ing southampton, last week, as captain
of the largest vessel in the world. Cap
tain Smiths ship narrowly averted
crashing into the American liner New
York. Three times within eight months
had this officer, with a previous clear
record of nearly half a century, met
with accident to his ship. Then came
the gigantic encounter between the
A'NohiS ohu Gil lCSpetB, ana Jne last
chapter in Captain Smiths career was
written.
Would Cost Job.
Had he been saved, Captain Smiths
career was ended. He had twice es-
capped the rule that the victim of an ac-
cident to vessel must give UP his
post, but in previous accidents no lives
were lost. 1t was considered because Of
Captains Smiths previous excellent
career that the officials Of the White
Star line retained him in it's service
after the two mishaps to the Olympic,
thus violating deep sea tradition that
has been more vigorously maintained by
the British merchant marine than By
that Of any other nation. The rule has
been almost invariable among steam
ship companies to dispense with the
services of officers in command of yes
sells that met with disaster. One rea-
son for this is the insistence of the
insurance companies.
Lloyd's keeps in its London office the
records OF all marine officers, so when
a man is put in command of a vessel
spected.
Whether this grand old man of the
sea- was at fault for the disaster to
the Titanic depended in a great measure
on the degree of vigilance used after
the delicate instruments all vessels now
carry warned Of the vessels proximity
to ice.
A few steamship companies, among
them the North German Lloyd, have
shown leniency toward officers whose
previous records were good. and have
v!ded the vessel has not been a total
loss.
Fate of Sealby. d
he
the strictest of the British companies in
this regard, as is evidenced in the fate
of Capt. Inman Sealby. who COM
manded the Republic when she sank in
collision With the Italian line steamship
Florida, on January %, 1909. No blame
was attached to Captain Sealby for
faulty navigation or bad seamanship In
handling the vessel. and all his career
he had been with the White Star line
without figuring in a wreck. Neverthe-
less, he was dismissed, afterward going
to the University of Michigan to study
admiralty law.
Captain Smith began his sea career In
1869. when he shipped as apprentice on
board the Senate Weber, purchased by
A. Gibson g. Co., of Liverpool In 1876
he got commission as fourth officer Of
the square rigger Lizzie Fennel, and in
1850 was appointed fourth officer of the
White Star lines old steamship Celtic,
which subsequently was sold to the
Thingvalla Company and renamed the
America. He attained the rank of cap
tain in 1887. when he took command OF
the old Republic, later going to the old
Baltic. Next he was In command Of
the freight steamship cuhc. and then
OF the Runic. Afterward he went to
the old Adriatic, then the Celtic, the
Brittanic and the Coptic, in the Austral-
ian ssade.
Commanded First Voyages.
1t was in 1892 that the White Star line
bestowed its first great honor on Cap
tain Smith, when it made him COM
mander Of it's largest steamship, the
Majestic. on her maiden voyage. Since
that time he has commanded each large
steamship Of the White Star line on her
initial trip. When he was put in COM
mand of the Titanic 1t was reported
that he would retire after he had con-
Quoted her across the Atlantic and back,
bat the White Star officials afterward
announced he would have charge of the
Titanic until the company built q
larger and finer steamship.
Captain Smith had the utmost con-
fdence in the safety of the ocean giants
that are now being constructed. In 1907,
when he came to New York in command
of the Adriatic, on her maiden trip. he
sdlu'
"Shipbuilding is such a perfect art
nowadays that absolute disaster. involv-
ing the passengers, is inconceivahle.
Whatever happens, there will be time
enough before the vessel sinks to save
the life of every person on board I
will go a bit further. I will say that
l cannot imagine any condition that
would cause the vessel to founder.
Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond
that.
''The love of the ocean that took me
to sea as a boy has never left me. In
a way, a certain amount of wonder
never leaves me, especially as / oh
serve from the bridge a vessel plunginK
up and down in the trough of the seas,
fighting her way through and over great
waves, tumbling, and yet keeping on
her keel. and going on and on-I wonder
how she does 1t, how she can keep
aficlt in such seas, and how she can go
on and on safely to port There is a
wild grandeur, too, that appeals to me
in the sea. A man never outgrows
that"
An officer Of the Adriatic who heard
part sf Captain Smiths remarks. put
in:
Don't forget when you write OF the
captains 'uneventfur life to put in that
1t is the great captain who doesn't let
things happen"