Evening star., 1934-10-16
Four Staff Officers Also Are
Accused in Steamboat
Service Report.
LOSS OF LIFE BLAMED
ON DELAYING SOS CALL
Failure to Stop Ship Also De-
clared to Have Added to
Casualties.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
NEW YORK. October 16.-The
board Of inquiry Of the United States
Steamboat Service, In q report made
public today, charged Capt. william
F. Warns and four staff officers of the
MORO Castle with negligence in con-
nection with the burning of the Ward
liner and the attendant loss of 1872
lives.
The preliminary report, signed by
Capt. Karl c. Nielsen and James
Smith, inspectors Of the New York
district, gives no cause or responsible
ity for the fire. 1t was explained the
boards duty ends with determining II
the officers were negligent In the per-
Torrance of their duty.
Other Officers Accused,
Oficers charged with negligence in
addition to Warns are Chief Engineer
Eben s. Abbott, Second Officer Clar-
ence Hackney. Third Ofiicer Harold
Hansen and First Assistant Engineer
Antonio r. Buija
The officers charged with negligence
are ordered to appear at q hearing
October 20 to show cause why their
/ licenses should not be suspended or
revoked.
Acting Chief Officer Ivan Freeman
was the only Geek officer who was not
found negligent in the report. Free
man. according to the testimony, the
report says, fought the fire and later
went forward and let go the anchor.
Five CharreS Made.
Five specifications are charged
against Capt. Warms accusing him of
delay "in sending out wireless distress
signals" and "unduly jeopardizing the
lives of passengers and crew." and of
failure to stop the vessel after he was
aware that the superstructure was on
fire and the vessel was steaming into
Q fresh breeze"
In addition he was charged with
failure to have fire hose ready for use,
to have the fire doors closed and with
having an insufficient number Of men
on watch at the time Of the fire.
Charges Against Others.
Abbott is charged in the report with
failure TO 60 below to the engine room
and fire rooms 'to direct the engine
room crew in the performance Of
their duty"
Hackney, the report charges, failed
to supervise the proper lowering of
lifeboats, and Hansen is charged with
failure to carry out the ship mas
ter's orders to stand by and assist
passengers into lifeboats.
Buija, as first assistant engineer, is
accused of failing to stay below in
the engine room and direct the crew.
Failure to Organize Charged.
The report charges that when the
alarm of fire was sounded the crew
did not take their stations nor did
the officers do anything to organize
them. It charges that the MORO
Castle continued at full speed for some
distance after the fire had been re-
ported.
'It was not until the fire was out
Of control" the report says, that the
course was changed and the vessel
slowed down.
Had the vessel been stopped i'm
mediately. after the fire was discov-
cred in the superstructure - which
would have tended to prevent the
rapid spread Of the fire-and the call
for assistance not delayed, it is ap-
parent that rescue vessels would have
been in the vicinity of the stricken
liner much earlier and no doubt would
have been instrumental in saving a
greater number Of lives"