SENATOR FLETCHER: Do you know anything about the speed of the Titanic after 8 p.m. on Sunday?
MR. PITMAN: No, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You mean you did not make any observations, yourself, after that time?
MR. PITMAN: I was in bed, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: In speaking of a change in course, do you not mean a change of direction, as indicated by the points of the compass?
MR. PITMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: And that follows the track as laid down, in which there are changes in the direction, as indicated by the compass. That is right, is it not?
MR. PITMAN: Yes.
SENATOR BURTON: Now, about that light ­ a minute or two. You were on the starboard side most of the time?
MR. PITMAN: Yes; all of the time.
SENATOR BURTON: If there had been a light on the port side, you could not have seen it?
MR. PITMAN: That depends on where it was.
SENATOR BURTON: If it was within 5 miles or nearer?
MR. PITMAN: No; I could not.
SENATOR BURTON: You were not there long enough to recognize it even if it had been there?
MR. PITMAN: No, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: You think this white light you saw was stationary?
MR. PITMAN: I do.
SENATOR BURTON: And it was about 3 miles away?
MR. PITMAN: Yes.
SENATOR BURTON: Would it not have been impossible for anyone of the lifeboats to have gotten that far away at the time you saw it?
MR. PITMAN: Impossible to have gotten to that light? Well, I do not know. I do not think so.
SENATOR BURTON: For how long a time did you see it?
MR. PITMAN: I could not really say. I did not take any particular notice of this light; I was not interested in it­­
SENATOR BURTON: That is, you did not consider it as anything that could afford safety?
MR. PITMAN: No, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You did not think it belonged to a steamer?
MR. PITMAN: No, sir; it is only what I have heard since.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: You say you were on the southerly track?
MR. PITMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: How far distant were you from the northerly track?
MR. PITMAN: Well, that varies.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: About how far?
MR. PITMAN: In the position where we sank I think it is about 50 miles. You can measure it off on the chart and get it accurate.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: Do you recall whether the iceberg, as noted on the chart, was on the line of the northerly track?
MR. PITMAN: No; it was to the northward of the southerly track.
SENATOR NEWLANDS Was it to the north of the northern track?
MR. PITMAN: Oh;, no; it was south of the northern track. I think there is more than 60 miles difference there.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: Then, according to the chart, it was less than 60 miles distant from the southerly track?
MR. PITMAN: I can not give it to you with accuracy, but you can get it off here, sir, within a mile.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: What I want to ascertain is this: Was this iceberg, as located on the chart, between the northern and southern tracks or was it to the north of the northerly track?
MR. PITMAN: Between the northern and southern tracks.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: Do you recollect which track it was nearest to?
MR. PITMAN: I do not, sir.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: During your experience at sea has notice been given frequently by Marconigram of the location of icebergs?
MR. PITMAN: Yes; we always pass it along from one to another.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: What is the custom of the ships when they receive word of that kind; is it the custom to slow down or to maintain their speed?
MR. PITMAN: To maintain speed, sir.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: To maintain speed?
MR. PITMAN: Certainly.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: What do they rely upon for avoiding accident?
MR. PITMAN: Picking up these bergs; as a rule, they are seen.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: They are more easily seen, of course, during the day; and how about it in the night?
MR. PITMAN: I have never seen one at night, and so I can not say.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: What is the custom as to the night; is it customary to maintain speed even then, simply relying upon the expectation of picking up the icebergs, as you say?
MR. PITMAN: I think so.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: How fast do these icebergs travel? Their general course, of course, is toward the south. Have you any idea how fast they go?
MR. PITMAN: That would depend upon the question of current and wind.
SENATOR FLETCHER: In regard to the icebergs, I understood you to say that you saw on Monday morning a number of icebergs in that vicinity?
MR. PITMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: And some of those were as high as 100 feet above the water?
MR. PITMAN: I should say so; about that.
SENATOR FLETCHER: What would that mean as to the extent beneath the surface of the water?
MR. PITMAN: They say two­thirds of an iceberg is submerged.
SENATOR FLETCHER: So that if the iceberg the Titanic struck was 30 feet above the surface, how much would there have been beneath the surface?
MR. PITMAN: Two­thirds of it.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Do you know whether you got a view of that particular berg the next morning?
MR. PITMAN: No one could say that ­ that he saw that particular berg.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You could not tell, from where you were when daylight came, precisely the direction from you in which the Titanic was when she went down?
