The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1912-04-25
BLUNDER LOSES
LIVES ON TITANIC
Wireless Operator Ignored Ship
Nearest to Sinking Liner.
SURVIVOR TELLS THE STORY
Lookouts Thrice Warned officers On
the Bridge in the Last Fifteen
Minutes Before the Vessel Was
Struck, Says a Steward.

OtTuCk, Gays u 0tc"eIo.
Washington, d. c., April 22.-Spe-
cial: Over six hours before the news
was made public, the White Star Line
officials knew twenty lifeboats filed
with passengers of the Titanic had
been picked up by the Carpathia.
This was admitted today by Vice
President Franklin of the Interna-
tional Marine Company, the first
witness before the senate investiga-
ton committee At noon last Mon
day this was known but was not
made public because it was not au-
thentic. Not until $40 p. m, last
Monday, Franklin said, was suffi-
GENTLY authentic message received
announcing the Titanic's loss. Frank
lin declared the message at noon was
relayed wireless message from Cape
Race, saying the Carpathia had pick
ed up the Titanic boats filled with
passengers. This information | be-
lieved was merely rumor." Franklin
said he did not give it out because he
said he could not believe the Titanic
had sunk and therefore awaitd "au-
thentic information" At $40 the
authentic message came with the
news of the Titanic disaster. Not
until that time was the public in
formed. AT 6:26 Monday evening
knew the Titanic had sunk" Frank
lin said about 20 minutes to two Mon
day morning he was aroused by the
telephone ringing and the reporter
told him the Titanic had sent out a
call for assistance. They said it
came from the Virginia through Mon
treal. The Press Association report
er had told him. Il asked him if he
could not hold the news until the re-
port had been confirmed. He said no,
it had already gone out. | then told
all our people to report to the office.
also told them of the report had
received that the Titanic had struck
an iceberg and had sunk We work,
ed the position OF the Titanic on the
chart as 1880 miles from Halifax and
had no authentic information at that
time"
New York, April 22.-Special: AT
eight o'clock this morning the White
Star officials had received no word of
the Identification of any of the Ga
bodies of the Titanic disaster recov-
cred by the MacWay- Bennett.
New York. April 22.-First Officer
Murdoch, on the bridge of the Titanic
racing to New York for assistance in
quenching fire aboard that had been
raging since the day the liner left
Southampton, passed unheeded three
warnings from the lookouts of the ice
berg ahead, the ship struck and then
the wireless operators Numbered.
Such were the developments in the
investigation of the appalling disaster
of April II.
Three Warnings Given.
Three warnings that an iceberg was
ahead were transmitted from the
crows nest of the Titanic to the Off
Ger on the doomed steamships bridge
Is minutes before she struck, accord
ing to Thomas whitley. first saloon
| steward, who now lies in st. Vincents
hospital with frozen and lacerated
| feet.
Whitley reached the Carpathia
aboard one of the boats that contained,
he said, both the crows nest lookouts
| He heard conversation between
them, he asserted, in which they dis
cussed the warnings given of the
| presence Of the iceberg.
No wonder that Mr.. Murdoch shot
himself" one of them said, according
to Whiteley.
Titanic Operator Blunders.
The Impotence of Phillips, the wire
less operator on the Titanic, with the
I iCIciNlh6 dDllty VI tut optidlOI OH
the North German Lloyd steamer
Frankfurt, the nearest ship at the
time of the disaster and the first to
answer the stricken liners call for
aid. caused Phillips to tell the Frank
furt operator: you are fool; keep
out" and probably prevented the saw
ing of many more lives from the
wrecked liner.
This was admitted by H. s. Bride,
second wireless operator of. the IT.
tanic, pain-racked and sitting in an in
valid chair, under the fire of cross-ex-
animation before the senate commit
tee investigating the disaster. y
j. Dilley, fireman on the Titanic,
was authority for the statement that a
fire had been raging in the coal bunk.
ers since the day the Titanic left
Southampton, that IL men had sue
ceeded in making no Roadway against
II and that the talk among the stokers
was that the blaze would not be ex-