Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1925-10-01
Blames LansdOwne
Continued from PAGE one)

he said. the ship was drifting to the
right, a danger signal that should
have been needed Immediately.
Then with much technical detail, the
witness, speaking so fast at times
that even the official stenographer
was unable to get down his words,
presented his theory of how the ship
should have been kept head to the
wind so that she would have avoided
the vortex Of the disturbance.
IF l may be permitted to refer to
It," Heinin added, I'VE had much the
same experience when the Shenan-
doah broke away from the mooring
mast here last January"
On Grill for 8 Hours
Captain Heinen was on the witness
stand for three hours and his exam
ination had not been concluded when
court was adjourned until tomorrow.
His criticisms regarding structural
changes in the Shenandoah had
aroused survivors and officers at the
air station here and there was~an at
mosphere of some tenseness.
Speaking with a slight accent, the
witness frequently appeared to be-
come excited and could be followed
only with difficulty. Several times
he was mildly cautioned by Admiral
Jones to refrain from speaking with
too much show of vigor, especially
when he was under cross examina-
ton by Commander Rosendahl on
behalf of the survivors. This duel Of
words. conducted between former
master and pupil held the attention
Of the audience.
several times Captain Heinen object
ed to questions put by Commander
Rosendahl on the ground that they
were not pertinent to the inquiry and
was sustained by the court. Likewise
he steadfastly declined to divulge the
names of officers and men of the navy
who had given him some of the infor-
nation upon which his testimony was
based. He was not pressed for the
names.
Scores Valve Reduction
Before the questioning was suspend
ed Captain Heinen had renewed his
charges that the reduction of the
number of gas safety valves from is
TO eight had contributed to the break
ing up of the ship, had disagreed with
the theory of naval experts that the
first break was in the keel and had ex-
pressed the opinion that Lieutenant
Joseph B. Anderson, aerologist on the
Shenandoah had been mistaken in his
conclusion that the disturbance en-
countered was one of unusual charac-
teristics.
Captain Heinens conclusion was
that the Shenandoah actually broke
first on top, explaining that such a
conclusion was inevitable since it fol-
lowed that the break would be at the
weakest part of the hull, and not at
the keel, which was reinforced and
supported far better than the longi-
tudinal at the top of the hull.
The change in the valve system was
especially centered upon during the in
quiry. Captain Heinen sticking from
the first to his expressed opinion that
this had made the ship unsafe.
The jam pot" covers over the au-
tomato valves also came in for as
sault from Captain Heinen. He re-
ferred to them as a folly" designed
to "save helium and not lives" Asked
if the British did not use them, the
witness said:
Yes, in a safe way-in the ham
CARS"
There was a dramatic moment early
in Captain Heinens examination. He
had confirmed a quotation from him
III the newspapers tHdl there WOuIu
be "whitewash" investigation of the
disaster. but that every man in the
air station knew why it happened.
Asked If he could name any man at
the station who had expressed an
opinion that he knew why the acci-
dent occurred, he added that while he
had refrained from talking to the Off
GERS and men generally he had met
one and heard his story.
Give his NAME" directed Judge Ad-
vocate Foley.
Heinen hesitated and James H. Col
Her, one of the survivors. promptly
sent word to the court that he had
talked with Heinen.
Explaining what he meant by a
"whitewash," the witness said he be-
lieved an effort would be made to at
tribute the disaster to an act Of God
and not to place the blame on any of
those in the ship.