The Sinking of the Titanic

  HENRY VAN DYKE.

  CONCLUSION

  Marshall’s factual narrative clearly summed up much of the Titanic’s puzzling saga. Two important points were highlighted in his work. First, the Titanic was on fire from the time it left Southampton until it hit the iceberg. Second, men were actually executed on the decks because they attempted to enter the life-boats. These long ignored ‘details’ of the Titanic’s voyage may bring about crucial shifts in what had previously been for many an idealized picture of an old tragedy.

  According to Marshall, the fire in the coal bin was a major one. Theodore Kaplan, a former ship worker, concluded that the fire in the hull undoubtedly contributed to the loss of the ship.

  “The tons of hot coals blazing for days would have burned through the top hull and weakened the ship’s structural integrity,” Kaplan asserted.

  In fact, Kaplan goes a step further in his theory.

  “The Titanic would probably have survived the crash with the iceberg had it not been for the fire,” he stated.

  It puzzles me, then, that so little has been mentioned of this blaze. Marshall’s text impels us to recall it. Once again we are forced to ask, could the sinking of the great ship have been avoided? Should Captain Smith have allowed it to leave shore in the first place with such a serious fire in its hull?

  And it is with the mention of Captain Smith that I return to my second startling discovery. Why did he allow men to be executed aboard his vessel? Wasn’t there a more humane way of dealing with their fear-inspired actions? How could the great Captain have permitted his ship’s final moments to turn into a bloodbath?

  These questions bring about a far greater one. How should we view Captain Smith? It has been 85 years since the tragedy and the Captain has traditionally been viewed as a hero. In the custom of the sea, he went to the bottom with his ship.

  And yet, many points continue to bother me. Why did the Captain leave England when his ship was on fire? Why did he allow his ship to speed in a field of glaciers? After, the ship hit the berg, Captain Smith knew within minutes that the Titanic was doomed, yet he let the first life-boats leave almost empty. Why? And finally, why did he allow those men to be executed?

  Captain Smith’s story is a sad one. The Titanic journey was meant to be his last. He hoped to retire and enjoy his remaining years, instead he shared the horrible fate of the deceased. I think that Captain Smith was a good man who made mistakes. In a time frame of less than three hours his world and that of 1,500 others crumbled. Fortunately, Logan Marshall’s narrative has preserved the memory of all who departed on that frigid morning of April 15, 1912.

  FACTS ABOUT THE WRECK OF THE TITANIC

  Number of persons aboard, 2,340.

  Number of life-boats and rafts, 20.

  Capacity of each life-boat, 50 passengers and crew of 8.

  Utmost capacity of life-boats and rafts, about 1,100.

  Number of life-boats wrecked in launching 4.

  Capacity of life-boats safely launched, 928.

  Total number of persons taken in life-boats, 711.

  Number who died in life-boats, 6.

  Total number saved 705.

  Total number of Titanic’s company lost, 1,635.

  The cause of the disaster was a collision with an iceberg in latitude 41.46 north, longitude 50.14 west. The Titanic had had repeated warnings of the presence of ice in that part of the course. Two official warnings had been received defining the position of the ice fields. It had been calculated on the Titanic that she would reach the ice fields about 11 o’clock Sunday night. The collision occurred at 11.40. At the time the ship was driving at a speed of 21 to 23 knots, or about 26 miles, an hour.

  There had been no details of seamen assigned to each boat.

  Some of the boats left the ship without seamen enough to man the oars.

  Some of the boats were not more than half full of passengers.

  The boats had no provisions, some of them had no water stored, some were without sail equipment or compasses.

  In some boats, which carried sails wrapped and bound, there was not a person with a knife to cut the ropes. In some boats the plugs in the bottom had been pulled out and the women passengers were compelled to thrust their hands into the holes to keep the boats from filling and sinking.

  The captain, E. J. Smith, admiral of the White Star fleet, went down with his ship.

