The Washington herald., 1912-04-24


first gave this information by telephone
and By bell 20 the bridge ofncer. and the !
time the boat struck the iceberg? Can
YOU not say whether II vas five minutes
or an hour7"
Il could not say. SIR" said. Fleet.
How large an object was this when
you FIRST saw it2'' asked the Senator.
1T was not very large when hrst
saw H."
was II as large as the table at which
am slttingy' Senator Smith asked.
1T would be as large" said Fleet. ,'as
those two tables put together. when I
saw It at first It kept getting larger as
we were getting nearer II. !"
said Senator Smith: How large did II
get to be. finally when it struck the
when We were alongside replied
Fleet. 1T was a little bit higher than the
forecastle head. about fifty feet above
the wafer line"
DO ysu know" asked Senator Smith.
whether the ship was stopped after you
gave that telephone signai?'
mo: she did not stop until she passed
do YOU know whether her engines
were reversed?'
"weII, she started to go to port. while
was at the telephone. My mate saw II
and told me that he could see the bow
COMING around.
when the ship struck this obstacle.
or this black mass aueried Senator
Smith. ''wns there much of jar 70 the
ship"
Left without Binocpiar-.
mo, sir"
~Did 1T alarm you seriously when 1t
struck
mo. sir" replied Fleet 'I thought 1t
vas a narrow shave"
Fleet stated a few minutes later that |
when he came on watch he and his mate |
were instructed by the lookout men they |
relieved 10 be on the watch for ice. This |
order. he said. was given to the other
lookouts by Mr.. Lightoller and passed
on by them. This. he said. was the or
binary rule in matters Of that kind. The !
men he and his mate relieved, Slmonds !
and Jewell. did not report that they had
seen any iceberg, said Fleet. but only |
that they were instructed TO keep a
sharp watch for the ice.
Senator Smith then asked:
Are you given glasses OF any kind |
when on watch In the crows nest?''
I'VE had none this time" said Fleet; J
then he added. with some show Of feel |
ing. I'VE had nothing at all-only our
own eyes"
"on the Oceanic you had glasses. had
you notr'
Yes. sir"
Each Of your
There was one pair in the nest"
asked Senator Smith, strong, powerful
glssses?''
mo. not always. sir"
"Dld you make any request for glasses
on the Titanic asked Senator Smith.
I'VE asked for them in Southampton"
replied Fleet. and they said there was
none intended for us. We asked Mr..
LightoIIer, the Eecond officer"
Had Expected GLASSES.
you expected glssses?" asked sena-
tor Smith.
I'VE had a pair from Belfast to South
ampton," said Fleet, -'but none from
SOUTHAMPTON to New York. We didn't
know where the glasses that we had from
Belfast went to-"
'-suppose." asked Senator Smith, you
had had glasses such as you had on the
Oceanic or such as you had between
Belfast and Southampton, could you have
seen this black object a greater dis
tance?'
1--WE could have seen It bit sooner"
replied Fleet.
''weI. enough to get out Of the way"
Fleet then told in reply 10 questions
how when relieved from his post in the
crows nest he went below, but came
on deck again when the call came that
he was wanted on deck. He told about
helping lower one OF the port lifeboats.
No 6. in which he and ouartermaster
Hiehen were the only members Of the
Titanic crew. Fleet said he was told by
Mr. Lightoller to get in the boat and
help the women in. This boat was the
one which Mai. Peuchem, of Toronto,
entered just as It was being lowered. Maj.
Peuchem told his experience in this boat
at the afternoon session OF the commit
tee. He was the only other male pas
senger In Il.
Fleet said that he and one other man
pulled the oars constantly after reach
ing the water, I'm an attempt to get TO
a light which he saw on the port bow.
Despite all their efforts, he said, the
lifeboat did not seem to get nearer TO this
light; 1t seemed to be getting away from
them, the witness declared. This light
he described as a white light, and said
he had not sighted II until he was In the
lifeboat As soon as the lights Of the
Carpathia were sighted. said Fleet, they
headed the lifeboats toward the liner,
and were picked up by her.
Peucham Raps OmcIaI.
Senator Smith caused a futter in the
dceNIlDldEG Nueu Ine COInTnIIee recon-
vened at s:s0 o'clock by calling to the
stand Mai. A. G. Peuchem, of Toronto,
instead OF recalling Fleet. the lookout.
Maj. Peuchem. according to the gossip
circulating sinces last week, was pre-
pared to nay the White Star Line and
the oficers OF the Titanic. The majors
testimony, however, was in this respect
a disappointment to those expecting a
sensation. In many cases he praised the
conduct of the Titanic men and in a
statement which he asked permission TO
read, he denied criticising the captain
OF the Titanic.
MAJ. Peuchem insisted. however, that
caution would have averted the Titanic
disaster, and criticised the policy and
methods pursued by the company In this
regard.
The weather. Sunday. was pleasant.
There was very little wind. All seemed
very smooth going, and myself and
my friends had expressed our pleasure
at the way the ship was progressing.
We had hopes OF getting In very carly
Wednesday morning
''On Sunday evening dined with
friends, Mr.. and Mrs. Allison, OF Mon
treal. Mr.. Charles F. Day. Of Montreal.
and Theodore Ross, OF Winnipeg. left
the party at 9 o'clock and went to the
smoking room, where. with friends Of
mine, including a Mr.. Mccaffery, OF
Vancouver, / chatted until 1910. All
these friends I have named were lost
Then ! went to my room. A little