The Alaska citizen., 1912-04-22

The first of the survivors to land from the Carpathia was Elizabeth Allen, of St. Louis She was in one of the lifeboats close to the Titanic when the huge vessel disappeared beneath the water. and in the early morning light, she was able 10 see dlmiy what took place on the doom. ed ship during the last moments. and to hear plainly the band playing Nearer My God to Thee" as the bow of the Titanic settled deeper and deeper and finally disappeared from view altogether.
 When the seriousness of the acci- dent was realized by Captain White. master of the Titanic. he commit ted suicide on the bridge. shooting himself in plain view of the passen- gers and crew. The chief engineer also took his own life.
 The survivors of the Titanic state that the vessel was going at full speed when she struck the iceberg. which loomed suddenly out of the darkness, and that the terrific shock threw the passengers from fheir berths and into a state of widest confusion. Quiet however. was quickly restored by the officers of the ship, and the women and child dren were cast off in the lifeboats with very little loss of time.
 When the Carpathia was off Sandy Hook, wireless messages were sent to this city requesting that DO (. f. fins be taken to the dock to await tho arrival nf tho was understood as meaning that. in addition to the number of bodies picked up at the scene of the wreck, numerous of the survivors have succCmbed since being taken Cn board the Carpathia. probably from the effects of exposure to the extreme cold during the time they were drifting about in the life boats.
 Numerous of the survivors say that they have been instructed by officials of the White Star company 10 give out none Of the details of the dis aster. and every effort is being made by the company officials here to censor the reports given out for publication. It is understood that Bruce Ismay, vice-president of the White Star company. and one cf the survivors of the wreck, is en- deayoring to elude the congressional committee which has commanded him to tell what he knows of the dis aster. and a careful watch will be maintained 10 see that he does not return to England on the first boat.
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 now here for the purpose of taking the testimony of the survivors. The Carpathia was boarded al Sandy Hook by members of the senate committee. and they will return n the capital immediately with the in- formation they secured from the Iii tanic passengers.
 As the steamer neared New York she was bombarded with wireless re quests for information concerning the wreck. but after reaching Sandy Hook no messages were sent from the vessel, except to the authorities in this city, and to the government officers at Washington
 Among those at the dock when the Carpathia arrived was President Thomas, of the stock exchange who is distributing twenty thousand dol lars among the needy passengers. who lost all of their belongings in the wreck
 STATEMENT OF SURVIVORS.
 We, the undersigned surviving passengers of the steamship Titanic. in order to forestall sensational and exaggerated statements, deem il our duty to give the following state ment of facts which have come to our knowledge, and which We be lieve to be true:
 "On Sunday. April II, at about 1l:4O D. m, on a cold, moonless. starlight night and on a smooth sea, the Titanic struck an iceberg, which had been reported on the bridge by the lookouts. but not early enough to avoid collision.
 Immediately following the colli- sion. steps were taken to ascertain the extent of the damage. and to save the passengers and ship. Or ders were given to the passengers to put on lifebelts and the boats were lowered.
 'The ship sank at about 2:20 Mon day morning. The usual distress signals were sent out by wireless, and rockets were fired from the ship at intervals.
 Fortunately, the wireless mes sages for help were received by the Cunard liner Carpatha, and she ar rived on the scene about o'clock rbo crew of the Carpathia had been pre- pairing all night for the rescue and comfort of the survivors. and they were received on board the rescue ship with touching care and kind ness, and every attention being giv- en the rescued passengers. irrespec- tive of their rank. The officers and crew of the Carpathia gave up their staterooms and clothing for our con- fort, for which we honor them.
 The English board of trade cer- tificate on board the Titanic showed carrying capacity of approximately $500 passengers and the same certif- icate called for lifeboat accommo- dations for approximately $50. The approximate number of passengers carried at the time of the collision was: First class, 330: second class, 32O; third class, 75O; total, 1,4O0 Officers and crew. $40; total num- Der on board including both passen- gers and crew, 2,340.
 The number rescued by the Car pathia was: first class. 210; second class, 125; third class, 200; officers. 4; seamen, 39; stewards, 96; fire men, Il; total. 745, of which 535