The Washington times., 1912-04-24

the speed averaged little under twen-
ty-one knots all afternoon, supplement
ed by an observation of his that II II
had been Increased or decreased mate
rally before s he would have known L,
strongly sustains the prevailing state
ments that the speed at the time OF the
collision was about twenty-one knots an
hour
Lowe said that in his opinion the low
ering capacity OF the lifeboats was
faulty. He gave the floating capacity
He si said that il the boats we're loaded
too heavily before being lowered to the
water 1t might buckle up. In reply to
questions designed to bring out state
ment that some of the boats were low
Lowe made no direct reply, saying that
the lowering capacity was matter OF
judgment, and that some men would
take more risks than Others,
Lowe said that he saw families sepa-
rated, but did not go into detail. He
said everything was quiet and orderly
when the boats were being loaded, ex-
cept that passengers got tangled In the
falls, and that he was forced to shout
at them. He said that women and chill
dren were put into the boats without dis
tinction. and that there was cry
among the men in charge Of filling the
Ismay assisted in filing boat No. 3.
/ said Lowe. He recalled this particu-
larly because he saw Ismay near him
when the first signal was fired and the
4 whole deck was lighted brilliantly
Lowe did not know any of the people
who were in the first four boats that
he assisted IN filling.
Danger Of Going Back.
In response to a question as to
whether Pitman, who had only thirty
five persons in his llfeboat, could have
|
rowed back to the spot where the III
tanic sank. Lowe replied in the mega
tive, saying that such a course woulc
have endangered the lives of all the
people already in the lifeboat,
There were twenty-five men ant
twenty women in lifeboat No. 8, &C
cording to Lowe. No more women pre-
sented themselves when this boat wa
In the emergency boat, which had
capacity of forty people, there wer
| twenty-seven persons, nVe only pelnl
women. Lowe said that the orders Z
lower the boats were given by MI
Murdock. There was considerable tim
spent by Chairman Smith in trying t
find out why experienced hands wer
not available when the boats wer
Lowe explained that there were six
teen sailors drilled at Southampton
in handling life-boats, but IT tool
! from elBnI TO ten men 10 get bOd
ready, but a large crowd of men wen
below to open the gangway doors an
that a sailor was not necessarily
boatman nor a boatman sailor. H
been better He said all the life
boats and collapsable boats wer
launched except one, which was GU
away too late and drifted bottor
Regarding the statement that of al
J the crew of over 900 men only s
actually were sailors Lowe had moth
ing to say.
Fleet Is Recalled.
/ Frederick Fleet one OF the Titanic
lookouts. was the first witness. He wa
called for cross-examination on hi
story yesterday that the officers of tn
ill-fated liner did not furnish lookout
|, with binoculars.
The committee worked behind close
! doors just as soon as all the seats
the room had been taken. In the fror
row were fashionably gowned womel
many of whom had been waiting thel
for hours.
I CONGRESSMAN Victor Berger of Wiscol
sin were on hand early. A bunch
! vivacious, chattering seminary CIR
: : lent lively touch Of color to the seen cen
The hearing began when Senator Blu
), ton OF Ohio impatiently ordered Il
!. lookout to the stand: Senator Burtc
2 refused to wait until Senator Smit
= chairman, arrived.
: Fleet told of eye tests he had unde
: up until this trip you had the Vi
of glasses?" asked Senator Burton.
Yes, sir" the seaman said positiv
ly. I'VE had eyesight tests, too, evel
n year or So" he added.
d Had No Glasses.
I Fleet said the lookouts had 7
d | glasses or lights in the "crow's nest
i Fleet said he did not see the ligh
n of the ghost ship" which sever
e | witnesses testified they discern'
J. near the Titanic, until after he &
into a lIfeboat. He said Quartz
. master Hichcns believed he saw Il
- lights OF the distant ship on boa
" the Titanic.
y ~ Fleet then re-told OF his first sigh
is ing of the iceberg from the Titanic
crows nest" He could give no OPT
to ion as to its distance ahead OF
AZ "it was just after seven bells VIII
O. saw the ice," he said. That's abo
is 1890 p. M"
be could give no idea of the time
iii tween his sighting the ice island
e. when the collision occurred.
ey Fleet said ne was told by the rel
watch in the crows nest to 10
o. out for small ice, not icebergs.
es 81 gave the three bells signal VIII
Id I saw the Iceberg" said Fleet.
er let them know 1t was right ahei
rd Then l telephoEed the bridge
y, Course Is Changed.
ct After Fleet telephoned to the first
he fcer, the Titanic changed her cou
en- two or three points to port. he said.
ss Questioning by Senator FletcI
on brought out the fact that the prepol
m. erance OF the impact was below
lis water. The witness was unable to 8
o. any estimate of the icebergs size,
IN cept that II was not as high as
be crows nest.
n Senator smith questioned Fleet
at gaTd ng the conduct OF QuartermAA