  INDEX

  Abbott, Mrs. Rogers, 144

  Abbott, Mrs. Rosa, 127

  Adams, F. J., 93

  Alan Company, 16

  Allison, H. J., 53, 156, 162

  Allison, Lorraine, 162

  Allison, Travers, 161

  Ambrose Channel, 147

  American Academy in Rome, 41

  American Liner, 30

  American Smelting and Refining Company, 37

  Amerika (Hamburg-American Line), 33, 100

  Appleton, Mrs., 66

  Arlington Hotel, 138

  Astor, Colonel John Jacob, 29, 36-37, 50, 53, 58, 72, 75, 80, 125, 151, 156, 169

  Astor, Mrs. John Jacob, 125, 134, 156

  Astor, Vincent, 141, 156

  “Autumn”, 86-87, 196-198

  Badenoch, John, 153

  Baltic, 16, 100

  Barkworth, A. H., 89, 91

  Baruch, B. M. W., 141

  Bastede, Mrs. W. A., 137

  Beasley, L., 175-183

  Bellevue Hospital, 137-138

  Belmont, Mrs. August, 143

  Bentham, Miss, 66

  Berthon boats, 165

  Bicknell, Ernest P., 139

  Bingham, Amelia, 39

  Birmingham, 158

  Bishop, Mr. & Mrs. D. H., 142

  Blanton, Major, 144

  Bonnell, Miss, 142

  Booth, Commander, 144

  Booth, Miss Eva, 142

  Bourgogne, 203

  Boxhall, 29

  Bradford, Wallace, 119

  Breckinridge, Major General, 37

  Bride, Harold, 29, 164, 193

  Briggs, Jonas, 118-119

  Brown, Mrs. J. J., 65-66, 110-112, 117, 133

  Brunt, H. H., 145

  Bryn Mawr Hospital, 163

  Bucknell, Mrs. William R., 109, 133

  Butt, Major Archibald, 36, 55-57, 72, 75, 156

  “C.Q.D.”, 52, 100, 194

  Cafe Parisian, 48

  Caldwell, Miss Sylvia, 143

  California, San Francisco, 119, 172

  Canadian Club of New York, 41

  Canadian Government Marine Agency, 15

  Cape Race, 15, 99, 101

  Carlisle, J., 141

  Carmania, 47

  Carpathia 16, 43, 69, 93, 100, 108, 112, 116-159, 164, 169-173, 180, 183, 190-191, 194-198

