The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-30
Spend Day Trying to Dis cover Needed Reforms in
 Use of Wireless
TO PREVENT HOLDING
 BACK THE DETAILS
Was Mistake to Withhold Details of Story-Bride Got 5000 for His Story - Officers and
 Crew Released


 Washington. April z9.-sAfter day of discussion intended to discover the needed reforms in the usa of wireless ltelesraphy at sea, the Senate commit tee Investigating the Tilanle disaster I3oday entered on the final stage of its linquiry.
 l tomorrow the officers and crew oe tho sunken ship will be released At the same time J. Bruce 1smay man% Iaging director of the International Mercantile Marine. will be quizzed searohingly as to his ideas of resa- llations to make a repetition of the dis. as CT impossible
 Guglielmo Marconi inventor of the wireless telegraph; E. M. sammis, chief Ieugineer of the American Marconi com lpany; wireless Operators Bride and lcottam passenger, Hugh Woolner- of England. and Fourth Officer Box nall Of the Titanic were the days wit nesses. Virtually all agreed that better Iregulation of wireless commuhica ton lat sea was essential
 To Advocate Legislation
 It was made clear early in the hear ling that the committee already h'iu lnade up it's mind to advocate legisla- lion preventing wireless operators on shinboard from holding back details oE disasters. MT. Marconi and MT. Samrnis both acknowledged a mistake bad been made in sending messages to Bride and lcottam on board the Carpathia not te give out anything until they had seen Marconi and Sammis ashore.
 senator smith held out no promise as to when the officers of the Whi1o Star line would be released, but IL was the general understanding they wouia ba freed as soon as Mir. Isniay is ex- amined. This 1t was expected would not l take long unless some additional Iac'S lhroalght to the surface made It neees- sary. a.iaart of | tle International Mercantile Mai ipe' ~ lreaas has been eSanlned
 slare0ni Reeallaa
 fsaaaa,3nrino to repudiate intnauonS. that he had sought to suppress or ueias news of the sinklns of the lltahlc, " l Nareeni inventor of wireless teieSlaphSs l apneared today for a third tune peloio l tae Senate committee of inquiry MT. Marconi had discovered aiter ieaV, ing Washington Saturday lnat ,es. 1 sent T message to the operator or the steamer earpatfia urging him to send tie nevs to the wireless station at Siascoh- sett and vessels of the Unlted Statvs nas-y. He read a copy of this message. Mr Mareoni also produced copies oi nia,s other messages which passed between ene l Narconi office and the carpathia In an en,l.avor to get definite information Of the wreck and the survivors names. l NVitress was excused by the committee in order that he might sail tomorrow TOT 1 England. M
 Chairman smith thanked him for the aid he had given.
 Sammis On Stand
 Chief Engineer sammis testified next He related what had actuated nm III sending messages to Operators Bride and cottam on the Carpathia 10 hold their stories for four figured prices. He said | he had made an arrangement with New York paper for them 10 sell their personal stories and had sent the mes saeos to the boys informing them of the l fac..
 After Marconi had read a number of messages sent to the wireless operators on the Carpathia directing them to send information of the disaster Senator smith said:
 NOW. want to know why you failed to get any reply to these messagesY
 T haNs no explanation except that the operators were busy sending messages from the survivors" replied Marconi.
 To Discourage Selling Stories
 q would like to ask you,' continued the chairman, whether flJm develop ments of this inquiry you do not feel it is incumbent upon you to discourage the practice of operators selling stories of big news events. such as a sea disasterY
 "certainly: 1 am entirely in favor of discouraging the practice, and naturally give very great weight to the opinion ex- pressed by the chairman or this commit tee" said Marconi.
 | He explained it would have been almost impossible to have established communi- l cation between the United States cruiser Chester and the Carpathia. because the Chester used the United States navy code while the Carpathia telegrapher used the international alphabet.
 Operator Cottam was in the room when Senator smith started questioning Mir. Mareoni Senator Smith had Cottam tenn porarily removed.
 MT. smith asked sammis whether he didn't think it would have been better for the Marconi company to have re- warded the operators rather than to have compelled them to arrange for a lttfttance from a private source"
 Sammis agreed that the thing ought to be halted but that this should he carefully effected He said that when the operators realize they cannot sell
  Ibiiion would be gone
 Operators Not to Blame sanmis said Bride and Cottam, oper- lators on the Carpathia, should not be blamed for not sending news from the ship.
 "If there Is any blame" said Sammis. Lit should be upon the captain of the lCarpathia. The captain of a ship is censor of all wireless messages sent Ifrom a ship
 sammis said that American wireless operators on hoard ship receive si5 q Imorth. The English operators get fl a month.
 After luncheon Hugh Wolner. a sur vivor, was called and was asked about lthe speed of the Titanic. He said q flew miles was added each day to the record. He said he believed all women were saved; told of officers asuiling frantic Italian men out of lifeboats to lallow women 10 enter. and recited h.s iexreriences in esca ping from the ves- ssi.
 Bride Got 5000 l Harold Bride, Titanic second wire- Hess operator. next was called, and said he received s1o00 for his story of the