The Brunswick news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1906-2016, 1912-05-04
BOARD
EXAMINES INTO
!. LINERS SPEED
STATEMENT OF ATTORNEY GEN.
ERAL THAT TITANIC RAN zI
KNOTS THROUGH ICE NOTED.
Facts Brought Out Similar to Those
Learned by Senators - Surviving
Sailors Objects of Interest-No New
Evidence Produced.

Evidence Produced.
London, May 3.-The attorney gen
eral, Sir Rufus Isaacs, addressed the
wreck commission which is investi-
eating the loss of the White Star
liner Titanic today, setting forth the
facts as understood by the govern
ment and laying special emphasis up
on the evidence that speed of twen-
ty-one knots was maintained after
the warnings of ice ahead had been
| received, right up to the moment of
| the collision.
The whole of the forenoon session
was taken up with this stateme ent,
which brought out little that had net
been already developed at the sena.
torial inquiry at Washington. The at
tendance of spectators was small. A
group of sailors survivors of the sea
tragedy who arrived here on the Lap
land from New York, and had been
subpoenaed to testify, were objects
, of interest.
eeamen Represented.
When the court opened Lord Mer.
| sey, who heads the commissicn,g grant
ed permission to President Lewis of
the Seamen's Union, AMI to an attor-
ney for the Imperial Mercantile Guild
/ to participate in the proceedings The
union is a rev Organize ton composed
of 1000 Southampton sailors. Two
4 hundred and twenty Eight of its mem
bers were employed on the Titanic,
and Of these only seventy-seven sur
vived. The officers Of the Titanic
were mer'S, RS of the LuiId. The in
quiry is L. ely to extend over several
weeks, and will be devo:e1 largely to
technical details.
/ The court today displayed great
interest in the warnings of ice the
Cunard liner Caronia and the White
TStar steamer Baltic sent to the Til
tanic on the day of the disaster, April
IA. Lord Mersey inquired particularly
on this point, finally asking: "Am l
right in supposing that she ran right
into the region where the ice was,
after a warning that ice was there
had been received?"
eyes," replied the attorney general.
Statement Of Sir Rufus.
Sir Rufus said the Titanic's capac-
ity was S,547 persons, and that she
carried fourteen lifeboats, two cut
ters, four collapsible lifeboats, ac-
commodating total of 1,l67 persons.
She had 1850 life belts. On her first
and last voyage the vessel carried
1876 passengers and 892 persons in
her crew She was f1tted with fifteen
bulkheads and number Of water
tight doors, being designed to still
float in the event of any two adjoin-
ing compartments being flooded, un.
der which the top of these bulkheads
would be two and one-half or three
feet above water. The Titanic's
speed, the attorney general said, on
April IA was twenty-one knots an
hour, which speed was never lessen
ed up to the time of the collision.
During that day the Caronia and the
Baltic had sent wireless messages to
the Titanic stating that icebergs,
GROWERS" and "fielders" were in her
track.
Nevertheless" continued Sir Ru-
fus, "after dark the Titanic ran right
ahead at twenty-one knots, the night
being clear, but with no moon"
He said he had served notice on
Sir Robert Finlay, chief counsel for
the White Star line, who is repre-
senting the line at the present IN
quiry, that the government considered
this fact of extreme Importance, so
that Sir Robert might bring evidences
to the contrary If he had it.
Three Main Points.
Sir Rufus announced that particu-
lar attention would be paid to the
three points:
The Titanic's speed after the warn.
ings of icebergs had been received;
the insufficient number Of hfeboats
for the persons carried, and the con-
struction Of the water-tight compart-
ments. He gave a detailed analysis
of the numbers saved and lost by
classes and sexes, and indicated that
he considered that the disproportion-
ate number of first-class passengers |
should be a matter of inquiry
1t was extremely difficult, the at
torney general said, to ascertain ex-
actly what occurred between the
moment of collision and the sinking
Of the ship. 1t appeared there was
no panic. The men took their sta
tions according to the list. ALI the