  Carter, Mrs. William E., 108

  Carter, Rev. Dr. William, 143

  Case, Howard, 63, 75

  Case, Roebling, 64

  Catholic Churches, 143

  Cherbourg, 30

  Chevre, Paul, 48

  Chicago Exposition, 41

  Cincinnati, 100

  Clark, Senator William A., 144

  Clark, Mrs. Walter, 125

  Clark, Walter M., 156

  Clyde, Mrs. B. Frank, 163

  Colorado, Denver, 110

  Committee on Subscriptions, 132

  Conley, Colonel, 140

  Cornell, Mrs., 66, 110

  Cornell, Magistrate, 156

  Cuba, Santiago, 37

  Cunard Line, 152, 164

  Daniel, Robert Williams, 70, 89

  Davidson, Mrs. Thorton, 142

  de Forest, Robert W., 139

  de Rothes, Countess, 66, 110, 125

  Devine, Dr., 140

  Dick, Vera, 51, 106

  Dilley, J., fireman, 31

  Dinkelspiel, Dr., 143

  Dobbyn, William A., 141, 157

  Douglass, Mrs. George C., 142

  Drummond, Commissioner of Charities, 137-138

  Earl Hotel, 138

  Edeson
, Robert, 39

  Ellis Island, 139

  England, 175

  England, Bristol, 113

  England, Cambridge, 175

  England, London, 130

  England, Southampton, 27, 29, 104

  English Channel, 204

  Evans, Elizabeth, 65

  Farley, R. H., 140

  Farnam, Alice, 113

  Feinberg, Coroner, 136

  Force, Madeline, (Mrs. Astor), 37

  Fortune, Mrs. Mark, 142

  Franklin, Mr., 16-17

  Frauenthal, Dr. Henry, 158

  Frauenthal, Mr. T. G., 132

  Friedrich Wilhelm, 100

  Futrelle, Mrs. Jacques, 39, 125-126, 144, 169, 172

  Gaynor, Mayor, New York City, 135-136, 139-140

  Geiger, Emily, 108

  Georgia, Atlanta, 144

  German liners, 204

  German Society of New York, 137

  Goldenberg, Mrs. Samuel, 132

  Gordon, Sir Cosmos Duff, 158

  Gracie, Colonel, 85

  Graham, Mrs. William T., 63

  Grand Trunk Pacific Railways, 41, 141

  Guggenheim, Benjamin, 36-37, 71-72

  Habush, Mrs., 160

  Hackett Theater, 39

  Haddock, Captain, 16

  Hamburg-American, 100

  Harland & Wolff, 19

  Harper, Henry S., 36, 40, 144

  Harriman, Edward H., 41

  Harris, Mr. & Mrs. Henry B., 36, 39, 55, 61, 125, 169

  Hays, Charles M., 41

  Hays, Miss Margaret, 160-161

  Hays, Mrs. Charles M., 141

  Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society, 137

  Hellenstein, 136

  Herbert, John, 105

  Hippach, Ida S., 58

  Hoffman, John Lewis, 163

  Hogeboom, Mrs., 68

  Holly Hotel, 138

  Holtzhauser, Coroner, 136

  Holzderber, Charles, 141

  Hormer, Abraham, 129

  Howell, Miss, 142

  Hoyte, W. H., 129

  Hudson Theater, 39

  Hughes, Chief Steward, 127, 172

  Hughes, Mrs. Thomas, 143

  Hughes, Representative and Mrs. James A., 128

  Humphreys, James, 94

  Hurd, Charles F., 169-173

  Illinois, Chicago, 40, 145

  International Mercantile Marine, 38, 204-205

  Ireland, Belfast, 19

  Irish Immigrant Society, 137

  Irwin, May, 39

  Ismay, J. Bruce, 36, 38-39, 55, 91, 130-131, 166

  Italian Society, 137

  Italy, Naples, 16

  Jones, Jack, 158

  Jones, Henry Arthur, 143

  Kaplan, Theodore, 211

  Kennedy, Dr. Walter, 152

  Kentucky, Louisville, 128

  Kings County Hospital, Brooklyn, 137

  Knoblauch, Charles, 141

  Knott, D. H., 138

  Langtry, Lily, 39

  Laurier, Sir Wilfrid, 41

  Leader, Dr., 113

  Lebanon Hospital, 142

  Leyland S.S. California, 165

  Lightoller, 29, 69, 88, 92, 190-191

  Lloyd Prinz, 100

  Long, Milton C., 187

  Lowe, 29

  Lyon, P., 129

  MacKenty, Dr. John R., 144

  Macy & Co., 153

  Manhattan Hotel, 162

  Marconi wireless, 49, 164

  Marconigrams, 100

  Maryland, Baltimore, 33

  Massachusetts, Boston, 16

  McClusky, Inspector George, 136

  McGuire, Steward, 130-131

  Mellers, W. J., 89, 91-92

  Merechal, M., 48

  Merechal, Pierre, 47

  Millet, Francis D., 36, 40, 50

  Mock, Phillip, 80

  Mock, Harry, 141

  Mohawk, 149

  Moody, 29, 81, 83, 90

  Moore, Clarence, 75

  Morgan, J. P. Jr., 144

  Morgan, J. P., 39

  Morton, Governor Levi P., 37

  Municipal Lodging House, 136, 138

  Murdock, William T., 28, 43-49, 70, 81-84, 170

  “Nearer My God to Thee”, 84, 86, 107

  Neptune, 30

  New York, Bronx, 142

  New York, Brooklyn, 142

  New York, Manhattan, 142

  New York, New York City, 16, 27, 30, 41, 101, 113, 119, 129, 130, 132, 135, 137, 139, 165-166, 187, 204

