United States Senate Inquiry

Day 9

Testimony of James Moore, cont.

Senator SMITH.
But I was talking at this moment about the passengers. You could have cared for the passengers, first class and second class?

Mr. MOORE.
No; we had no first class, sir.

Senator SMITH.
What are the 160?

Mr. MOORE.
That is, 166 we had permanent accommodations for. We call that the permanent steerage.

Senator SMITH.
In addition to that, you had your steerage accommodations?

Mr. MOORE.
Below decks.

Senator SMITH.
And your crew?

Mr. MOORE.
And the crew, sir.

Senator SMITH.
How many compose the crew?

Mr. MOORE.
About 130, sir.

Senator SMITH.
What will the steerage accommodate?

Mr. MOORE.
We expected to have 2,200 steerage passengers, but instead of that we had only 1,461; but we were fitted up for 2,200.

Senator SMITH.
And you had 20 lifeboats?

Mr. MOORE.
Yes, sir; we had 22 lifeboats when we left London. So we would have two extra boats on board, sir.

Senator SMITH.
You have given the capacity of your boats for passengers, steerage and crew, and that would include carrying the immigrants?

Mr. MOORE.
Yes, sir.

Senator SMITH.
Do you wish to be understood as saying that you did not see, on Sunday night or Monday morning, any signal lights from the Titanic?

Mr. MOORE.
I can solemnly swear that I saw no signal lights, nor did my officers on the bridge see any signal lights.

Senator SMITH.
What kind of wireless equipment has the Mount Temple?

Mr. MOORE.
Marconi, sir.

Senator SMITH.
How many operators?

Mr. MOORE.
Only one, sir.

Senator SMITH.
What are his hours?

Mr. MOORE.
He has no special hours.

Senator SMITH.
How did he happen to be on duty at 12:30 midnight, Sunday night?

Mr. MOORE.
I don't know, sir. I think it was just about the time he was turning in. He just picked up the instrument just to see if there was anything coming along. It was just purely and simply an accident that he got the ship's message.

Senator SMITH.
It was an accident that he got it at all?

Mr. MOORE.
Simply an accident.

Senator SMITH.
I would like to know whether you were in communication with any other vessel, by wireless, after you got the C.Q.D. call from the Titanic?

Mr. MOORE.
Yes, sir.

Senator SMITH.
What other vessel?

Mr. MOORE.
I think, but I am not certain, we were in communication with the Birma. In any case, we heard those three messages, sir.

Senator SMITH.
Are you now reading from the log?

Mr. MOORE.
No; this is from the Marconi man's report to me.

Senator SMITH.
This is from the operator's minutes?

Mr. MOORE.
I have my own notes, sir, that he sent up occasionally to me. Would you like to have me read them, sir?

Senator SMITH.
I would.

Mr. MOORE.
This is the second message that he received - that he picked up, I should say.

He was sending these messages to me. He says:

Has got Carpathia, and tells him position 41º 48' longitude, 50º 14'.

If you will observe, this latitude and longitude is different from the one we first received.

Senator SMITH.
Yes.

Mr. MOORE.
But this message came almost immediately after the first one.

Senator SMITH.
He is giving you the Titanic's position?

Mr. MOORE.
Yes, sir.

Senator SMITH.
And what was it, again, please?

Mr. MOORE.
"Has got the Carpathia." That means to say that the Titanic has got the Carpathia.

Senator SMITH.
Exactly.

Mr. MOORE.
Position, 41º 46' north; 50º 14' west. You see that that is 10 miles more to the eastward than the first position he gave, but this message came immediately after the first one.

Senator SMITH.
How long a time after; immediately?

Mr. MOORE.
Almost immediately after, sir.

We have struck iceberg. Come to our assistance at once.

That is the message he gives the Carpathia.

Senator SMITH.
Where did you get it?

Mr. MOORE.
Almost immediately upon turning back. That is the position I worked, sir.

Senator SMITH.
Did you get it from the Titanic or through the Carpathia?

Mr. MOORE.
It was a message passing between them, and I caught it.

Senator SMITH.
You got the message that was intended for the Carpathia?

Mr. MOORE.
Yes, sir.

Senator SMITH.
You caught that?

Mr. MOORE.
Yes.

