Omaha daily bee., 1914-06-17
Saw Collier Hundred Feet Away
Coming at Right Angles to His
Course at High Speed.
STATEMENT FOR THE SToRsTAD
Fog Shut Down Two Minutes After
Empress Was Sighted.
DIFFERENCES AS TO SIGNALS
Captain says Empress Three Points
to Port and Eight Hundred
Feet Away Three Minutes
BefOre They struck.

QUEBEC, June 1s.-Captaln Kendall,
skipper OF the Empress of ireland, was
the first witness called today at the open
ing OF the governments investigation into
the collision between his steamer and the
storstad in the lower st. Lawrence river
and the loss Of more than 1,OOO lives Al
though Kendall still llmped from the in
iuries he received in the disaster he re-
fused a seat and faced the court on his
feet.
The examination Of witnesses was In
charge OF Edmund l. Newcombe Is. c.,
deputy minister Of justice. The Canadian
Pacific railroad, owner of the Empress
placed its case in the care Of Butler AS
pinwsll X. c.. London, England, and sew
eral local lawyers. Counsel for Captain
Kendall and the officers and crew of the
Empress we're Aime Geoffrion, *. c.,
Montreal. and A c. NJ. Thompson, OF
Quebec.
The Storstad's owners relied on c. A.
Duclos, Montreal; ]. w. Griffin and c. 5.
Haigh, New York. both members of the
United States admiralty; Norman Beecher
of New York and Arthur Fitzpatrick OF
Quebec.
salient features OF the foundering Of the
Empress as at present known. 1t had
been difficult, he said, for the Canadian
Pacific to obtain accurate figures OF the
death list on account Of the number of
European foreigners on board but 1t was
now placed at 1.O14, with 4SS saved.
The examination of witnesses was pre-
ceded by the introduction of brief sum-
maries of the facts by counsel repre-
senting the owners of the two vessels.
Statement for stOrstad.
Counsel for the Storstld declared that
when II first sighted the Empress the
latter was off the Storstad's port. TWO
minutes later the fog shut down. The
storstad signalled by whistle 1t was under
way and keeping it's course, heading west
by south. The statement continues:
when the captain got on deok later
he saw the mast lights of the Empress
three points to port. He Immediately or
dered full steam astern. The vessels were
then about 800 feet apart The green
light of the Empress appeared. Three
minutes later the vessels came together
The master Of the Storstad heard a hail
from the Empress telling him to keep
going ahead. He had ordered this, but
found he could not keep the GOLFERS nose
in the Empress wound. The Storstad
was swung around until it was parallel
with the liner and the GOLFERS master
was afraid his ship would be struck on
the portside by the starboard quarts OF
the Empress.
He had to swing around in a com
plete circle. and in the meantime the
Empress disappeared. The Storstad blew
signals to the liner, but it did not an
swer About ten minutes afterward the
master of the Storstad heard a chorus oi
cries and proceeded toward them witt
care his four boats ready to launch. The
Storstad boats saved several hundred OF
the Empress survivors and manned en-
tirely an Empress boat on its trip bacl
70 the scene OF the wreck and another
boat partially"
Captain Kendalps Testimony.
Captain Kendall said when he was firs
notified of the presence of another
steamer it was about six miles away, bu
that the weather was fine and clear anC
there was then no danger Of a collision
When he noticed a big bank Of mist com
ing off the south shore and the Storstad
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