The Washington times., 1912-04-22
FRANKLIN EXPLAINS
DELAY IN TELLING
OF T|TAN|C'S Loss
Says He Was Unwilling to
Believe Ship Could
. Sink.
CONTINUED from First Page.)

deliberately deceived the public through
a large part of Monday, he and his con-
freres, in spite of the evidence borne in
upon them, refused themselves to be
convinced.
Vice President Frenklin refused TO
q Init, In fact 'iatlv denied that he had
given any orders 20 the captain of the
t:arrathia, or to any one, for the sup
had talked over anything Of the sort
with Marconi or Sanmis. lie tried to
convince tile committee that on the
other hanh he had done his utmost
from the beginning TO get inform alton,
and that he had exercised no censor
shin. 80
respect to the series Of messages re
ceived at the White star offices through
the period OF the sinking of the Titanic
was the feature Of the first half dav
Of the subcommittee's session in this
city. ,
In the course Of It, he fatlv denie l
that he or any other responsible Of.
fetal of the White Star had sent out
reached Congressman .Hughts of West
Virginia, saying the Titanic was safe:
But in this connection. he made the
interesting admission that there Is
Star company and that 1t might be
possible some one of them. without
authority, had sent out such mes
sage. He suggested to the commit
duce all their messages with refer
ence to the sinking OF the Titanic"
Ignorant of Equipment.
Mr.. Franklin denied an intimate
knowledge of the subject of the
equipment of the vessels of the White
Star with lifeboats and life saving
apparatus.
The proceedings before the commit
tee today were intensely dramatic.
Nothing like them has ever before
been witnessed at a hearing before
remarkable hearings before the
House Rules Committee, concerning
the Lawrence strike, did not approach
SO great was the throng that filled
the committee room that Senator
Smith before taking testimony warn
ed the crowd that II was present by
and that any disorder would not be
tolerated He said in substance that
II there was disorder the committee
woul be obliged to act accordingly.
and he hinted at hearings behind
closed doors.
Fears Embittered Feeling.
AS II fearing that the embittered
feelings of the spectators might find
their vent against Ismay or some of
the witnesses, Senator Smith urged
that all be given courteous treatment.
After Mr.. Franklin had given the
committee an accoun of the AFFAIRS OF
the International Mercantile Marine and
its relations with the White Star, he
was asked. among other things, about
his acquaintance with Captain Smith,
commander of the lost Titanic. The
sinking Of the Titanic and the loss OF
Captain Smith with her was brought
vividlv to the minds OF the spectators
waen he said:
II iast saw Captain Smith in Febru-
arw. I have never seen or heard from
Saving that the New York office had
no jurisdiction over a shin after It left
the docks. he declared that no COM
munication had been received from the
ship after It left Belfast. Gable mes
SaEes lad been received from White
Star offices, but nothing direct from
the ship.
Hundreds In Overflow.
Every seat in the caucus room was
filled before 10 o'clock. and hundreds OF
morbid men and women were attempt
ing to crowd through the door. Few. II
any of those who failed to gain ad-
mittance left the building. They stood
In the corridors discussing the sea hor-
ror in such tones that officers were kept
at their wits end to keep them from
disturbing the investigation.
J. Bruce lsmay, managing director ol
the White Star line. and Manager p. A
3. Franklin, entered the room FIVE min
utes before the time set for the hearing
TO begin. The audience burst with eX-
c1temeEt
Murmur Greets Ismay.
There he is: that tall, dark man,
was the subdued remark of many WON
en-. Attorneys BurlinEame and ]. Par.
ker Kirlin, counsel for Ismay, accom-.
panied him. They arrived before any oI
lhe committee,
Ismay, Franklin, and their party had
to stand for several minutes, every chaiI
being occupied, until room could be
made for them, facing the committee
and the witness stand.
Senator Smith, chairman of the COM
mittee, was last to arrive, He could
barely squeeze into the room through
the densely packed crowd at the door.
Government experts also attended by
order of the committee. Captain Knapp
chief photographer of the navy: Gen
boat Inspection Service: several wire
less experts, and Government scientists
washington society turned out IL
great numbers wives .tans ana snS daHghTsp dinsn
mats fairly fought to get inside th'
crowded room. Many were forced t.
stand, but they stayed throughout ant
eagerly drank In every word OF the tes
timony. ~
Baron Hengelmuller. Austrian -Ambas
sador was given a seat directly in from
of the committee.
Smith Makes Statement.
Senator Smith, upon opening the hear
ing, made the following preliminar
statement:
This inquiry Is for the purpose o
bringing out the important facts i
connection with the loss of the Titanic
We are not at all concerned about tn
convenience of visitors at the hearing
/ desire every person to understan
that they are here solely by tn
courtesy OF the committee, and that eS
pressions of any kind from the specta
tors will not be permitted. Any vic
lation of this injunction will force tn
committee to conduct the hearing /
such a manner as to avoid situatio
OF that kind.
'In view of the importance of III
hearing, / want TO ask that the wit
nesses receive the courtesy and kndnee
that is their proper due. | am not full
convinced that the hearing can be cor
Quoted In this way. Because we desir
that the public may know the fact
this course was, adopted this mornin
as IL was in New York
p A. s. Franklin, New York manage
aud vice president of the White Sta
line, was the first witness, although III
committee first asked for ]. d. Boxhal
fourth otficsr Of the Titanic. When Boa