The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-11-21
REVEA Al VESTRIS
,,YAS IMPROPERLY
'INSPECTEDBYU.S
"I nv e tt cation" Soft
Pedals on Charges
Continued "a cm Page one


life, failed to convince those present.
His official denial, however, has
been placed in the records, with the
purpose of whitewashing him and
through him the guilt of the U. S.
Government in the Vestris sinking.
Been Leaking Seven Months.
Further developments were that
Fhe Vestris, on it's last four voyages
Turing the last seven months, had
always leaked at sea.
1.-THE Vestris leaked on the last
our voyages" said Isaac ]. Scott,
.h1waiter aboard the ship, in his
" Stimony before Commissioner
Neil.
I IA starboard door, about six feet.
hbove the water line, was the source
IF this leak" Scott testified. Every
lime water slapped the starboard
side of the vessel, there was leak"
After his examination, attempts
70 discredit his story were made by
investigators" but they were forced
70 enter it into the records.
Set Screw on Baskets Faulty.
Gilbert Ford, Negro chief fireman
pf the Vestris, was also called at
5he hearing before O'Neill and said
hat it was nothing unusual to find
water in the engine room.
Sunday morning the water was
coming in through the ash hopper"
Ford said. "Then it came in the
stoke hold. That was under three
feet of water. The cover was on
and was screwed down, but it was
impossible to work the screws. At
10 time on the trip was l able to
n1ke the screws work"
. Boat Drill Neglected.
Ford said that the last life boat
drill he could remember was on the
last northern trip of the Vestris,
about two days out of the Barbados.
Members of the engine room
crew said one of the doors leading
to the coal ports was open from the
time the Vestris left New York and
that when the Vestris struck a small
storm water flowed through this
door into the engine room. The
water poured in at such an alarm
ing rate, the engine room crew re-
ported, that the engine room be-
came flooded, the starboard boilers
were put out and some of the Ne
gro members Of the crew reported
that, on Monday, just before the
'Vetlis went down, they had to work
in water up to their necks.
Seek to Frame-up Workers.
In spite of the rapidly accumu-
lating pile of evidence incriminat-
j ~ the Lamport and Holt Line and
til U. S. government for the sink
Ing of the Vestris, the officials in
charge of the investigation contin-
ued to give greater credence to the
testimony of those engineering the
frame-up of the workers than to
the crew itself.
Some of these were William Her
bert Renham, ship surveyor; E.
A. Swan and Fred L. Dennis, a
boiler inspector. Despite the evil
dence of the crew that the hull of
the Vestris was rotten and repainted
to hide the corrosion, all of them
said that the Vestris was ain good
condition..
No British Certificate.
Thomas Conner, waiter on the
Vestris, testified that "the Vestris
had slight list on all the five voy-
ages on which l sailed. I noticed
this list increase greatly when we
were about five hours out of New
York" Conner corroborated the
testimony that Scott, another
waiter, had given previously.
1t was revealed that the last time
the Vestris had been inspected by
the board Of trade in London had
hen either in 1920 or in 1921. This
VI IS according to the testimony Of
Captain William S. Heasley, assist
ant marine superintendent Of Lam
port and Holt. With this testi-
mony, the British government was
definitely involved in the response
bility for the sinking and the loss
of over 100 lives.
Insured for 100000.
Another big aspect which defin-
itely was brought into the case to-
day was the probability that the Yes
iris sinking had been definitely
planned by the L. and H. Company.
Facts brought out at yesterdays
hearings showed that the Vestris
was insured for 100000, more
than the ship was worth. No facts
this aspect, which the
Daily Worker raised the very day of
the sinking, have been definitely
found out, however.
A senate investigation, intimated
by Robert F. Wagner of New York,
who recently was implicated in the
] ligi speakeasy protection graft"
I Use, opened the possibility of the
Entire U. S. government joining the
huge conspiracy to whitewash itself
and the l.. and H. Company, and
shifting the blame to the crew.