SENATOR FLETCHER: How many other boats did you see lowered?
MR. FLEET: I did not see any more, because as soon as we got in the water he made us pull for the light.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did you see any lowered before No. 6?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: And that was the first time you had seen that light you pulled for?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Could you say whether or not you loaded all the people in No. 6 that could be safely loaded in the boat?
MR. FLEET: Well, I loaded all the women; I got in No. 6 all the women that were knocking around the deck at that time, those who were around the boat at the time.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Were there any women left on the deck who did not get in the boats?
MR. FLEET: I did not see any. All that was there got in the boats. But they may have come up afterwards, when we were lowered. I could not say.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did you call for all that were about to come and get in the boats?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Were there any men left who did not get in the boats?
MR. FLEET: Yes; there were men there, but the order was "only women."
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did men ask to get into the boats?
MR. FLEET: What is that?
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did the men ask to be allowed to get into the boats?
MR. FLEET: No.
SENATOR FLETCHER: During the time you have been serving as lookout, have you been accustomed to use glasses?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: This was the first trip you had ever taken where you did not have glasses?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Where did you ask for glasses?
MR. FLEET: We asked for them before we left Southampton ­ if there was any glasses for the lookoutand they told us there was none intended for them. We had glasses in Belfast.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did you after that ask for glasses?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir; before the ship left Southampton.
SENATOR FLETCHER: But I say, after that?
MR. FLEET: There was no use asking for them when they told us that.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Were there not glasses on the bridge and other parts of the ship?
MR. FLEET: We did not know about that. We only knew that we had a pair in Belfast; and then, when we asked for them after that, they told us that there were none for us.
SENATOR FLETCHER: What became of those glasses you had at Belfast?
MR. FLEET: I do not know. I suppose they were on the bridge.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you remember the number of the lifeboat you were in?
MR. FLEET: No. 6.
SENATOR SMITH: Who was the officer in the lifeboat?
MR. FLEET: There was none. There was only me and Quartermaster Hichens.
SENATOR SMITH: What is the name of the quartermaster, Hichens?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Is that the lifeboat that Maj. Peuchen was in?
MR. FLEET: The gentleman that was speaking yesterday?
SENATOR SMITH: The same one.
MR. FLEET: The same one.
SENATOR SMITH: Will you tell the committee, as far as you can, what the quartermaster did. Did he take charge of the lifeboat?
MR. FLEET: He took charge.
SENATOR SMITH: What did he do; where did he sit in the boat?
MR. FLEET: At the tiller; at the tiller all the time.
SENATOR SMITH: All the time?
MR. FLEET: All the time.
SENATOR SMITH: You are quite sure that a lady in that boat, a woman, did not have the tiller?
MR. FLEET: I am sure of it; positive.
SENATOR SMITH: A Mrs. Douglass?
MR. FLEET: Nobody. Just the quartermaster who was there all of the time.
SENATOR SMITH: You took an oar, I suppose?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And did Maj. Peuchen take an oar?
MR. FLEET: He was right alongside of me. I was on the starboard side and he was on the port side.
SENATOR SMITH: What other men were in the boat?
MR. FLEET: We had a stowaway. Where he came from I do not know.
SENATOR SMITH: When did you first see him?
MR. FLEET: He was underneath the seat. We saw him as soon as we got clear. He showed himself then.
SENATOR SMITH: As soon as you got clear. How far clear? Half a mile or so?
MR. FLEET: About a mile clear. We rested.
SENATOR SMITH: You were resting?
MR. FLEET: And some other boat came alongside of us, and the master­at­arms was in charge of that boat. We asked could he give us more men.
SENATOR SMITH: What was the master­at­arms' name?
MR. FLEET: I could not say. He is the only one that survived.
SENATOR SMITH: And you asked him if he could give you more men?
MR. FLEET: Could he give us another man to help pull.
SENATOR SMITH: What did he say?
MR. FLEET: He gave us a fireman ­ one of the firemen.
SENATOR SMITH: Did any women pull the oars in your boat?
MR. FLEET: About two or three. One in the bow and the other two aft, in the stern.
SENATOR SMITH: You say this stowaway came out when you were clear and resting?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: When you oars were idle?
MR. FLEET: No, sir; he showed himself as soon as ever we got clear of the Titanic.
SENATOR SMITH: Did he take an oar?