Senator SMITH.
And you have read it in the record?

Mr. MOORE.
Yes, sir.

We have struck Iceberg. Come to our assistance at once.

Senator SMITH.
Who signs that?

Mr. MOORE.
It is not signed at all. These were just sent up to me as the operator received them.

This is another message received. I can not say as to the order in which they were received. I do not think that will make very much difference, however, sir.

Senator SMITH.
If you can give the time, I wish you would do so.

Mr. MOORE.

Olympic sends this message to Titanic: "4.14 a. m. G. M. T. Position 40º 22' N., 61º 18' W. Are you steering southerly to meet us? Haddock." Titanic says, "We are putting the women off in the boats."

You see that would be just 11º to the westward of our position when we got the message, the C. Q. D.

Position 40º 22' N., 61º 18' W. Are you steering southerly to meet us?

HADDOCK.

You see he did not realize that the ship was in such a bad plight.

Senator SMITH.
And he asked the Titanic if he was steering southerly to meet him?

Mr. MOORE.
Yes, sir. The Titanic says:

We are putting the women off in the boats.

Senator SMITH.
That is signed Haddock?

Mr. MOORE.
Signed Haddock; yes; and the Titanic says:

We are putting the women off in the boats.

Senator SMITH.
Have you read all of that message?

Mr. MOORE.
Yes, sir.

Senator SMITH.
Then, what did you pick up, or what did you send next?

Mr. MOORE.
I did not send anything at all, sir. This is a message that we caught.

Titanic says engine room flooded. Olympic sends, "Am lighting up all possible boilers as fast as can."

But he was a day's sail away from him, sir.

Senator SMITH.
The Olympic was a day's sail away from the Titanic's position?

Mr. MOORE.
Yes, sir. I dare say a little more than that.

Then, there is another message that the Marconi man sends to him:

Still calling distress.

Senator SMITH.
That is your operator?

Mr. MOORE.
Yes, sir.

Senator SMITH.
He sends a message to you at the bridge that he is still calling distress?

Mr. MOORE.
Still calling distress, sir.

Carpathia asks if he wants any special boat to wait on him. Titanic says, "We want all we can get."

I do not think anybody realized at the time that it was so bad, sir.

Senator SMITH.
Is there any date on this last memorandum?

Mr. MOORE.
No date. He sends these up to me as he receives them, sir.

Senator SMITH.
After you went on the bridge?

Mr. MOORE.
Yes, sir: These were all received when I was on the bridge, sir.

Senator SMITH.
And between the hours of 12.30 a. m. -

Mr. MOORE.
Up to the time we received the message from the Carpathia saying that nothing more could be done; that we need not stand by.

Senator SMITH.
What further message did you receive from any other vessel?

Mr. MOORE.
Well, I can not say whether we were in direct communication, because our operator did not want to block the other messages, because they were going around, and because we were simply picking up these messages. (Referring to memorandum):

He tells Olympic, "Captain says get your boats ready; we are going down fast by the head."

Senator SMITH.
This was from the Titanic?

Mr. MOORE.
From the Titanic.

Senator SMITH.
You are giving these messages in the order in which you received them?

Mr. MOORE.
I do not know; I can not say, because as I received them I put them in my pocket.

Senator SMITH.
Evidently that was later than the one that preceded it in your reading, because she was going down by the head then, he says.

Mr. MOORE.
Yes, sir. He seems to have got hold of the Olympic and kept on with him, sir.

Senator SMITH.
His communications were running with the Olympic at that time?

Mr. MOORE.
Yes, sir; and we picked them up.

Senator SMITH.
Go ahead.

Mr. MOORE. (Referring to memorandum)

S. S. Frankfurt (German) gives Titanic his position at 12 p. m, 39º 47' N., 52º 10' W. Titanic asks "Are you coming to our assistance." Frankfurt asks "What is the matter?" Titanic replies "We have struck iceberg and sinking. Please tell captain to come." Titanic still calling distress.
Frankfurt seems nearest to him, according to strength of signals.

Senator SMITH.
What are you reading from?

Mr. MOORE.
This is what my operator sent up to me. These are the messages he sent up to me, the original messages.

Senator SMITH.
Received by your wireless operator on the Mount Temple?

