The Washington times., 1912-04-23
5EnAT0E NZLLLAv ALlEY e1lnL7Y

bHlplon DeIOfe tnC bfltlSn DOarU OF
trade, saving only two starboard boats
were lowered and Unanswered in the
water, with eight men in each boat He
said there was no fire drill aboard the
Titanic from the time 1t left Southamp-
ton. He was on the bridge Sunday al
ternoon, but saw no iceberg or field ice.
He heard. however, that wireless
message had warned of their proximity.
Fourth Officer BoXhall had drawn a
cross on the chart noting the location
of the berg against which they were
warned.
Pitman did not talk with any of the
officers about iCebergs, although he
frequently came in contact with Cap
~ Did You see any ice on Sunday?
| he was asked.
NO, sir
Pitman said n fourteen years ex-
Eerience as a ships officer he had seen
an iceberg only once before. but had
never before crossed the Grand Banks
ON a clear day over the ice Is It not
true the sky is paler and lighter in color
in the North Atlantic?"
NO, sir was his answer.
Discuss Icebergs.
Icebergs can be seen for a long dis
tance on a clear day, IL they are, as hlg
as the one that sank the Titanic, Pit
man said.
| Chairman Smith tried to get Pitman
! to admit that an echo from the horns
would indicate the presence of icebergs,
! but the witness had never heard of this.
|. His testimony was in contradiction to
| that given on this point by BoXhall yes
terday Smith asked Pitman several
questions regarding scientific tests to
| discover proximity of icebergs. Pitman
! confessed ignorance of them all.
He told of once see ng an iceberg
seven miles long. five miles. wide and
200 feet higEh FAR .s in the South Atlantic
huge island" said Pitman. He declared
presence of seals and birds at sea were
not conclusive Signs of ice.
| The temperature of the water or air
We're not reduced hy presence of this
| huge berg, Ptman said. He knew that
| tWo-hour tests were made of the tenn
perature of the ocean water in an effort
| to ascertain II icebergs were near, but
| he personally never placed any reliance
| in these tests.
The witness bolted out his words in a
crisp. curt staccato., He used no Mn-
necessary words, manifestinS some dis
dain for the ''landlubberT questions
asked by the committee.
Moving Picture Men There.
Photographers stood on tables to snap
pictures of the scene. Moving pictures
also will be taken of the hearing in
| progress.
| Senator Cull"m, patriarch of the SEN
ate. stood up behind a Lank CT large
| millinery in the committee room Even
| Senator Feed, committee member,
WAS w"dGrh IN behinI the mass of
SPECTATORS for several minutes before
! hr could squeeze 10 his seat. -
| lftInan asserted amphltically that the
| Iltanlc Was ON her proper course. He
| explained at s"nIe length the difTerenr,,
between the northern and southern
| p.'d !Gl,.-. ! I's iltdniC 10 SOFA, lOi-
! lowed the course commonly taken by
ocean liners Ut this time of Tic year =
10 YOU make that statement because
Of the TiianJ%'s ,., position At the tirae Of
"ENaGtiN;, she was right on the line"
he declared. = .".
Then when the cross indicating ice
ships course
"oh, no. the ice was Mav to the
forth | saw no Ice unHil MCro9.S morn
MS' h When Was h n the 'ife6ent and on
iralf a dozen bcrgs around there them,
lut was not suff1inntly interested to
C%umt Tts %,gS ptsE hGst Of tGs% werc about
Immediately preceding the collision on
! Sunday night, Pitman said h, was IN
his bunk, He did not see the captain
! aft>r o'clock. as he was IN the chart
room. working out obscYva ions 'uUtil
shortly before 10 o'clock, when he re-
tired.
Was Watching For Ice.
Pitman said First officer Murdock,
on the Titanc's bridge when the crash
came, was keeping &, special lookout
for icc.'
How do you know that" he was
asked
"Because he was warned" Pitman
replied. Officer Lightoller nassed the
Pitman said he learned this news
| since the disaster.
The Junior officer asserted his OBJ
s6ryatiOns early sunday evening locdt 1
the shiI right on the leg Sular track"
The Titanic was then making about
! twentY-one and a half knots an hour,
Pitman said THAT was at about T.4l
p. M"
DO you resard that as pretty good
.peed?' he was asked.
! No, nothing more than she was en-
reCted To do. We thought she could
do tWenty-fouT knots.
Were YOU trying to make twenty
foVr knots?"
No sir; we had to study the coal, d"