MR. PITMAN: No; I could not.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You could not do that?
MR. PITMAN: No.
SENATOR FLETCHER: There was no way you could tell that, by wreckage or anything else on the surface?
MR. PITMAN: No; you could not say accurately which one it was.
SENATOR FLETCHER: How far were you at that time from the place where the Titanic went down?
MR. PITMAN: That would be hard to say.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You had not been rowing very much?
MR. PITMAN: No; we had been drifting with a little wind.
SENATOR FLETCHER: And there was not very much wind?
MR. PITMAN: No; we got a little wind at 4 o'clock, a little breeze at 4 o'clock.
SENATOR FLETCHER: And there was no fog that night?
MR. PITMAN: No; No fog.
SENATOR FLETCHER: And you can not give us an idea about how far you were at daylight next morning from the place where the Titanic went down?
MR. PITMAN: No; because there was nothing to tell me where the Titanic had sunk?
SENATOR FLETCHER: You knew whether you had been exerting yourselves to make any headway one way or the other, whether you had been rowing or drifting?
MR. PITMAN: I would say that we may have been a mile away.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Could you see the iceberg in the direction of what you supposed to be the place where the Titanic went down?
MR. PITMAN: Oh, yes. There were several of them around there, but I could not say with any degree of accuracy which one it was.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You could see several of them off., could you not?
MR. PITMAN: Oh, yes; in the daylight, with the sun shining on them.
SENATOR FLETCHER: With regard to the closing of the watertight compartments, was there any need of any lever or key in order to do that? Would not the doors close automatically?
MR. PITMAN: Yes; from the bridge; those in the lower holds.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Explain how that was operated. You have been asked something about that by the chairman, and it is not clear, I think, in the record, about the need of someone going there and using a key, and that sort of thing, in connection with those doors. How do they work?
MR. PITMAN: I can not explain the working of them down below.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: How do you close them?
MR. PITMAN: There is a lever 7 or 8 inches long­­
SENATOR FLETCHER: Where is that?
MR. PITMAN: On the bridge; close to the man at the wheel. All you have to do is just pull it over like that [indicating by describing half a circle].
SENATOR FLETCHER: What is the effect of that?
MR. PITMAN: That closes the doors electrically.
SENATOR FLETCHER: They come right down?
MR. PITMAN: They come right down.
SENATOR FLETCHER: They just come right down, and they do not open and shut, out and in?
MR. PITMAN: Oh, no; straight down that way [indicating]. There is an electrical bell beside them. You ring that a few minutes before closing, so as to give any one a chance to get out of the way who might be standing underneath.
SENATOR FLETCHER: When you took boat No. 5, and lowered that boat, you say you saw some men standing around the deck, but no women or children. Were the men excited; were they desirous of taking a boat , or was their attitude one of confidence that the Titanic was going to float, and that they were in about as safe a position on board the Titanic as they would be in on the lifeboat?
MR. PITMAN: Well, sir, there was no push to get into the boat. I said there was no room for any more, and they simply stood back.
SENATOR FLETCHER: They wanted to get in?
MR. PITMAN: They would have gotten in if they had been told to get in.
SENATOR FLETCHER: But they did want to get in; or, would they rather stay on the boat?
MR. PITMAN: They did not push themselves at all.
SENATOR PERKINS: When you are approaching land, and in close proximity to it, and think you may be near ice floes, especially in foggy weather, do you not double the lookout?
MR. PITMAN: In foggy weather.
SENATOR PERKINS: And are not the officers cautioned to be more vigilant?
MR. PITMAN: Yes; and the lookout men are also cautioned.
SENATOR PERKINS: Was that so in this instance, as regards cautioning­­
MR. PITMAN: The lookout men?
SENATOR PERKINS: Yes.
MR. PITMAN: I can not say, because I was not on deck from 8 until 12 o'clock.
SENATOR PERKINS: How many officers were on the bridge at that time?
MR. PITMAN: Two, I think.
SENATOR PERKINS: And a quartermaster in attendance?
MR. PITMAN: A quartermaster in attendance, and a quartermaster at the wheel.
SENATOR SMITH: Captain, we were given the ship's time and the Greenwich time. Are you able to give the New York time, as to when this vessel sank?
MR. PITMAN: Take five hours from the British time.
