The Detroit times., 1912-04-24

horns would indicate the presence or
| icebergs. but the witness had never
heard of this. His testimony was IL
contradiction to that given on this
point by Boxhall yesterday.
Senator Smith asked Pittman sew
eral questions regarding scientific
tests to discover proximity OF ice
bergs. Pittman confessed ignorance
Of all OF them. He stated he once s~I
an iceberg Ave miles long and 30
feet high In the south Atlantic.
| No Reliance In Tests.
cat night 1t looked black. like a
huge island" said Pittman. He de-
clared the presence of seals and birds
at sea were not conclusive signs or
ice. The temperature Of the water or
air were not reduced by the presence
of this hugh berg, Pittman. said. Pitt
man said he knew that two-hour tests
were made OF the temperature or the
ocean water in an effort to ascertain
II icebergs were near, but he personal
ly had never placed any reliance In
these tests.
| The witness jolted out his words
In crisp. curt, staccato. He used
no unnecessary words, manifesting
some disdain for the "landlubber"
questions asked by the committee.
| Photographers stood on tables TO
snap pictures of the scene. Moving
pictures also will be taken OF the
hearing in progress.
Senator Cullom stood up behind a
bank of large millinery in the COM
mittee room Even Senator Reed, q
committee member, was wedged In
behind the mass. OF spectators for
several minutes before he could
squeeze to his seat.
Pittman asserted emphatically that
the Titanic was on her proper
course. He explained at some length
| the difference between the northerly
and southeriy ocean routes. The
Titanic, he said, followed the course
commonly taken by ocean liners at
this time of the year.
do you make the statement be-
cause of the Titanic's position at the
time OF the collision?" he was asked.
Exactly, she was right on the
line" he declared.
Then when the cross indicating
] ice was put on the chart, 1t was In
your ships course?'
! "Oh, no, the ice was way to the
north. / saw no Ice until Monday
morning, when | was in the lifeboat
and on the Carpathia.
There were probably a half dozen
! bergs around there then, but l was
not sufficiently interested TO count
them. Most of them yere about $50
feet high" Pittman added.
! Immediately preceding the collision
on Sunday night. Pittman said he was
in his bunk. He did not see the cap
tain after 7 O'Clock as he was in the
chartroom working out observations
until shortly before 10 o'clock when
he retired.
Pittman said First Oficer Murdoch,
on the Titanic's bridge, when the
crash came was keeping a special
lookout for Ice
How do you know that?" he was
asked
Because he was warned" Pittman
replied Officer Lightoller passed
the word around"
Pittman said he learned this news,
since the disaster. The junior officer
asserted his observations early Sun
day evening located the ship right on
the regular track"
The Titanic was. then making
about 81 1-2 knots an hour" Pittsman
said. That was at about 7:40 p. m"
do you regard that as pretty good
speed?" he was asked.
mo. nothing more than she was
expected to do. We thought she
could do "a knots"
Were you trying to make "a
knots?"
mo, sir, we had to study the COAL"
Pittman replied. I'VE didn't know its
exact quality
Going at Fast Clip.
Pittman did not personally direct
his attention to the question OF ice
bergs He had talked to Murdoch
about them and had remarked that
the Titanic could be in the vicinity OF
ice during the first officers watch.
Just prior to the collision, he said the
Titanic was going as fast as she had
at any time after she left Southamp-
ton, about 75 propeller revolutions a
minute.
she never made so revolutions"
Pittman growled in disbeliof when
Senator Smith said an officer had tes-
titled to that speed.
Pittman said he got on deck ten
minutes before midnight.
The collision partly woke me up,
II sounded like a ship coming to
anchor" said Pittman. 1T didn't
quite wake me up; but made me won
der where we we're anchoring"
Pittman rushed on deck without
dressing. He did not see anything
wrong and went back to his bunk, be-
lieving he had been dreaming.
"BoxhaE came in my room a few
minutes later" he went on, "and said
we had struck an iceberg. got out
-and- found boats being tow
cred.
II saw women crawling over the
hatch and rushed out to help in load
ing the lifeboats.
Il helped TO lower No. boat which
was the one assigned to my care be-
fore we sailed. A man in dressing
gown said, You had better get wo-
men and children over here to load
the boat | found out later he was
Mr.. Ismay. got the boat almost
filed and shouted are there any
more women?
There didn't seem to be, so then
| i let in some men. jumped out of
/ the boat on deck again. | thought I'd
| be better off on the ship.s
Il filed 40 in my boat. including six
men, There wouldn't have been so
many men, but there were no women
to go.
| "MurdocR then told mo IN OF In