The Sinking of the Titanic
Page 15
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