SENATOR SMITH: That would bring it to 12:47.
MR. PITMAN: There is five hours difference between Greenwich time and New York time.
SENATOR SMITH: Will you figure it out? I want this definite in the record. Give me the New York time.
MR. PITMAN: Give me the Greenwich time, please?
SENATOR SMITH: You can take your time to do that.
MR. PITMAN: [after making calculation]. 11:47 p.m., Sunday.
SENATOR BURTON: That is not quite right, is it?
SENATOR SMITH: It would be 12:47 a.m.
SENATOR BURTON: The difference in solar time is 4 hours and 57 minutes, if you want to get that exactly.
SENATOR SMITH: I would like to have the record as complete as possible.
MR. PITMAN: It is 12:47 Monday morning.
SENATOR SMITH: Give the ship's time from which you make the deduction.
MR. PITMAN: I am working through the British mean time. That is 5:47.
SENATOR SMITH: You are working from­­
MR. PITMAN: The Greenwich time.
SENATOR SMITH: The Greenwich time?
MR. PITMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And assuming it to be what time?
MR. PITMAN: 5:47 a.m., Greenwich time.
SENATOR SMITH: It would be 12:47?
MR. PITMAN: 12:47 a.m., Monday morning, New York time.
SENATOR SMITH: Now, officer, did you see, while lifeboat No. 5 was being loaded, or while lifeboat No. 7 was being loaded, any woman step into the lifeboat and step back upon the deck?
MR. PITMAN: No, sir; none.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you hear of such an incident?
MR. PITMAN: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You recall nothing of that kind, so far as your station was concerned?
MR. PITMAN: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Was the Titanic equipped with a searchlight?
MR. PITMAN: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you ever see a merchant man equipped with a searchlight?
MR. PITMAN: No, sir; except small coasting steamers.
SENATOR SMITH: From what you saw of the proximity of the icebergs Monday morning following this catastrophe, do you believe that the use of searchlights would have revealed the proximity of icebergs?
MR. PITMAN: It might have done so.
SENATOR SMITH: That is your best judgment about it?
MR. PITMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Have you seen searchlights used aboard naval craft?
MR. PITMAN: I have seen them used, but I have never been on board, myself.
SENATOR SMITH: Where have you seen them used; in England?
MR. PITMAN: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: They equip their battleships with searchlights, do they not, in England?
MR. PITMAN: Oh, yes; every one of them.
SENATOR SMITH: I would like to know whether there was a fire in the hold after leaving Southampton?
MR. PITMAN: That is the first I have heard of it.
SENATOR SMITH: You may answer in your own way. You have not heard of it before?
MR. PITMAN: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: I would like to know whether the passengers were awakened, to your knowledge, by the officers of the ship after the impact?
MR. PITMAN: Not by any of us. No, that would be up to the victualing department to see them called.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you see any calls or signals of that character given.
MR. PITMAN: Orders had been passed before I came on deck, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: After you came on deck, closely following the impact, you heard none of those orders or warnings or signals given?
MR. PITMAN: No, sir. I did not come on deck until 10 minutes after the impact; quite 10 minutes.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know of any reason why the speed of the Titanic was not slackened after the warnings of the proximity of icebergs was received?
MR. PITMAN: I do not think the speed was reduced.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know why it was not reduced?
MR. PITMAN: No. It is not customary.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know, of your own knowledge, of any water entering the boiler rooms?
MR. PITMAN: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know, of your own knowledge, of any order given to haul fire from the boilers?
MR. PITMAN: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you see any evidences of a conflagration or fire aboard the Titanic at any time?
MR. PITMAN: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: If there had been any order given to keep a sharp lookout for ice, would it have been entered on an order book or the log?
MR. PITMAN: That is usually put on the commander's night order book.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you see anything of that kind?
MR. PITMAN: I did not see the night order book that night, because it is not issued, as a rule, until between 6 and 8.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you see it the night before
MR. PITMAN: Yes, sir; I saw it the night before, because we had to sign it every night.
SENATOR SMITH: I understand. You saw it the night before?
MR. PITMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And at that time did you see any order to keep a sharp lookout for ice?
MR. PITMAN: No; there was none, because were not in the ice region.
SENATOR SMITH: That was not my question, exactly. Read my question.
The reporter repeated the question, as follows: And at that time did you see any order to keep a sharp lookout for ice?
