THE TITANIC DISASTER

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 302, 18 June 1912, Page 5

THE TITANIC DISASTER

THE QUESTION OF BOATS. By Cable—Press Association —Copyright. London, June 16. At the Titanic enquiry Captain Young made a supplementary statement that he alone was responsible for the Marine Department's supposed delay in issuing new regulations as to increasing the number of boats. The delay was not unreasonable, owing to the importance of experiments regarding stability and safety. THE COURAGE OF MR. ISMAY. Beulah Hood, writing in the May issue of The Fra, takes the same line that we toolc in the Star when American pressmen and some others were heaping contumely upon Mr. Bruce Ismay for having taken advantage of an opportunity to escape from the Titanic. We wrote at the time that Mr. Ismay's was probably the most valuable life saved from the wreck, because through his experience seafaring would be made safer in the future. Here is how Beulah Hood puts it: "A purpose above the scorn of men brought John Bruce Ismay safe to this (U.S.A.) unfriendly shore. He can help to make ocean travel safer as no senatorial investigation can. And he will. Ismay is no coward. He has chosen to fafce what men call shame. Besides this, 1 he has forever with him, as the Tecurring theme of his life, the hopeless memory of that awful tragedy. It was absolutely necessary that a representative of the White Star Line should come back to the day with knowledge of the disaster and intelligence which should aid in the prevention of such another. No man ever owed more to his business colleagues than J. Bruce Ismay, and no man has ever paid his debt more fully. Life at this price can not be sweet to him. . . Ismay brought from the sea a greater burden than he had ever before carried. What he does with this burden will decide who of the human cargo on the sinking Titanic was fittest to survive." And , Beulah Hood, it will not be very long, either, before even that is answered.

STEWARD'S GRAPHIC STORY. CONTRADICTS AMERICAN VERSIONS. By far the best and soundest story of the disaster that I heard (says the Daily Chronicle's correspondent at Plymouth) was from a steward in the first class saloon, who, with an old comrade, one of the first-class bedroom attendants, gave me his name and address, and was prepared to stand by all his statements. This steward, who, as a matter of fact, was in attendance on the millionaires all the time, and actually on the night watch at the moment of the accident, said that the real truth was that the American stories were certainly false, as also were some of those that were related by the Titanic's own men, most of whom, he averred, would not know the millionaires if they saw them. "The millionaires certainly did not run the ship," said the steward, "and all talk of Major Butt and Mr Astor introducing a system and seeing after the boats is entirely wrong. I saw them all the time, and they were just standing by and doing what they were told like anyone else. They did not, however, show any signs of panic. Until the very end no one had any idea how serious the affair was. The only panic was among the Dagoes, one of whom I did see shot through the chin. As for the ladies, they behaved splendidly during the disaster, but told some terrible falsehoods after. The stories of their having helped in the rowing are much exaggerated. In my own boat, a dinghy, a lady put her arm on my shoulder, and I dare say ehe thought she was helping me. The difficulty all through was to get them into the boats, and several of them I had personally to throw head foremost in. "If you ask me who were the real heroes of the disaster, I should say certainly Colonel Gracie, the best American there. Then there was Mr Andrews, one of the designers of the ship, who was here, tlhere, and everywhere, helping always, and never troubling about his own life. He did not even put on a lifebelt, nor, of course did Captain Smith, who behaved splendidly. Captain Smith's last words were not 'Be British' although by sentiment they might have been; they were 'l'm finished, look after yourselves.' Murdock was splendid too, hut I fear it is true that he did shoot himself. He did not do so, however, till the very end, when he had done everythimg he could for others."