MR. FLEET: He managed to; but he could not use it on account of his bad arm. He had a bad arm.
SENATOR SMITH: A broken arm?
MR. FLEET: He had a bandage around it, and he said he could not pull.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know who that man was?
MR. FLEET: He was an Italian.
SENATOR SMITH: This boat that came alongside gave you another man, did they?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And then did you separate from this other boat?
MR. FLEET: No; we kept together for a while, until we seen the lights of the Carpathia; then we proposed to pull for it.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you do it?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: How far toward it?
MR. FLEET: I dare say she was about a mile off, or a little over.
SENATOR SMITH: Did anybody propose to pull toward the place where the Titanic went down?
MR. FLEET: All the women asked us to pull there, before she went down; but the quartermaster was in charge, and he would not allow it. He told us to keep on pulling.
SENATOR SMITH: Did the women in your persist in their efforts to get him to go back to the scene of the wreck?
MR. FLEET: They asked him, but he would not hear of it; he told us to keep on pulling.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you say anything about it to the quarter master?
MR. FLEET: No; I never said a word; I just pulled an oar; I just kept quiet.
SENATOR SMITH: At that time could you hear cries of distress?
MR. FLEET: Very faint.
SENATOR SMITH: Very many?
MR. FLEET: All together, I suppose, a loud cry.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you hear the man in charge of your lifeboat make any special comment on the men who were crying?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: But, as a matter of fact, you did not go in the direction of the Titanic at all, but in the direction of the Carpathia?
MR. FLEET: When we got the order from Lightoller to pull for the light, we were pulling for it; but when we found we could get no nearer and got a safe distance from the ship we stopped.
SENATOR SMITH: That is, a safe distance from the Carpathia?
MR. FLEET: From the Titanic; and we stayed there for about a quarter of an hour or a little over, until we sighted the Carpathia's lights, and then we pulled toward them.
SENATOR SMITH: How far were you from the Titanic when you stopped?
MR. FLEET: About a mile or a little over, because he come over the place where the Titanic sank.
SENATOR SMITH: What makes you think it was a mile?
MR. FLEET: Only surmising.
SENATOR SMITH: That is your best judgment about it?
MR. FLEET: I suppose so.
SENATOR SMITH: How are you able to fix that fact in your mind, that you were a mile from the Titanic in this small boat?
MR. FLEET: I heard people talk about it.
SENATOR SMITH: Was that your own judgment, too.
MR. FLEET: I have got no judgment.
SENATOR SMITH: I understood you to say you had no judgment of distance at all­­
MR. FLEET: No more I have not.
SENATOR SMITH: (continuing). When I was asking you about the iceberg?
MR. FLEET: No more I have not.
SENATOR SMITH: So you based your conclusion that you were a mile away upon what others told you?
MR. FLEET: That is all.
SENATOR SMITH: Could you tell how many ship's lengths you were away, Titanic ship's lengths?
MR. FLEET: No; I could not.
SENATOR SMITH: You could not tell that at all?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: I think that is all.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Were the steam sirens blowing?
MR. FLEET: Not as I know of.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You did not hear them blow, at all?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did you see the condition of the life belts on the ship?
MR. FLEET: The condition of them?
SENATOR FLETCHER: Yes.
MR. FLEET: Yes; we all had one.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Were they new?
MR. FLEET: All new.
SENATOR FLETCHER: All the life belts on the ship were new?
MR. FLEET: I suppose so, for a new ship.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You do not know whether they came from some other ship or not?
MR. FLEET: No; I am not supposed to know that. They were all new.
SENATOR FLETCHER: They were all new?
MR. FLEET: Yes.
SENATOR FLETCHER: And sound?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: And in good order?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Mr. Fleet, before you entered the employ of the White Star Line, were you obliged to undergo any examination for eyesight? Did you have your vision tested, your eyesight tested?
MR. FLEET: No; only when I was going on the lookout I had them tested.
SENATOR SMITH: When did you have them tested last?
MR. FLEET: About a year ago.
SENATOR SMITH: About a year ago?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And you have not had your vision tested since?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: I think that is all. I wish you would hold yourself subject to the orders of the committee. You may go.
