MR. COTTAM: I do not remember talking it over. I acknowledged it.
SENATOR SMITH: You were not at the apparatus?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir; I was only in the room for about two minutes.
SENATOR SMITH: You acknowledged it to Mr. Bride.
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: And did not attempt to reply to it?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: By wireless?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You can not recall what Bride said to you or what you said to him about it?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir; I had a message from the company asking me to meet Mr. Marconi in the Strand Hotel and I was preparing to get ashore as she touched, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: But you got that information, and then you got another message a little later?
MR. COTTAM: I do not know which came first.
SENATOR SMITH: I will read this one to you. This is dated 9 p.m., from Seagate to Carpathia operator:
Go to Strand Hotel, 502 West Fourteenth Street, to meet Mr. Marconi.
Did you get that message? It was signed "C."
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: And you arranged to do that?
MR. COTTAM: Yes, sir.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: All this was within about an hour of your docking, was it not?
MR. COTTAM: It was within less than that. We were getting into the dock when the message came.
SENATOR SMITH: I will read this. The date is 9:33 p.m., from Seagate to Carpathia (personal to operator, Carpathia):
. Meet Mr. Marconi and Sammis at Strand Hotel, 502 West Fourteenth Street. Keep your mouth shut. Marconi.
Did you get that telegram?
MR. COTTAM: I do not remember which it, was, sir. Apparently you have two there.
SENATOR SMITH: I have two; yes.
MR. COTTAM: I do not know which one it was.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you get one signed "Mr. Marconi?"
MR. COTTAM: I do not remember. Bride was writing it down, and I looked over as he was taking it.
SENATOR SMITH: Did he write down "Mr. Marconi?"
MR. COTTAM: I do not remember, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did he write down "Sammis?"
MR. COTTAM: I do not remember, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you know the telegram came from Mr. Sammis?
MR. COTTAM: I do not remember anything about it. I remember the message. I was running about the ship at the time.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you keep your mouth shut in accordance with that injunction?
MR. COTTAM: Certainly.
SENATOR SMITH: And did not talk to anybody?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir; not during all the voyage, from the catastrophe up to the time of arriving in New York, I did not say anything.
SENATOR SMITH: And you did not send out a great deal, did you?
MR. COTTAM: No; I sent out nothing.
SENATOR SMITH: Frequent requests were made for details, were they not?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: But you sent out nothing?
MR. COTTAM: No.
SENATOR SMITH: Why?
MR. COTTAM: Because I had the passengers' messages and official traffic to get off before I could provide newspapers with news. That was not the most important thing to do
SENATOR SMITH: Exactly; and I do not want you to infer that I think it was.
MR. COTTAM: The captain told me to ignore all stations other than those I was in communication with and could benefit by.
SENATOR SMITH: And you say you had messages from passengers?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: And for passengers?
MR. COTTAM: For passengers. I had a few; yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Were you in communication with Cape Race Station?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Were you in communication with any shore station?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: With what station?
MR. COTTAM: Sagaponack, Siasconset, and Seagate. I had five for Sable Island, and when I offered him about 250 he ignored me altogether.
SENATOR SMITH: Two hundred and fifty what?
MR. COTTAM: Two hundred and fifty messages.
SENATOR SMITH: And were you unable to work them off through other stations?
MR. COTTAM: I was in touch with no other station. Sable Island is a long way out to sea.
SENATOR SMITH: When you left the Carpathia did you go to the Strand Hotel?
MR. COTTAM: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Whom did you meet there?
MR. COTTAM: I met nobody.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you meet Mr. Sammis?
MR. COTTAM: No.
SENATOR SMITH: Or Mr. Marconi?
MR. COTTAM: No.
SENATOR SMITH: But you reported there and found no one?
MR. COTTAM: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Then what did you do?
MR. COTTAM: I walked about and waited?.
SENATOR SMITH: How long did you wait?
MR. COTTAM: An hour or an hour and a half.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you see anybody? Did you see either of these men or any other officer of the Marconi Co.?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you say anything to anybody about your story?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Were you alone?
MR. COTTAM: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Where did you leave Bride, aboard the ship?
MR. COTTAM: Yes. He was lying in the cabin. He was trying to get some of the other passengers' messages off, but it was not much good getting them off after the ship had docked.
