New Britain herald., 1928-11-21

What ~ele your relations witt Captain Carey? Were you friendly: :' Yes"
 When did you first ask nm whether he had sent an sos. 9" About 10 o'clock Monday morn. ing"
 With the list of the ship increas' ing steadily, what steps did you take to get the water out Of her." II concentrated attention on . leaking half door in the side" Did the bailins with buckets help any"
 Tt seemed to for while" Do you know why the Vestris failed to answer repeated calls from it's sister ship the Noltaire?'
 No"
 Monday morning the vestris did answer and told the voltaire it had nothing to communicate. Why did he not tell the Noltaire of his very serious situation?"
 Well, I don't know"
 Did the captain ever tell you why he waited as long as he did in reporting the condition of his ship?"
 No"
 What time did the gale begin to die down." Captain Jessup asked Johnson.
 Sea Not Terrific
 II should say it was moderate from four o'clock Monday morning on"
 What was greatest strength of the gale at any time?''
 ''I should say 75 or so miles an hour"
 "Was sea at any time bad enough to endanger any vessel the size Of your vessel that was sound?"
 No"
 Testimony that the lost steamship vestris had been in need of repairs for two years has been given by members of the crew. United States inspectors reported that the British liner was seaworthy before she left on her last voyage, yet members of the crew told Federal Commissioner O'Neill yesterday that various port holes through which the sinking ship took water had been out of re- pair.
 The testimony was that of Gilbert Ford, chief fireman; Isaac James Scott, a saloon waiter. and Thomas Connor, head waiter in the first cabin.
 Valve Shipped Water
 Ford testified that the ash ejec- tor valve in the stokehold shipped water, and always had during rough weather. He said he tried to tights en the screws on the valve but they were rusty and had been that way throughout his service on the ship. He said he had never made for- nal report because Everybody knew about it.
 Officers of the Vestris previously had testified that water coming in through this pipe and other places in. the coal bunkers contributed to the foundering of the vessel.
 Door Was Leaky
 Scott and Connor told of half door on the starboard side of ths vessel, about ten feet above the Wa ter line, through which the water poured in such a stream after the ship started to list on Sunday night. 20 hours before she sank. that the bailing efforts of several men could not keep up with it. They testified that on previous trip when the weather was rough seas had been shipped through this door.
 Scott said the water which cams in through the door poured down into the coal bunkers through matches which were not covered un- til Monday morning. The water was so deep in their quarters Sun day night he said. that they could not use the lower berths.
 Went Down With Ship
 He also told of being assigned to No. 4 lifeboat. which he testified was loaded with women and left suspended five feet above the water. He said it was carried down with the ship. He himself jumped over board and was rescued by another lifeboat.
 Connor told Of saloon portholes which needed re-rubberinE and which he had reported as out Of repair the last two trips without any action being taken. Both he and Scott said they had not official ly reported the leaking half door but that the crew. whose quarters were near often cursed about 1t when the water came into the pas- to their rooms during rough weather. Connor also testified that many of the dead light" port hole covers. iron covers hung on hinges which are dropped down overs the glass ports were SO stiff that the weight of several persons hanging on them was not sufficient to close them
 Connor was in lifeboat No which was overturned in launching He was picked up by another life