Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1914-07-15
ERROR OF SEAMAN
WRECKED EMPRESS
INQUIRY REVEALS

Quebec. July 13.-The collier Storstad
Is held to blame for the Empress of Ire
wreck commission handed down today.
The commission holds that the disaster
was due to the Storstad's change of
course ordered by the third officer
without Instructions from the first Of
ficer who was in charge of the collier
at the time. The Empress was sunk
in the st. Lawrence on May 20 with
q loss of more thar 1000 lives.
The inquiry into the disaster was be-
gun ! n Quebec on June 16 by a COM
mission composed of Lord Mersey,
formerly presiding Justice OF the
Routhier. Of Quebec and Chief Justice
Mcleod of New Brunswick. The COM
missioners We're assisted in their work
by Commander F. w. Osborne. of the
British royal naval reserve: Prof. John
Welsh. of New Castle, England; Cap
commission and Engineer Commander.
Howe, of the Canadian naval service.
Commander Claiborne M Professor
welsh We're nominated by the British
board Of trade. Lord Mersey also pre-
sided owe the inquiry into the Titantic
disaster.
The GOLFERS third officer held re-
sponstble was Alfred Tuftenes. He
was on h bridge when the crash oc-
Cured and the reports holds that he
was wrong and negligent in keeping
the navigation Of the vessel in his own
hands and failing to call the captain
when he saw the fog coming on. The
report says the disaster was not due
to any special characteristics Of the
st. Lawrence. 1t was q disaster which
might have occurred In any river in
similar circumstances.
The report notes a radical conflict in
the testimony Of officers of the EN-
press and Of the StOrstad.
"The witnesses from the Storstad."
reads the report, Says they were ap-
preaching so as to pass red to red,
while those from the Empress say they
to green. The stories are irreconcil-
able. We have therefore thought 1t
advisable to found our conclusions al
most entirely on the eve.ts spoken Of
by the witnesses n on their probable
sequence IN order to arrive at a so
luton of the difficulty.
w ave come to the conclusion
that Mr.. T%uftenes was mistaken IL he
supposed there was any intention on
the part OF the Empress to pass port to
port or that she in fact. by her lights
manifested the intention Of doing so;
nut 1t appears to us to be a mistake
which would have been of no con-
sequence If both ships subsequently
had kept their courses.
shortly after the ships came in the
position of green to green as claimed
by Captain Randell or red to red as
claimed by the Mr.. Tuftenes, the fog
shut them gu from each other and 1t
was while both were enveloped In the
fog that h course Of one or the other
was changed and the collision brought
about. Therefore the question as to
who Is to blame resolves itself into a
simple issue. namely, which of the
ships changed her course during the
fog. 49,
There is in our opinion no ground
for saying that the course of the EN-
press of Ireland was ever changed in
these the sense thai the wheel was wilfully
another explanation was propounded.
namely, that the vessel changed her
teration of her wheel, but in conse-
quence Of some uncomfortable move
ment."
This. It was suggested might have
been due to an insufficient area Of
rudder or some mishap to the steering
gear. but, says the report" we are
Of the opinion that the allegations as
to their conditions are not we'll found