SENATOR SMITH: But he continued to try?
MR. COTTAM: He continued to try to attend to official traffic.
SENATOR SMITH: You sold your story about this disaster to the New York Times?
MR. COTTAM: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: When did they print it?
MR. COTTAM: I don't know sir; about midnight, I should think.
SENATOR SMITH: On what night?
MR. COTTAM: On the night of the docking, Thursday night.
SENATOR SMITH: With whom were these negotiations held?
MR. COTTAM: With one of the New York Times reporters.
SENATOR SMITH: What did he say to you?
MR. COTTAM: He told me I had permission to relate my story to the Times.
SENATOR SMITH: Did he tell you what he would give you for it?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What did he give you for it?
MR. COTTAM: I have not got anything for it yet.
SENATOR SMITH: You have received nothing?
MR. COTTAM: No.
SENATOR SMITH: Has anybody received anything for that story?
MR. COTTAM: Not to my knowledge.
SENATOR SMITH: Have you been told you would receive anything?
MR. COTTAM: I expect something, but I don't know what.
SENATOR SMITH: You made no contract with him?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And no figures were mentioned?
MR. COTTAM: Oh, figures were mentioned.
SENATOR SMITH: What figures?
MR. COTTAM: The figures in the message.
SENATOR SMITH: That said "four figures"?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: How many did they mention?
MR. COTTAM: Four.
SENATOR SMITH: Not four naughts? What was the figure?
MR. COTTAM: I beg your pardon?
SENATOR SMITH: What was the figure?
MR. COTTAM: I do not know. I do not know what the figures were four figures.
SENATOR SMITH: In this conversation was any amount stated?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Either by him or by you?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you tell him what you wanted?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did he tell you what he was going to give you in payment?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You just relied upon his generosity?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: And upon this telegram that you received?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: That telegram from Mr. Sammis.
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know whether Mr. Sammis received any money from this paper?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Have you seen Mr. Sammis since that night?
MR. COTTAM: I did not see him that night.
SENATOR SMITH: Have you seen him since you docked?
MR. COTTAM: Oh, yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Where?
MR. COTTAM: At the inquiry in New York, at the Waldorf.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you see him at any other place?
MR. COTTAM: No; I do not remember. I may have met him in the street.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you go to the Marconi offices?
MR. COTTAM: Yes; I went there one afternoon.
SENATOR SMITH: In New York?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Whom did you see there?
MR. COTTAM: One of the clerks.
SENATOR SMITH: Nobody else?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Have you a report of that story that you gave to the New York Times?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Have you ever had one?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you ever see it?
MR. COTTAM: I saw it in the paper.
SENATOR SMITH: When?
MR. COTTAM: When?
MR. COTTAM: The following morning.
SENATOR SMITH: Friday morning?
MR. COTTAM: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: But you have not a copy of that?
MR. COTTAM: I may have a copy somewhere. It may be in New York. I believe I have a copy somewhere, but I do not know where it is exactly.
SENATOR SMITH: How much of a story was it?
MR. COTTAM: I gave them only a short story. I gave them brief notes, and the brief notes were copied out.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know how much Bride got?
MR. COTTAM: No.
SENATOR SMITH: He has not told you?
MR. COTTAM: No.
SENATOR SMITH: Where did they see Bride, if you know? They must have seen him at the boat.
MR. COTTAM: They must have seen him on the ship; yes.
SENATOR SMITH: And you were not present when he gave his story?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And you do not know how much he got for it?
MR. COTTAM: No.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know that he got anything for it?
MR. COTTAM: I do not know anything about it.
SENATOR SMITH: Have you heard that he got anything for it?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And you have had no talk with him about it?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: I notice in the wireless messages that are sent and received the term "old man" is often used.
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Is that a cipher or code term, or is it a term of friendly endearment, or what is it?
MR. COTTAM: It is a term of friendly endearment.
SENATOR SMITH: As recognized among the wireless boys?
MR. COTTAM: Among all the wireless fellows.
SENATOR SMITH: And it is used as a pleasantry?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you telephone Mr. Marconi for permission to give out this story?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you receive his consent?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: And talked with him personally?
MR. COTTAM: On the phone.
SENATOR SMITH: Over the phone?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Mr. Marconi, I would like to ask if you will endeavor to obtain for the committee the wireless message sent from the Amerika on Sunday, supposedly received by the Titanic, warning the Titanic that there was ice ahead.
