United States Senate Inquiry

Day 5

Testimony of Harold G. Lowe, cont.

Senator SMITH.
What did you do about it yourself? Did you arbitrarily select from the deck?

Mr. LOWE.
You say "select." There was no such thing as selecting. It was simply the first woman, whether first class, second class, third class, or sixty-seventh class. It was all the same; women and children were first.

Senator SMITH.
You mean that there was a procession of women -

Mr. LOWE.
The first woman was first into the boat, and the second woman was second into the boat, no matter whether she was a first class passenger or any other class.

Senator SMITH.
So there was a procession -

Mr. LOWE.
A procession at both ends of the boat.

Senator SMITH.
Coming toward these lifeboats?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes.

Senator SMITH.
Did that extend beyond the upper deck?

Mr. LOWE.
No; no; there were only little knots around the deck, little crowds.

Senator SMITH.
Now, as they came along, you would pass them, one at a time, into the lifeboat? What orders did you have; to pass women and children?

Mr. LOWE.
I simply shouted, "Women and children first; men stand back."

Senator SMITH.
Do you know how many women there were on the boat?

Mr. LOWE.
I do not, sir.

Senator SMITH.
You put them aboard as they came along, the first being served first?

Mr. LOWE.
The first, first; second, second.

Senator SMITH.
Regardless of class?

Mr. LOWE.
Regardless of class, or nationality, or pedigree.

Senator SMITH.
If it happened to be a stewardess -

Mr. LOWE.
Yes; just the same, if she was a woman.

Senator SMITH.
Or other woman employee?

Mr. LOWE.
Any women.

Senator SMITH.
Or passenger; you made no distinction, but put them into the lifeboat?

Mr. LOWE.
No distinction whatsoever. Even if we had wished to draw a distinction, to select them, as you might call it, we would not know who were the stewardesses and who were not.

Senator SMITH.
I have not asked you to go into that at all. I think you stated it very clearly, that you took the first woman who came and asked no questions. Now, when you filled lifeboat No. 5, did the women hesitate or demur about going in, or were they anxious to go?

Mr. LOWE.
Well, I do not remember about that particular boat; but during the course of the evening I distinctly remember saying "One more woman," or "Two more women," or "Three more women," and they would step forward and I would pass them into the boat.

Senator SMITH.
Did you not ever call for women passengers and not get any?

Mr. LOWE.
Mr. Murdoch said, "That will do," and it was stopped. Then, "Lower away."

Senator SMITH.
But you feel quite confident that there were 50 people in lifeboat No. -

Mr. LOWE. (interposing)
I do not, sir. I want you to understand that I can not judge with any degree of accuracy how many people there were in it.

Senator SMITH.
Let it stand that way. We will not talk about it; we will just let it stand that way.

Mr. LOWE.
That was simply as near as I can judge.

Senator SMITH.
In loading boat No. 3, did you take the same course?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes; the same proceedings.

Senator SMITH.
Did Officer Murdoch have charge of that boat?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes; he was there up to the finishing of No. 3.

Senator SMITH.
Did Mr. Ismay assist in filling that boat?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes; he assisted there, too.

Senator SMITH.
You found him there when you turned from No. 5 to No. 3?

Mr. LOWE.
He was there, and I distinctly remember seeing him alongside of me - that is, by my side - when the first detonator went off. I will tell you how I happen to remember it so distinctly. It was because the flash of the detonator lit up the whole deck, I did not know who Mr. Ismay was then, but I learned afterwards who he was, and he was standing alongside of me.

Senator SMITH.
Did you say anything to him?

Mr. LOWE.
I did not.

Senator SMITH.
You saw him in the flash -

Mr. LOWE.
Of the detonator.

Senator SMITH.
Did you hear what Mr. Boxhall said about firing these rockets?

Mr. LOWE.
No, sir.

Senator SMITH.
Did you hear any such thing?

Mr. LOWE.
Any what, sir?

Senator SMITH.
Firing rockets.

Mr. LOWE.
I am now speaking of it.

Senator SMITH.
I know you are and that is the reason I am asking you about it.

Mr. LOWE.
Yes; they were incessantly going off; they were nearly deafening me.

Senator SMITH.
And you pursued the same course in loading lifeboat No. 3?

Mr. LOWE.
No. 3; yes.

Senator SMITH.
How many women did No. 3 contain?

Mr. LOWE.
I do not know, sir; I can not say.

Senator SMITH.
Do you know any of them?

Mr. LOWE.
No, sir; I do not know any of them; not one.

Senator SMITH.
Have you learned since the boat was filled who any of them were?

Mr. LOWE.
Since the boat was filled, no; because, as you know, one does not seem to be interested in anybody else's boat except his own; and when we were on board the Carpathia I would go around and see - well, I don't know. I suppose you might deem them your friends; I suppose you could. They were very suddenly brought together, and all that. I used to go around among them; and I knew my boat crew.

Senator SMITH.
Yes, that is quite unimportant. I want to get the number of women, if you can tell, who were put into lifeboat No. 3.

Mr. LOWE.
I can not tell. I do not know.

Senator SMITH.
Or the number of men?

Mr. LOWE.
I do not know, sir. I can not tell.

Senator SMITH.
Or the number of sailors?

Mr. LOWE.
I know there must have been pretty nearly an equal percentage of men and women in No. 3.

Senator SMITH.
How do you know that?

Mr. LOWE.
Because there were not many women there.

Senator SMITH.
Not many women there to respond?

Mr. LOWE.
No, sir.

Senator SMITH.
And so you took men?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes, sir; so as to get the lifeboats away.

Senator SMITH.
And you do not know what men were in No. 3?

Mr. LOWE.
No, sir.

Senator SMITH.
Were there any officers in it?

Mr. LOWE.
No. As I told you before, Mr. Pitman was either in No. 3 or No. 5; which one I do not know. [Pitman left in No. 5]

Senator SMITH.
But there were no other officers in lifeboat No. 3?

Mr. LOWE.
No, sir.

Senator SMITH.
It was about equally filled with men and women, you say?

Mr. LOWE.
I should say so.

Senator SMITH.
Any children in lifeboat No. 3?

Mr. LOWE.
I do not know; I do not remember.

Senator SMITH.
Do you know whether any of those men who filled lifeboat No. 3 were of the crew; or were they passengers?

Mr. LOWE.
I can not say.

Senator SMITH.
What is your judgment in regard to that?

Mr. LOWE.
As far as I know - of course I gave preference to the male passengers, I should say, to the passengers rather than the crew. Do you understand me?

Senator SMITH.
Yes. How many were there in lifeboat No. 3, in your opinion?

Mr. LOWE.
I do not know, sir.

Senator SMITH.
Was it loaded?

Mr. LOWE.
She was not very heavily loaded. I should say 40 to 45, maybe. We will say 40.

Senator SMITH.
The same sized boat as No. 5?

Mr. LOWE.
The same sized boat; yes.

Senator SMITH.
Did you have any difficulty in lowering it?

Mr. LOWE.
No, sir; absolutely none.

Senator SMITH.
Did you have any difficulty in manning her?

Mr. LOWE.
No, sir, none.

Senator SMITH.
How did it happen that you did not put more people into lifeboat No. 3 than 45?

Mr. LOWE.
There did not seem to be any people there.

Senator SMITH.
You did not find anybody that wanted to go?

Mr. LOWE.
Those that were there did not seem to want to go. I hollered out, "Who's next for the boat?" and there was no response.

Senator SMITH.
Was the top deck crowded?

Mr. LOWE.
No. There was a little knot of people on the forepart of the gymnasium door.

Senator SMITH.
Do you know whether the staircase was guarded that led up to the top floor?

Mr. LOWE.
No.

Senator SMITH.
Were people permitted to roam as they desired over the ship?

Mr. LOWE.
Everybody was free to go where they wanted to.

Senator SMITH.
No restraint?

Mr. LOWE.
No restraint.

Senator SMITH.
And this applied to crew as well as to passengers?

Mr. LOWE.
I suppose so.

Senator SMITH.
Did you hear Maj. Peuchen yesterday say that a large number of the coal stokers came up onto the deck and crowded back the women and a large officer came forward and drove them away?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes; I heard the major say something to that effect.

Senator SMITH.
Did you see that?

Mr. LOWE.
No, sir.

Senator SMITH.
Was there a large number of the crew, either stokers or otherwise, on the top deck at any time?

Mr. LOWE.
I think I had four or five firemen in my boat; but I do not remember seeing a crowd of them. I will say that I did not see them.

Senator SMITH.
Tell me, if you can, how many men there were in lifeboat No. 3.

Mr. LOWE.
I should say, maybe - I don't know - about 25.

Senator SMITH.
Have you ever seen any of them since then?

Mr. LOWE.
No, sir.

Senator SMITH.
Did you know any of them at the time?

Mr. LOWE.
No, sir.

Senator SMITH.
Then if you loaded lifeboat No. 3 with about 25 men and she contained altogether about 45 people, you had 25 men and 20 women?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes; somewhere along there.

Senator SMITH.
Now, you wish us to understand that there were no women available?

Mr. LOWE.
Not at that time. Whether there were women there and they would not get into the boat is a different matter. I do not know.

Senator SMITH.
Did you see any women there who would not leave their husbands -

Mr. LOWE.
I saw some women there, but I did not have time to go and drive them away. I simply shouted, "Women and children."

Senator SMITH.
That is all apart. You do not need to say that; that simply takes time. Did you see any women, when you were loading lifeboat No.3, who were unwilling to be separated from their husbands and their families and refused to go into the lifeboat?

Mr. LOWE.
Well, they did not respond to the call.

Senator SMITH.
So, after 45 people had been put into lifeboat No. 3 it was lowered?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes.

Senator SMITH.
Did you help lower it?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes.

Senator SMITH.
What did you do?

Mr. LOWE.
I was standing at the side of the ship watching the after-end.

Senator SMITH.
Watching the after-end and was the boat lowered without difficulty?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes.

Senator SMITH.
Did you see it when it struck the water?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes; we lowered it right down into the water.

Senator SMITH.
And when it reached the water, did you see it again?

Mr. LOWE.
No; I did not see it again.

Senator SMITH.
You are unable to say what officer, if any, had charge of it?

Mr. LOWE.
It was Mr. Pitman -

Senator SMITH.
There is a possibility that it was Officer Pitman. That is all you are able to say?

Mr. LOWE.
That is all I am able to say. I know it was nobody else -

Senator SMITH.
What did you do next?

Mr. LOWE.
I went to the emergency boat.

Senator SMITH.
That is a smaller boat?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes.

Senator SMITH.
How many will that hold?

Mr. LOWE.
She is supposed to carry, I think, 40 - that is, floating.

Senator SMITH.
And how many lowering?

Mr. LOWE.
I should say 30.

Senator SMITH.
Did you help fill that boat?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes, sir.

Senator SMITH.
Do you know anybody that was in that boat?

Mr. LOWE.
No; I think there were about five women. I think there were parties in this boat -

Senator SMITH.
Do you know who they were?

Mr. LOWE.
No.

Senator SMITH.
What was the number of that boat?

Mr. LOWE.
No. 1.

Senator SMITH.
How many women were there in No. 1?

Mr. LOWE.
I do not know whether it was three - I suppose it would be about five.

Senator SMITH.
And how many men?

Mr. LOWE.
I suppose there would be, about as near as I can judge, 22 men.

Senator SMITH.
Any children?

Mr. LOWE.
I do not remember seeing any children.

Senator SMITH.
Do you know any of these men?

Mr. LOWE.
I do not.

Senator SMITH.
Did you know any of them at the time?

Mr. LOWE.
No, sir; I never met any of them.

Senator SMITH.
Do you know whether there was any officer in that boat?

Mr. LOWE.
No; there was not any officer.

Senator SMITH.
Were there any sailors in that boat?

Mr. LOWE.
I think there was a quartermaster, unless I am mistaken.

Senator SMITH.
What is his name?

Mr. LOWE.
I do not know, sir.

Senator SMITH.
Is this the same boat that was referred to by Maj. Peuchen?

Mr. LOWE.
Which boat did he refer to?

Senator SMITH.
I am asking you. He said there was a quartermaster in his boat.

Mr. LOWE.
No. I think it was boat No. 3 that he went in. We are now speaking of boat No. 1.

Senator SMITH.
How many sailors were in that boat?

Mr. LOWE.
I think there were four or five.

Senator SMITH.
Who were the other men; were they passengers or members of the crew?

Mr. LOWE.
The others were passengers.

Senator SMITH.
All passengers?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes, sir; as far as I can remember; as far as I could make out.

Senator SMITH.
And all men?

Mr. LOWE.
And all men.

Senator SMITH.
But you can not recollect anybody that was in that boat, with the possible exception of the quartermaster?

Mr. LOWE.
No, I can not.

Senator SMITH.
Were you particular to see that some one was put in the boat who could handle it?

Mr. LOWE.
As far as my own judgment could tell me; yes, sir. I remember asking, I remember I hollered down from the boat deck to the water and said, "Who is that in the emergency boat?" And I could not quite hear what he said.

Senator SMITH.
You mean that you helped load the emergency boat, No. 1, and lowered it down to the water, 70 feet below the place where you loaded it, before you asked who was in it?

Mr. LOWE.
I knew that there was quartermaster in it, but I did not know his name.

Senator SMITH.
You waited until he got 70 feet below you?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes.

Senator SMITH.
And then tried to ascertain his name?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes.

Senator SMITH.
Was that the first attempt you had made to ascertain his name?

Mr. LOWE.
As far as I remember.

Senator SMITH.
Did you ascertain his name?

Mr. LOWE.
I heard something, but I do not remember what he said, now.

Senator SMITH.
And you do not know the name of any other person in lifeboat No. 1?

Mr. LOWE.
That is the emergency boat, not lifeboat No. 1. It is emergency boat No. 1.

Senator SMITH.
How long did it take to lower a lifeboat, or an emergency boat, and clear her away - lower her into the water?

Mr. LOWE.
I could not tell you how long it would take, because it varied.

Senator SMITH.
About how long?

Mr. LOWE.
I do not know that I could tell you how long.

Senator SMITH.
Did it take 20 minutes; or approximately how long?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes; I should say, from the start to finish of putting a boat over, until you get her into the water, it will take you somewhere about 20 minutes.

Senator SMITH.
And does that include uncovering the boat, taking the canvas or covering off of it?

Mr. LOWE.
You will have to uncover it, and let go your gripes, and all that.

Senator SMITH.
I say, does that time include that?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes.

Senator SMITH.
You had lowered 5 and 3 and 1. If it took you about 20 minutes on each, you were an hour in loading these 3 boats and getting them off?

Mr. LOWE.
I do not know how long I was, sir, because I did not know the time, or anything else. I was anxious to do all I could to help everybody, and I did not know anything about time.

Senator SMITH.
Where did you next go?

Mr. LOWE.
I next went across the deck.

Senator SMITH.
To the other side?

Mr. LOWE.
To the other side, that is, the port side, and I met the sixth officer, Moody, and asked Moody, "What are you doing?" He said, "I am getting these boats away." So we filled both 14 and 16 with women and children.

Senator SMITH.
Which one did you fill first?

Mr. LOWE.
No. 14. I did not fill 16; Moody filled 16.

Senator SMITH.
You filled 14?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes.

Senator SMITH.
Was Mr. Lightoller, the second officer, there?

Mr. LOWE.
He was there a part of the time, and he went away somewhere else. He must have gone to the second boat forward.

Senator SMITH.
Who had charge of the loading of lifeboat No. 14?

Mr. LOWE.
I had.

Senator SMITH.
And how many people did you put into it?

Mr. LOWE.
Fifty-eight.

Senator SMITH.
How many women; do you know?

Mr. LOWE.
They were all women and children, bar one passenger, who was an Italian, and he sneaked in, and he was dressed like a woman. [Possibly Edward Ryan]

Senator SMITH.
Had woman's clothing on?

Mr. LOWE.
He had a shawl over his head, and everything else; and I only found out at the last moment. And there was another passenger that I took for rowing.

Senator SMITH.
Who was that?

Mr. LOWE.
That was a chap by the name of C. Williams.

Senator SMITH.
Where did he live?

Mr. LOWE.
I do not know where he lived.

Senator SMITH.
Have you ever seen him since?

Mr. LOWE.
Yes; I saw him since, on board the Carpathia.

Senator SMITH.
Was he one of the men whose names you have on that paper?

Mr. LOWE.
I have his name; that is, his home address, but not his New York address.

Senator SMITH.
I would like his home address.

Mr. LOWE.
I can give you that. Will you have it now?

Senator SMITH.
Yes; also the name of any other man or woman in the boat that you know, and their address.

Mr. LOWE. (referring to book)
"C. Williams, racket champion of the world," he has here, "No. 2 Drury Road, Harrow-on-the-Hill, Middlesex, England."

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