Mr. MOORE.
Yes, sir.

Senator SMITH.
And taken to you at the bridge?

Mr. MOORE.
Yes, sir.

Senator SMITH.
Is that signed?

Mr. MOORE.
This is signed "J. Durrant." He was my operator.

Senator SMITH.
Did you know of the Frankfurt's position?

Mr. MOORE.
He gives his position there, sir.

Senator SMITH.
He does not give us his position, does he?

Mr. MOORE.
Yes, sir.

Senator SMITH.
Not the Frankfurt?

Mr. MOORE.
The Frankfurt says that at 12 o'clock his position is 39º 47', sir.

Senator SMITH.
But this wireless message says that he judges by the strength of his signals or messages that the Frankfurt is nearest.

Mr. MOORE.
But he gives his position, sir.

Senator SMITH.
That is the position at the time this last message was sent, which you have handed over; at the time that was delivered?

Mr. MOORE.
The Frankfurt gives his position as 39º 47' N., 52º 10' W., sir.

Senator SMITH.
You must excuse me for being so minute about it, but I want to find out whether the Frankfurt made any effort at all to reach the Titanic's position.

Mr. MOORE.
Of course, this is by the operator, his personal statement, that he seems to be the nearest on account of the strength of the message. As a matter of fact, you see he was one degree to the westward of my position, or pretty near it when I first turned around.

Senator SMITH.
The testimony shows that from the strength of the wireless impact, if it may be called that, he judged that the Frankfurt was nearest?

Mr. MOORE.
Yes, sir.

Senator SMITH.
But the testimony also shows that the Titanic operator, when the Frankfurt asked what was the matter 20 minutes after receiving the C. Q. D., replied "You are a fool; keep out." Now, I am asking you in detail about the Frankfurt because I desire, if possible, to get some authentic information regarding her conduct after receiving that C. Q. D. call.

Mr. MOORE.
Yes, sir.

Senator SMITH.
Now, proceed.

Mr. MOORE.
This is another message (indicating) - This is a note to me from the Marconi man:

Olympic sent that message at 1.30. this ship's time.

That means the time of my ship.

Titanic acknowledged it, but has not spoken since, although Olympic, Baltic, and Frankfurt calling him.

That is one hour after I received my first message that we caught the C. Q. D., "He has not spoken since."

Senator SMITH.
Let us see what other vessels -

Mr. MOORE.
Perhaps I had better read it through.

Senator SMITH.
I think that is best.

Mr. MOORE.

Olympic sent that message at 1.30 this ship's time. Titanic acknowledged it but has not spoken since, although Olympic, Baltic, and Frankfurt calling him. American ship -

Which proved to be a Russian ship, sir -

Name unknown, tells Frankfurt he is 70 miles off Titanic.

Senator SMITH.
This Russian ship is that distance?

Mr. MOORE.
It says here American ship, but it turned out to be a Russian ship named the Birma, 70 miles off, a much faster ship than our vessel.

Senator SMITH.
Proceed.

Mr. MOORE.
That is all that I have.

Senator SMITH.
You hold in your hand the minutes of the wireless operator?

Mr. MOORE.
Yes, sir.

Senator SMITH.
Do those minutes disclose any facts or circumstances more complete than the memoranda you have just filed regarding the position of the Titanic and the position of other ships on Sunday or Monday?

Mr. MOORE.
I think those cover it; but if you like, I will read these out.

Senator SMITH.
I think we had better have them.

Mr. MOORE.
This is a copy of the operator's book; a copy he puts in his book:

Time remarks, p. m., Sunday evening, April, 1912.

This is New York time, sir:

9.55. Signals with M.P.A. nil.

Titanic sending C. Q. D. Answer him, but be replies "Can not read you, old man, but here is my position - 41º 46' N., 50º 14' W. Come at once. Have struck berg." Informed captain.

Senator SMITH.
"Come at once, have struck berg?"

Mr. MOORE.
"Have struck berg. Informed captain." That is my operator who informed me, sir.

10.35. Carpathia answers "M. G. Y."

Which is the Titanic, I understand, says:

Struck iceberg. Come to our assistance at once.

Sends position.

10.40. M. G. Y. -

Continued >