The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1914-06-04
Danish Collier Cuts Deyta En-
press Of ireland in St.
Lawrence River.
CAPTAINS MAKE STATEMENTS
Each Blanes the Other for Awful Die
aster-Royai Commission Named
70 Investigate - Identifying
the Bodies.

Montreal, June 2.-The loss o.
nearly. 1000 lives in the sinking Of
the Canadian Pacific liner Empress
OF Ireland will be Investigated by q
royal commission OF three appointed
yesterday. The hearings to determine
responsibility for the ramming and
sinking in the st. Lawrence river
Friday morning Of the Empress Of
ireland by the Norwegian collier Stor-
stad will begin June ..
The three men who will comprise
the investigating tribunal are Sir
Adoiph Routhier. Judge OF the court
of admiralty of Quebec; Hon. Ezekiel
Mcleod. chief justice and Judge Of
the admiralty court of New Bruins
wick. appointed by the Canadian gov
eminent, and George L. Vaux Of the
legal staff Of the British board Of
trade.
Liner Rammed Amidships.
Rimouski, Que, June 1.-Sinking In
ninety feet Of water, within fifteen
minutes after being rammed amidships
in the upper reaches of the st. Law
renee just before daybreak, the Cana
dian Pacific liner Empress Of Ireland
carried down with her nearly 1000 Of
her passengers aud crew. OF the
1857 persons ON board the liner only
403 are known 10 have been saved,
making the probable death list 964.
On board the train that took the
survivors from Rimouski to Quebec
the greater number of those saved
were men.
Captain Kendall OF the Empress Of
Ireland, who was taken from the
water after the ship sank, was down
cast over the disaster. II wish | had
gone to the bottom with her." he said.
Looming up through the river mists
as the Empress of Ireland was lying
to, waiting for the fog to lift or day
to break, the Danish collier StOrstad
crashed bow-on into the side of the
big Canadian liner, striking her about
midway of her length and ripping her
side open clear to the stern.
( The crash occurred not far from the
shore of Father Point, $50 miles from
Quebec, which the Empress of Ireland
left the day before bound for Liver
pool In reality. therefore, although
the liner was heading for the sea and
the collier coming in from it. the dis.
aster was not one Of the ocean, but
Of the river. Unlike the Titanics vic
Tins, the Empress Of. Ireland's lost
their lives within sight of shore-in
landlocked waters.
eIames Collier.
Captain Henry George Kendall, Of
the liner, told his story of the disas-
ter at an inquiry conducted by Coro-
ner Pinault here.
Captain Kendall IN substance de.
,clared that he had taken all possible
precautions against collision. His
ship had been stopped and he gave
the requisite signals when the Danish
collier Storstad, which dealt the blow,
which sent the Empress to the bot
tom, was still two miles away, but the
collier had kept on through the fog
which settled down soon after the
two vessels sighted each other and
Mad rammed the Empress of Ireland
while the latter was virtually mo-
tionless. Then. despite his plea to
the master of the collier that he run
his engines full speed ahead to keep
the hole in the liners side plugged
with the Storstads bow, Captain Ken
dali said the Danish vessel backed
away, the water rushed in and the
Empress sank.
The Other Side.
Montreal, June 1.-The other side of
the story of the collision in the st.
Lawrence river between the Canadian
Pacific liner Empress of Ireland and
the Norwegian collier Storstad, which
resulted In the sinking of the liner
with the loss Of more than 900 lives.
was told. The master of the Storstad
denies the charge that he was respon-
sible for the disaster. He says the
Empress shifted its position in the
foe~ He also denies that he backed
away from the sinking vessel.
According to the captain and Off
GERS. Contrary to what has been stat
ed by the captain Of the Empress Of
ireland. the Storstsd did not back
away after the collision. On the con-
trary. she steamed ahead In, an ef-
fort to keep her bow In the hole she
had dug into the side of the Empress.
The Empress. however. according to
the Storstad's offfcers. headed away
and bent the Storstad's bow over at
an acute angle 70 port. After that the