United States Senate Inquiry

Day 9

Testimony of Frederick D. Ray

(The witness was sworn by Senator Smith.)

12242. What is your full name?
- Frederick D. Ray.

12243. Where do you live?
- No. 56 Palmer Park Avenue, Reading, Burks.

12244. England?
- Yes, sir.

12245. How old are you?
- Thirty-three.

12246. Are you a man of family?
- No, sir; married.

12247. What is your business?
- Steward. I was first class steward on the Titanic.

12248. What were your duties?
- To wait at the tables and set the saloon generally. That is all.

12249. Did you perform that service on the voyage from Southampton to the place of the wreck of the Titanic?
- Yes, sir.

12250. Were you on duty on Sunday?
- Not after 9 o'clock, sir.

12251. Sunday morning or evening?
- Evening.

12252. Not after 9 o'clock?
- Not after 9 o'clock, sir.

12253. Up to that hour were you on duty?
- Yes, sir.

12254. Where?
- In the saloon.

12255. Just give the location of that saloon on the ship.
- As near to amidships as could be, I should imagine; about five decks down and between fore and aft; about amidships.

12256. In the main saloon?
- Yes, sir.

12257. Did you know the captain of the Titanic by sight?
- Very well, sir.

12258. Was he in that saloon that night?
- I did not notice him, sir.

12259. Would you have noticed him if he had been there?
- It is doubtful, sir. I was waiting on the starboard side, quite close to him, but I can not remember whether he was there at dinner that night or not. I did not make any point of remembering.

12260. Was it his custom to come there?
- Yes, sir.

12261. Often?
- To most meals.

12262. Did he dine there that night?
- I could not say, sir.

12263. Where was his table?
- In the center of the saloon; the sixth table on the forward end of the saloon; back toward the bow of the ship.

12264. Did he have a personal waiter or steward of his own?
- Yes, sir.

12265. Who was he?
- A man named Phainten [James Paintin], I think it was; I am almost sure.

12266. Did he survive?
- No, sir. He was last seen on the bridge, standing by the captain.

12267. Did you see Mr. Ismay in the saloon that night?
- I did not notice him, sir. He was on the other side. I believe he had a table on the port side of the saloon, and I was waiting on the starboard side. It being a large saloon and there being a great number of people there, I would not have noticed him, because I would not go over to the other side of the saloon. I would go right up on the starboard side.

12268. Did you know him by sight?
- Yes, sir; very well.

12269. Did you know he was on board ship?
- Yes, sir; I have seen him on several occasions.

12270. I think I understood you to say you did not know whether the captain dined at his customary place that Sunday evening or not?
- Quite correct, sir.

12271. If you can remember, whom did you serve on that voyage from Southampton to the place of the accident, if you know any by name?
- Who did I serve?

12272. Yes.
- I waited on Maj. Butt, Mr. Moore, Mr. Millet, Mr. Clark, and Mrs. Clark.

12273. Any others?
- That is all, sir.

12274. What time did they dine on Sunday night?
- Mr. Moore and Mr. Millet dined together about 7:30, and finished dinner about 8:15. Maj. Butt was not down, because he was dining in the restaurant.

12275. Did you know with whom he was dining?
- No, sir.

12276. Have you since heard from anyone whether he was dining with the captain?
- No, sir. I heard since that he was dining with the Widener's. I do not know whether it is true or not, though, sir; that is only what I heard.

12277. From whom did you hear that? Just to refresh your recollection, let me ask whether you understood from anybody that Mrs. Widener gave a dinner in the cafe that night, Sunday night, to the captain of the ship, Mr. and Mrs. Carter, Mr. and Mrs. John B. Thayer, Harry Widener, jr., and Maj. Butt? Was this the report that you heard?
- Yes, sir. I think it was Mrs. Moore. I saw Mrs. Moore after I arrived here. I think it was. I heard Maj. Butt was dining with the Widener's. I did not hear it on the ship.

12278. You do not know who waited on them in the café?
- No, sir. No survivor. There was only one survivor, I believe, from the restaurant.

12279. Who was he?
- He was a scullion.

12280. He was a dishwasher, was he not?
- Yes, sir; a dishwasher, to be more correct; and there were two lady clerks. They would probably remember. They are not here. They are survivors, but they have gone back to England.

12281. You say none of the stewards in the café survived except -
- (interrupting). No stewards; the two lady clerks and the dishwasher.

12282. How many people were employed in that cafe?
- I believe over 100. 1 do not know how many, but I think over 100.

12283. Over 100, in the cafe?
- Yes, sir.

12284. How many people were in the main saloon?
- In the main dining saloon, sir?

12285. Yes.
- I heard since that there were 104.

12286. Do you know how many survived among the employees in that dining room?
- I heard it was just over 40, but I do not know. I can not speak with any accuracy.

