The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1914-03-19
BAMBERG, s. c., THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 1911
DIVIDED REPORT RETURNED.
One Blames the Monroe Other the
Nantucket.

Philadelphia, March I6.-The two
United States local inspectors of
steam vessels who investigated the
disaster off the Virginia coast on
January 80, in which the steamship
Nantucket rammed the steamer Mon
roe, causing the loss of Al lives,
rendered a divided opinion to-day,
one holding the captain of the Nam
tucket guilty of negligence and the
other charging the commander of the
Monroe with responsibility for the
disaster.
The report of the investigation,
along with the two decisions, was for
warded to Henry NJ. Seely, supervis-
ing inspector at New York. 1t is not
known here what the next step in
the case will be but it is believed the
supervising inspector will consult the
department of commerce at Washing
ton before making any further move.
The local inspectors who investi-
gated the collision are Capt. r. A.
Sargent, inspector of hulls, and D. H.
Howard, inspector of boilers. The de-
partment of commerce designated
them to investigate the charges
against Osmyn Berry, captain of the
Nantucket, brought by the local in
spectors at Norfolk after a prelimin-
ary examination.
Negligence Charged.
The charges against Capt. Berry
included negligence in not reducing
the speed of his vessel in a fog, and
with neglecting to ascertain through
the wireless operator the proximity
of other vessels.
No charges were brought against
Capt. Edward E. Johnson of the Mon
roe. Twelve days were devoted to
hearing witnesses and after counsel
for Capt. Berry had argued his case
to-day. the board rendered it's de-
cision.
The opinion filed by Inspector
Sargent was voluminous, going into
the construction of the ships, the COL
lision and the conduct of the crews af-
ter the impact. The report concludes
that Capt. Berry and all other licens-
ed officers of the Nantucket are ex-
operated.
Capt. Sargent's report then charges
Capt. Johnson with Incompetence,
negligence and inattention to duty y
He is charged in the report with vio-
lation of the international rules for
preventing collisions in giving a
wrong whistle signal in the fog; with
negligence and inattention to duty
because he took no action to prevent
the collision or to lessen it's force
when the vessels came in sight OF
each other, and with incompetency
and unskillfulness because proper
discipline or organization was not
maintained among the crew in an ef-
fort to protect lives of all persons
on board and because no proper effort
promptly was made to obtain assls-
tance from the Nantucket.
Fails as Captain.
On the last specification Capt.
Sargent said:
while we believe that Captain
Johnson as an individual did every
thing that was humanity possible to
save the lives of all, it is to be re-
gretted that he did not delegate GER
tain duties which he attended to
himself to some of the other mem
bers of his crew and thus give
himself more time to devote to mat
ters of greater Importance. =
Inspector Howard refused to sign
this report and rendered one of his
own in which he found Capt. Berry
guilty of failing to reduce speed in a
fog as charged, but not guilty of al
legged failure to use the wireless ap-
paratus, and recommended that his
masters license be revoked.
In reading his report Capt. Sar-
gent stated that he had been IL
censed master and was experienced
in navigation and that Inspector
Howard was not a licensed master
and had no practical experience as a.
navigator.