I desire to make an announcement. First, I want to meet the inquiry so often heard, as to our pose in this inquiry, and I want to say that it is to get all of the facts bearing upon this unfortunate catastrophe that we are able to obtain. It is, of course, very apparent that the surviving officers of the Titanic are not shipbuilders having had to do with the construction of that vessel, and the committee have assumed that if these witnesses should tell what they themselves know of the circumstances surrounding the ship up to the time of the collision, and what transpired thereafter, this information would be about all that we could obtain from these witnesses.
One word as to the plan. It has been our plan from the beginning to first obtain the testimony of citizens or subjects of Great Britain who are temporarily in this country, and this course will be pursued until the committee conclude that they have obtained all information accessible and useful to a proper understanding of this disaster.
Now, one word about the difficulties. To the credit of most of the officers and crew, we have experienced no very troublesome difficulty in securing such witnesses as we felt were necessary. But from the beginning until now there has been a voluntary, gratuitous, meddlesome attempt upon the part of certain persons to influence the course of the committee and to shape its procedure.
Misrepresentations have been made, I have heard. Personally I have not seen a single newspaper since I was appointed chairman of this committee, because I did not wish to be influenced by those papers or unduly encouraged. Neither did I wish to take on any partisan bias or prejudice whatever.
The representatives of the press have all cooperated in every way possible to lighten the burdens of the committee and to assist in obtaining the results we seek.
The committee will not tolerate any further attempt on the part of anyone to shape its course. We shall proceed in our own way, completing the official record, and the judgment of our efforts may very appropriately be withheld until those who are disposed to question its wisdom have the actual official reports.
I would like to call Mr. Lowe, the fifth officer.
TESTIMONY OF HAROLD GODFREY LOWE
The witness was sworn by the chairman.
SENATOR SMITH: Will you give your full name to the reporter?
MR. LOWE: Harold Godfrey Lowe.
SENATOR SMITH: I would like to have you turn your chair so you are facing the reporter.
MR. LOWE: I am facing you, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Turn your chair so you will look directly at the reporter. Where do you reside?
MR. LOWE: In North Wales.
SENATOR SMITH: How old are you?
MR. LOWE: Twenty­nine in the fall of the year, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What is your business?
MR. LOWE: Seaman.
SENATOR SMITH: How long have you been engaged in this business?
MR. LOWE: Fourteen years.
SENATOR SMITH: What experience have you had?
MR. LOWE: I suppose I have had experience with pretty well every ship afloat ­ all the different classes of ships afloat ­ from the schooner to the square­rigged sailing vessel, and from that to steamships, and of all sizes.
SENATOR SMITH: So you have been employed on sailing vessels­­
MR. LOWE: In pretty well every branch of the mercantile marine.
SENATOR SMITH: Describe, if you will, the general nature of your employment as a mariner, beginning with your first experience.
MR. LOWE: As a sailor?
SENATOR SMITH: Yes, sir. I would like to get on the record, Mr. Lowe, your full experience.
MR. LOWE: It will be very long, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Make it as brief as you can.
MR. LOWE: I ran away from home when I was about 14, and I went in a schooner. I was in seven schooners altogether, and my father wanted to apprentice me, but I said I would not be apprenticed; that I was not going to work for anybody for nothing, without any money; that I wanted to be paid for my labor. That was previous to my running away. He took me to Liverpool to a lot of offices there, and I told him once for all that I meant what I said. I said, "I am not going to be apprenticed, and that settles it." So of course I ran away and went on these schooners, and from there I went to square­rigged sailing ships, and from there to steam and got all my certificates, and then I was for five years on the West African coast in the service there, and from there I joined the White Star Line.
SENATOR SMITH: When did you join the White Star Line?
MR. LOWE: About 15 months ago, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What was the nature of your employment with them?
MR. LOWE: I was junior officer.
SENATOR SMITH: On what ship?
MR. LOWE: I was third on the Tropic and I was third on the Belgic, and then I was sent to the Titanic.
SENATOR SMITH: On what routes? What were the routes?
MR. LOWE: The Australian voyage, the two previous voyages.
SENATOR SMITH: Had you ever been in the North Atlantic before?
MR. LOWE: Never; never. It was about the only place I had never been before.
SENATOR SMITH: When did you join the Titanic?
MR. LOWE: I joined the Titanic on April 21 in Belfast ­ March 21, I believe; pardon me ­ in Belfast.
SENATOR SMITH: Were you present at the trial tests in Belfast Lough?