  New York, Syracuse, 40

  New York, Tompkinsville, 149

  Newfoundland, 15, 118, 204

  Nixon, Lewis, 202

  Norris, Mr., 164

  Norris, Heide G., 163

  North River, 149

  Northern Lights, 114

  Nova Scotia, 204

  Nova Scotia, Halifax, 16-17, 101, 166

  Nye, Mrs. Elizabeth, 142, 144

  O’Connell, Dr., 149

  Ohio, Findley, 93

  Ohio, Youngstown, 160

  Olympic, 16, 19-20, 39, 100, 129, 195, 197

  Ormont, A. F., 48

  Parisian, 16, 48, 100-101

  Parsons type turbine, 22

  Peel, John, 144

  Pennsylvania, Haverford, 163

  Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 33, 108, 163

  Pennsylvania Railroad, 109

  Pennsylvania Station, 143

  Peuchen, Major Arthur, 53, 162

  Phillips, J. G., 29, 99-100, 193-198

  Pirrie, Lord, 19

  Pitman, 29, 105

  Plimsoll, 205

  Power and Mining Machinery Company of Milwaukee, 37

  Prinz Adelbert, 100

  Pullman cars, 16

  Quebec, Montreal, 17, 99, 157, 162

  Queenstown, 30, 175

  R. H. Macy & Co., 38

  Rag-time, 196

  Red Cross, 136, 139-140

  Refrigeration compartment, 23

  Reichstag, 204

  Republic, 100

  Rhode Island, Providence, 37

  Rigel, Newfoundland dog, 118-119

  Roebling, Washington A. Jr., 144

  Roebling, Washington A. 2d., 63

  Roebling, Carl G., 144

  Roebling, Ferdinand W., 144

  Rostron, Captain, 119, 124, 152, 164, 167

  Rothschild, Mrs. Martin, 125

  Ryerson, Family, 163

  Ryerson, Mrs. Susan P., 142

  Ryerson, Jack, 164

  Ryerson, Miss E., 142

  Ryerson, Mrs. Arthur, 142

  Saalfeld, A., 145

  Salvation Army, 140, 142, 144

  Saturday Evening Post, 39

  Schiff, Jacob, 139

  Scotland, Glasgow, 16, 100-101

  Seligman, Miss Floretta, 37

  Seligman, James, 37

  Seneca, 149

  Senatorial Investigating Committee, 105

  Shafter, Major General, 37

  Shuttleworth, J. A., 128-129

  Sirbert, S. C., 129

  Slocum, 172

  Smith, Captain E. J., 20, 28, 50, 55, 81-82, 92, 110, 156, 169, 211-212

  Smith, Mrs. Lucien, 47, 110, 128, 142

  Smith, Senator, 105

  Snyder, Mrs. John P., 142

  Sparks, White & Co. of London, 145

  Spencer, Mrs. William Augustus, 125

  St. John’s, 99

  St. Luke’s Hospital, 137

  St. Patrick’s Cathedral, 143

  St. Vincent’s Hospital, 142

  Stead, William T., 50, 79, 172

  Stokers, 32

  Stone, Mrs. George, 133

  Straus, Mr. & Mrs. Isidor, 36, 38, 65, 153, 156

  Straus, Nathan, 38

  “Suicide Theory”, 82

  Swedish Immigrant Society, 137

  Taft, President, 36, 156

  Taussig, Mrs. Emil, 125

  Thayer, Jack B., 89, 185-191

  Thayer, Mrs. John B., 108-109

  Thayer, John B., 89

 
; “The Chocolate Soldier”, 29

  The Thinking Machine, 39

  Thomas, R. H., 141

  Thorne, Mrs. G., 125

  Titanic Band, 84, 107, 198

  Travers, Baby, 162

  Tyrtaeus, 87

  U.S. Senate Recommendations, 206

  Van Dyke, Dr., 207-209

  Vanderbilt, Mrs. W.K., 138

  Virginian, 16, 99-102, 128

  Vulcan, 30

  Waldo, Police Commissioner of New York, 134

  Waldorf-Astoria, 142

  Wallach, Rene, 39

  Ware, Mrs. Florence, 113

  Washington, 33

  Water-tight steel compartments, 24-25

  West Virginia, Huntington, 128

  Weston, Coroner’s Physician, 136

  White Star Line, 16-17, 28, 39, 137-138, 140, 152

  White, Frederick, 141

  White, Mrs. J. Stewart, 125, 142

  Whitely, Thomas, 43-45, 60, 68-69

  Whiteman, K., 70-71, 80, 127

  Wick, Miss Mary, 142

  Wick, Mrs. George, 142

  Widener, Charles H., 89

  Widener, George D., 89, 108, 156

  Widener, Mrs. George D., 108, 141-142

  Widener, Harry Elkins, 89

  Williams, Richard Norris Jr., 73

  Wilson, William L., 38

  Women’s Relief Committee, 148

  Yale, 163

  Yates, Jay, 93

  Yates, Mrs. Mary A., 93

  Young Men’s Christian Association, 137

  Young, Marie, 57, 125

  I WANT TO THANK THE FOLKS AT BANG PRINTING

  IN BRAINERD, MINNESOTA AND ESPECIALLY

  PHIL WAGNER WHO HAS BEEN SO INSTRUMENTAL IN

  MAKING THIS VOLUME SUCH A WONDERFUL SUCCESS!

  MOST SINCERELY,

  BRUCE M. CAPLAN

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER I

  CHAPTER II

  CHAPTER III

  CHAPTER IV

  CHAPTER V

  CHAPTER VI

  CHAPTER VII

  CHAPTER VIII

  CHAPTER IX

  CHAPTER X

  CHAPTER XI

  CHAPTER XII

  CHAPTER XIII

  CHAPTER XIV

  CHAPTER XV

  CHAPTER XVI

  CHAPTER XVII