12287. When did you last see Maj. Butt and the other people on whom you waited at their regular table?
- I saw Maj. Butt for the last time at luncheon, when he left, on Sunday. Mr. Moore and Mr. Millet I saw at dinner. Mr. Moore I saw coming from the smoke room afterwards, with other people whom I did not notice, just before going to my station. Mr. Clark I did not see

12288. Just before you were going to your station?
- Yes, sir.

12289. That is, to your lifeboat?
- Yes, sir.

12290. Go ahead.
- Mr. Clark and Mrs. Clark I did not see at all after luncheon that day.

12291. Where was your bunk located?
- On E deck, No. 8 room.

12292. Forward or aft or amidships?
- It was about amidships, on the deck below the saloon.

12293. Who had the rooms around you at that time?
- Other stewards were forward and aft.

12294. Anyone that survived, that you now recall?
- Lots of them.

12295. How were you aroused from your slumber?
- By the impact.

12296. What kind of a shock was it, if any?
- A kind of a movement that went backward and forward. I thought something had gone wrong in the engine room. I did not think of any iceberg.

12297. Did you know Mr. Andrews, of the shipbuilding firm of Harland & Wolff, who built this vessel?
- Yes, sir. I was at Belfast and waited on him around there on the Olympic and the Titanic.

12298. Do you know what deck his stateroom was on?
- No, sir; I do not know.

12299. Do you know where he sat generally in the main saloon?
- I could not be sure, sir; but I fancy it was on the port side, aft.

12300. Is that where Mr. Ismay had his table?
- No, sir; I do not know where Mr. Ismay sat.

12301. It was not at the captain's table?
- No, sir.

12302. Did you see Mr. Andrews after the boat struck?
- No, sir; I did not.

12303. You were aroused by this impact?
- Yes, sir.

12304. What did you do?
- Woke up everybody in the room. I sat up in my bunk and waited -

12305. (interposing.) Was this a large room?
- Twenty-eight slept in the room, sir.

12306. Stewards?
- Yes, sir; mostly saloon stewards.

12307. When this impact came, you roused yourself?
- Yes, sir.

12308. And woke up everybody in the room?
- They were all awakened by the impact.

12309. All were awakened?
- Yes, sir.

12310. Did they all get up?
- No, sir.

12311. Did you get up?
- No, sir.

12312. Did you go back to sleep?
- I was going off to sleep again when they came in and told us to get to the lifeboats.

12313. Who told you that?
- First the saloon steward and then Mr. Dodd, the second steward.

12314. To get to the lifeboats?
- Yes, sir.

12315. How long was that after the impact?
- As near as I could make out, it was about 20 minutes. It was around about 12 o'clock.

12316. Did you all get out then?
- Yes, sir.

12317. Where did you go?
- I dressed myself and put on my lifebelt, and went along the working alleyway to the back stairway, waited to take my turn with about 20 others, and we went straight on up to C deck. I saw the second steward up there and he asked me to get a lifebelt. I went through five staterooms and saw nobody there in either of them. I found a lifebelt in the fifth stateroom and took it to him, and proceeded on up to the boat deck, to No. 9 boat, which was my boat, allotted to me.

12318. Did you find it there when you got on the boat deck?
- Yes, sir.

12319. Uncovered?
- Yes, sir; just being swung out.

12320. Whom did you find there at the boat?
- Sailors and about a dozen other men.

12321. How many sailors?
- About two sailors at each one at the winding arrangement to wind the boat up.

12322. And about a dozen other men?
- About a dozen other men; Yes, sir.

12323. Who were the men?
- The crew in general and one or two passengers.

12324. Did you know any of the passengers that you saw there?
- No, sir; I did not take any notice.

12325. Did you see any women there?
- I did not at that time, sir.

12326. You did not?
- No, sir.

12327. What officer stood at lifeboat No. 9, if any?
- There was an officer there, but I do know what rank he took. He did not survive, so I do not know him. I did not know any of them, in fact only Mr. Murdoch.

12328. It was not Mr. Murdoch?
- They were new officers to me, and I did not have time to find out what rank he was.

12329. But you know it was not Mr. Murdoch?
- I know it was not Mr. Murdoch.

12330. He was the officer of the watch that night?
- Yes, sir.

12331. When you got to lifeboat No. 9 and saw those 8 or 10 men standing around it and one or two passengers and no women, what took place?
- I went to the rail and looked over and saw the first boat leaving the ship on the starboard side. By that time I was feeling rather cold, so I went down below again, to my bedroom, the same way that I came up.

12332. What did you do then?
- I got my overcoat on. I went along E deck. There was nobody in No. 3 when I left.

12333. No. 3 room?
- No. 3 room, where I slept. I went along E deck and forward, and the forward part of E deck was under water. I could just manage to get through the doorway into the main stairway. I went across to the other side of the ship where the passengers' cabins were; saw nobody there. I looked to see where the water was and it was corresponding on that side of the ship to the port side. I walked leisurely up to the main stairway, passed two or three people on the way, saw the two pursers in the purser's office and the clerks busy at the safe taking things out and putting them in bags, and just then Mr. Rothschild left his stateroom and I waited for him -

12334. Did you know him?
- Yes; I had waited on him on the Olympic.

12335. Let us fix the place. You were still on E deck?
- Yes, sir.

12336. And at his stateroom?
- I did not say that I was in any stateroom then -

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