The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1912-05-15
Life Craft Neglected in
Several. Ways.
NO COMPASS WAS ON BOARD
Members, of Ships Company
} GiVelmpoftant Testi.
no Tlmony In England.
OF, BRITISH PUBLIC

London, May 1O.---The apathy of
the British public. which has been
one of the. features thus far of the
Board of Trade inquiry into the I'll
tanic disaster, was again demon
strated by the thin attendance when
the commissioners, under the pres
idency of Lord Mersey, resumed
their investigation to-day. The first
witness called to-day was George
Beauchamp, a fireman of the Titan
ic, who testified:
81 did not know which was my
boat station. I heard that a list
had been put up that morning, but
did not see it. None had been put
up before. | did not know where to
go. so ! went up to the boat deck
and to lifeboat No. 10, on the star
board side, where l helped to put
in the women and children. There
was an officer there and when the
lifeboat was full he gave the order
to lower away There we're be-
tween sixty and seventy in all in
the boat
Everything was orderly and all
the people were quite calm" Beau
champ added. .. .-. -.--..
Beauchamp said he could not tell
whether the passengers were trav-
cling first or third class. There
was no light, compass, provisions
nor water in the boat. Everyone
looked for them.
Beauchamp testified that he had
had no boat drill on the Titanic nor
had he seen any. He had been ten
years at sea, and on most of the Ii
ners in which he had been engaged
there was a weekly boat drill.
Beauchamp made the statement
that "A stoker took charge of boat
No. 10. p .--
Thomas Scanlon, member of Par
lament for North Sligo, who is APP
pearing as counsel for the Seamen's
and Firemen's Union, in cross-ex-
animation, asked Beauchamp:
Have you ever before known of
stoker being placed in charge Of
liners lifeboat?"
Lord Mersey. ruled that the ques-
ton was not relevant. r
Quartermaster Robert Kitchens
testified that he was on duty on the
bridge Of the, Titanic at o'clock.
He: heard Second Officer Lightoller
through the telephone give an order
to the men in the Crows Nest to
keep a sharp lookout for ice and
GROWERS grs-! v--r
Kitchens went on duty at the
wheel at 10 o'clock, Kitchens testi--
fled that the log book showed it to
have made forty-five knots in two
hours and that there was no change
up to the time the. Titanic struck
the iceberg at 11:4O.
While he had never been definite
ly assigned to any boat, Kitchens
had UNDERSTOOD, that the two quar-
termasters on duty were to take
charge of the two emergency boats
in the event of trouble. He did not
know which of them he was sup
posed to go to. He continued:
II was not assigned to either
of them, that 1 am aware of. Meth
ed did | see any lists of the mems
stations for the boats put up any
where on board. The usual thing
is to have list of first stations and
boat stations put up. where every
one can see it. Every other vessel
| was ever on had muster and boat
drill. | never saw any on the Tt
tanie. -. o.
: Hichens explained that he Joined
the Titanic four days before she
sailed. While he was attempting to
get off a collapsible boat, an officer
ordered him into "a lifeboat. This
two zmen sas, crew and. forty
FIVE passengers, all of whom were
women except, Mai Peuchen and a
y. Lssa-aI Il vi $500 49,
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