The Penn's Grove record., 1912-04-19
TITAN|C'S BOATS
INADEQUATE
Life Rats Sufficient to Rescue
Only One in Three.
SAD TALES OF SURVIVORS
Architects Say That Had the
Number of Lifeboats Been Com
mensurate with the Human Cargo
Many Lives Would Been Saved.

wireless Station, Camperdown, N.
S.-Messages filtering through here in
dictate that the passengers in the life
boats from the Titanic had thrilling
experiences:
Huge quantities of field ice covered
the ocean and the boat steerers had to
guide their craft with the greatest
care.
In some cases the ice was so heavy
that the boats could not force their
way through it and as a result many
of them became widely separated.
MANY of the passengers in the life
boats were scantily clad, having been
hurried out of their berths in the dead
of night and ordered into the boats.
''The transfer of the passengers
from the steamer to the boats was at
tended by much excitement and pan
ic."
New York.-So that, seemingly, was
the end OF the magnificent Titanic; if
the worst is true men worth hundreds
of millions of dollars met their fate
with her, a priceless cargo was in her
capacious holds, a consignment Of $5,-
000,0 600 of diamonds in her strong
rooms.
Insurance men here say she was
insured for scarce $1,000, 900. Her loss
must be a eve blow to a line which
lost the Republic a few months ago.
The news of the greatest ocean trag-
edy since newspapers existed really
was filtered" sputtered intermit-
family by wireless telegraphy from the
Titanic and from the steamships Pari-
sian, Of the Allan Line of Canada, the
and the steamer Olympic, the Titanic's
little smaller, but older sister; the
three, all in the ice-ficked steamer
lane raced to the Titanic's aid in ans
wer to her calls for help.
The toll of almost fifteen hundred
dead on the Titanic may be traced d.
rectly to lack of sufficient life saving
appliances in the equipment Of the
ship.
OF the twenty-five hundred who
were on board the stricken vessel, but
875 were saved. Wireless reports
from the scene of the disaster say that
all of the Titanic's life boats have
been accounted for. Over 1900 human
beings never had a chance for their
lives because no provision had been
made for their safety in just such a
contingency as arose
Moreover, inquiry at the Bureau of
boats, or RATS, have only a total ca.
the shocking fact that there is scarce
ly a ship sailing out of New York that
is provided with life boats to the full
measure of its passenger list. Not only
that, but officials of the bureau say
that it is customary for a ship to car.
ry only sufficient life boats for one.
third of the total number of it's pas
sengers and crew.
In the case of the Olympic, for in.
stance, which is Identical with the
Titanic, save that she is 5000 tons
lighter, the total number of passengers
and crew carried is 3,447, while her
sixteen %lifeboats and four collapsible
be taken off in safety, but 875, or a
pacity of LII.
About the same percentage main
tanned on the Titanic. it would seem,
since a total of 1920, in round num-
bers, who sailed on the ship, with
every opportunity existing for all to
be taken off in safety, but CTS, or a
third of the total, were saved, because
there were no more boats in which to
carry them to safety. In a calm sea,
which any number of boats could have
weathered-as these few did until the
rescuing liners reached the scene-the
875 crowding all of the available life.
boats carried by the ship, were com.
PEELED to float idly on the water and
watch the great ship carry down with
it the fifteen hundred for whom no
provision had been made.
Bureau Of Inspection officials admit
ted frankly that these conditions exist.
There is no way to prevent it, they
said. No ship is required to have suf-
ficient boatroom to accommodate it's
complete passenger and crew list, be-
cause it would be impossible, it was
said, to carry such a number of life
boats in positions where they could
easily be lowered into the water.