Evening star., 1928-11-18
VESTRIS OFFICERS CONFIDENT ALMOST TO END
DESPITE 3e HOURS LEAKING THEY TESTIFY
Chief Engineer Testiies.

johnson was temporarily released. be-
ing ordered to remain in the courtroom
Chief Engineer Testifes.
Chief Engineer Adams was then call
ed. Commissioner O'Neil ordered al
members Of the VeStriS crew present
to leave the room.
Adams said he had been chief on the
the VeStris about year.
When were you first informed water
was coming into the boat?" Tuttle
asked
About 9 o'clock Sunday morning
when 1 went below and they were hav-
ing trouble with the ash electors. Water
was coming in there. The bige was
nearly fun"
How long had this leak been 60
ing on?"
well, they had been working on it
Tor some time"
you say the bilge was nearly full.
How many tons would that mean?"
About 20 tons"
Was water coming in anywhere else ?"
Yes. In the engine room. A pipe
from lavatory had been carried away.
1t was leaking badly then"
How much water was there in the
engine room bilge?"
1T would be hard to estimate. Prob
ably the engine room bilge was very
nearly full"
How many tons would that be?"
Fifteen or twenty"
When did you discover this leak?"
about 10 am. Sunday"
How long had that been going on?"
quite a while"
did YOU ultimately stop that lcak?"
yes"
Says Both Leaks Were Stopped.
When did you get the two leaks
stopped?"
About 12 o'clock"
When did you hear of more water
coming in?"
Il went to the shelter deck and
noticed water coming out Of a stoke
hole I went UP on top to see what was
wrong. and working door was leaking
very badly. This was on the port side. I"
How many doors did that stoke hole
feed?"
Seven doors"
How much water was coming in?"
III was leaking badly"
What time was this?''
About 10 am. Sunday"
When did you first notice that the
vessel had list?"
Sunday morning
What time?"
when got up o'clock"
How much Of list was it then--5 or
10 degrees?"
Not so much as To-"
Blames Wind for List.
What caused this list--ttlat was be-
fANs e., 4. .LOsy
Strong winds caused that list"
Was it possible to get down into the
coal bunkers?"
mo"
You couldn't get down through the
top?"
1T was full Of coal there"
you are sure the water in the coal
bunkers Sunday morning was coming
across from the portside?"
There were leaks on the starboard
side. too
"Where?"
From coal ports. The ship had been
pitching heavily and was strained"
What time did you decide Sunday
morning that there was leak on the
Starboard side. too?"
That was Sunday evening about 4
o'clock"
Your efforts to stop the leak in the
work door on the portside was un-
availing?"
Yes"
THE water out of the starboard
bunkers-did it increase?"
1T grew steadily worse"
When did it affect the engines?"
Boiler Shut OF.
THE starboard boiler shut off at 4
am. Monday
How many boilers did you have?">
Three"
When did the other two shut off?"
Not till the last thing"
When did you first think the situa-
ton was serious?"
$3.50 am. Monday"
Did you talk with the Captain?"
"Yes. I went up to see him about II
m Monday. He asked ME how things
were going. said, Captain. the water is
not gaining now. I'm holding. l can
manage to keep her afioat as long as
can keep up steam.' He said, Well, do
the best you cam and that was the
last time spoke to him."
Adams told then of keeping the pumps
going all Sunday night.
And yet the water kept increasing?"
Tuttle asked.
NO"
But the ship kept listing more and
more all Sunday night from about 10
to 20 or 80 degrees?"
"Yes."
Then more water was coming in
than was going out, wasn't it?"
Not in the engine room"
But the rest of the Ship"
THE pumps were all in the engine
room."
Water Gained Headway.
But all over the ship, obviously more
Yes"
Then why did you tell the captain
at IL o'clock Monday that you were
stemming the f1ood?"
Il had been able to get up more
Steam''
But water began coming in other
leakS?"
Yes"
Would You say list of 80 degrees
was dangerous?"
Yes"
And with the boat at that degree
and the decks awash you told the cap
tain you could pump the ship out?"
Il could pump out the engine room.
/ didn't tell him I could get the ship
dry. l said thought could keep her
af1oat and he told me he expected two
destroyers by night"
IT: