(The subcommittee met at 10.15 o'clock a. m.)
Present: Senators Smith (chairman), Burton, Perkins, and Fletcher.
Senator SMITH.
I would like to know if Mr. Boxhall, the fourth officer of the Titanic is present?
Mr. CORNELIUS.
He is not here, sir. He is in bed.
Senator SMITH.
I want to know, officially, that he is. Can you give any announcement as to Mr. Boxhall, Mr. Burlingham?
Mr. BURLINGHAM.
Mr. Lightoller says that he is still sick in bed, Mr. Chairman.
Senator SMITH.
And unable to be present this morning?
Mr. BURLINGHAM.
He can not be here today. We hope he will be able to come tomorrow or the next day, at the latest.
Senator SMITH.
Officer Lightoller, you know of the illness of Mr. Boxhall?
Mr. LIGHTOLLER.
Yes, sir.
Senator SMITH.
Your fellow officer?
Mr. LIGHTOLLER.
Yes, sir.
Senator SMITH.
You have seen him this morning?
Mr. LIGHTOLLER.
Yes, sir.
Senator SMITH.
And you say he is unable to respond to the call of the committee this morning?
Mr. LIGHTOLLER.
As far as I know from the doctor; yes, sir.
Senator SMITH.
That is all.
I should like to have Mr. Marconi take the stand.
Guglielmo Marconi –
Chairman, Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co.
Testimony - Biography
Harold Thomas Cottam –
Marconi Operator, SS Carpathia
Testimony - Biography
We will take a recess until 3.30 o'clock.
(Thereupon, at 2.10 o'clock,. p. m., the committee took recess until 3.30 o'clock p. m.)
AFTERNOON SESSION.
(The subcommittee met, pursuant to the taking of the adjournment, at 3.30 o'clock p. m., Senator William Alden Smith (chairman) presiding.)
Guglielmo Marconi
Additional Testimony
Senator SMITH.
I would like to ask the sergeant at arms if the witness Luis Klein, who was subpoenaed and brought here by the marshal's office of Cleveland is here; and tell him, if he is here, we are ready to use him.
Mr. CORNELIUS.
He is not here, Senator.
Senator SMITH.
Where is he?
Mr. CORNELIUS.
He left his hotel yesterday morning. We do not know where he is. We have been unable to locate him.
Senator SMITH.
Have you made every endeavor to locate him?
Mr. CORNELIUS.
Through our officers here; yes, sir - through the marshal's office here.
Senator SMITH.
Through the marshal's office of the District of Columbia.
Mr. CORNELIUS.
Yes, sir.
Senator SMITH.
But you have not been able to do so?
Mr. CORNELIUS.
No, sir.
Senator SMITH.
Are you continuing your efforts?
Mr. CORNELIUS.
Yes, sir.
Senator SMITH.
You may continue your efforts to find him, and if you can find him, it is the wish of the committee that you should do so.
I desire to say that some rumors have reached the committee that there is friction and lack of harmony among the members of the subcommittee, and I have the concurrence of all my associates in saying that that statement is absolutely untrue. No foundation whatever exists for it. We are all proceeding together in our own way to get at the results for which we have been convened, and while the absence of some of my colleagues from some of the hearings might have been noticed, I want the record to show that they have been performing a public duty in the Committee on Commerce, which is now finally acting upon a very important bill over which that committee has jurisdiction, and their absence must not be noted as due to the slightest indisposition upon their part to take active and constant part in these proceedings.
I desire to say further, that after full conference we have determined to hear the members of the crew of the Titanic who have been summoned, aside from the officers who have already been sworn, and that it has been thought necessary, because of the large number of these men, to proceed with the hearing this afternoon without the attendance of the public, each member of the subcommittee examining his proposition or quota of these men. That does not mean the men will not be examined here. It means only that we must simplify that branch of the work, and my associates feel that it can be done more expeditiously and with equal certainty if this course is taken, with that announcement the subcommittee will take a recess until tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock.
(Thereupon, at 4 o'clock p. m., the subcommittee adjourned until tomorrow, Friday, April 26, 1912, at 10 o'clock a.m.)