MR. MARCONI: Yes, I will endeavor to obtain it; or if I can not obtain the original, a certified copy.
SENATOR SMITH: We want to know, Mr. Marconi, the time it was sent from the Amerika, the latitude and longitude, and, if you can trace it, the time it was received. I might say for your information that this message was received here at the Hydrographic Office in Washington at 10:51 p.m. April 14, and it came from the Amerika via the Titanic and Cape Race to Washington. It says:
S.S. "AMERIKA" Via "TITANIC" and Cape Race, N. F.
April 14, 1912
Hydrographic Office, Washington, D.C.
Amerika passed two large icebergs in. 41.27 N., 50. 8 W., on the 14th of April. K.N.U.T.
It should be "h," but on here it is "p, 10.51p.
I understand, Mr. Marconi, that Mr. Boaz, of the Hamburg American Line, says that wireless messages are not under their control; that official inquiry must be made of the postoffice authorities at Berlin, who control the wireless on German ships.
MR. MARCONI: I suppose that is a fact. I will do my best to obtain these messages. At the same time I should say that it may take us a considerable time to get them.
SENATOR SMITH: We will wait on you if you will use your usual expedition. Mr. Marconi, if you think you will have difficulty in obtaining that message, and would prefer to have us undertake it in our own way, I will not burden you with the responsibility.
MR. MARCONI: I shall be very glad to assist the committee in any way. I think perhaps, through the German company I may be able to get it.
SENATOR SMITH: I wish you would think the matter over and confer with us about it a little later. We shall try to cooperate in the matter.
MR. MARCONI: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Now, Mr. Cottam, how long have you been an operator in the wireless telegraphy business?
MR. COTTAM: About three years.
SENATOR SMITH: During which time you have been in various parts of the world?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: I would like to ask whether, from your observation and experience, there is any rivalry or hatred among wireless operators using the Marconi system against those who do not use the Marconi system?
MR. COTTAM: There used to be a certain amount, before the Marconi company amalgamated with the Telefunken. There used to be a certain amount of rivalry between the two the Telefunken system and the Marconi system.
SENATOR SMITH: Is it not a fact that matters of vital importance are often neglected because of that rivalry and hatred?
MR. COTTAM: No; I do not think so.
SENATOR SMITH: You heard Mr. Bride testify in New York that after the C.Q.D. call was sent from the Titanic, and it was picked up by the Frankfurt, the Frankfurt operator waited about 20 minutes before replying?
MR. COTTAM: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And then said, "What is the matter"?
MR. COTTAM: That is so.
SENATOR SMITH: Whereupon Bride said to him, "You are a fool. Keep out"?
MR. COTTAM: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You heard Bride testify to that?
MR. COTTAM: Yes; I heard it sent.
SENATOR SMITH: From anything you know, was there any rivalry between the operators on the Frankfurt, under that system, and the operator on the Titanic?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir. There ought to be no rivalry. The C.Q.D. call ought to be quite sufficient for any man who understands the English language, or the German language, for that matter. The C.Q.D. is a universal call.
SENATOR SMITH: The C.Q.D. call means the same in all languages, does it not?
MR. COTTAM: Yes; no matter whether it is German, French or otherwise.
SENATOR SMITH: It is a cipher warning of danger. It is a cry of distress. The C.Q.D. is the universal wireless language of distress, is it not?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: It speaks in all languages?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: You say it was the duty of that operator to come, and not to ask questions.
MR. COTTAM: Yes; not to hesitate. He ought not to have hesitated a minute.
SENATOR SMITH: The captain of the Carpathia did not hesitate a minute, did he?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Is the Frankfurt equipped with the same apparatus that the Carpathia has, do you know?
MR. COTTAM: I do not remember, sir. I do not remember whether she is fitted with the Telefunken or whether she has the Marconi system.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know, Mr. Marconi?
MR. MARCONI: I do not know. I know it is a ship with which we work.
SENATOR SMITH: With which you interchange?
MR. MARCONI: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What about this Telefunken?
MR. COTTAM: That is a different system. The Telefunken and the Marconi are different systems.
SENATOR SMITH: You know of no hatred or rivalry that would enter into such a situation as that?
