Urged to Drive Titanic.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 29 May 1912, Page 4

Urged to Drive Titanic.

I . —♦ — KNG INE-ltO OM TEWIIMOxNV AUUUT OUDEKB FOR SPEED. AI the American .Senate inquiry into tin: wreck of the Titanic, iiu'portant testimony was given by the 'crew to the effect tliat the ttfficcrs ! 11ad urged every man to work to his utmost to get speed out of the vc-sel. That was the statement made by John Thompson, a stoker, and William Melntyrc, a coal passer, in St. Vincent's Hospital. " The work was so terrific," .said Thompson "that a number of us talked together and agreed not to go 'hack on the Titanic. We simply could not (stand the rush. .Second Engineer Fiirgeson was constantly coming to us and telling us to do more. We did not have time to got a drink of water or to light a cigarette. It is customary lo give littlu breathing spells on tho.se big liners, but then? were no rest periods on the Titanic. " The lirst three days I was in the engine-room; then transferred me to the stoke-hold. I watched the gauges a great deal, and they were constantly getting higher. We were increasing .speed all the time. "Whenever any out , from the en-gine-room came to the stoke-hole, we always asked about tin , speed. In I'act, that was ahoiii the only thing we talked about. Then Sunday they put in those additional boilers. That doubled our work. Thev e;;rried '2i~> pounds ol' steam all the time. The boilers could not .stand •iiiv more.' , I

"The things which Thompson says about the hard work was true,' added Melntyre, the passer wliji.se duty it was to help supply the stokers with coal. "We were constantly getting ordeis to do more w.irk. The thing which strikes me is that there was no suction when the ship .vink. Thompson and I were in the sea when the ship hank not more than thirty yards away. It was alter she sank that the collapsible lifcboni picked us up. fl The decks were crowded as she weiii down. I never heard such shriek- and moans. It .seemed as though the sea was packed with struggling men and women. We could hear them shriek for half an hour or .so. They \\\>v t > not drawn down by the vortex. They died a slow death. At tin- end oflialf an hour it was a,s <piiet as a graveyard. No -mi' on the l»-;:>(s ■••li-l ;! word, and those in the water wow all drowned.

"No, we did not see Mr Tsinay, ho didn't havr anything to do with those of our class, and I do not know Mi'it the evd-rs lor speed oniric from him. All we ever beard from him was on the Carpathia. He soul word down that we wcw not to worry, that we were to go hack to Kngland on the first available ship, and fliaf our pay would go on until we reached Liverpool.