SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, UNITED STATES SENATE,
Washington, D.C.
After the adjournment of the subcommittee at 4:15 o'clock p.m. on this day, the following testimony was taken before Senators Smith, Burton, Perkins, Fletcher and Bourne, each sitting separately and apart from the others.
TESTIMONY OF MR. GEORGE THOMAS ROWE.
[Testimony taken separately before Senator Burton on behalf of the subcommittee.]
SENATOR BURTON: What is your name?
MR. ROWE: George Thomas Rowe.
SENATOR BURTON: How old are you?
MR. ROWE: Thirty­two.
SENATOR BURTON: How long have you sailed?
MR. ROWE: In the merchant service 2 years; previous to that, 14 years in the Navy.
SENATOR BURTON: Where were you the night of the collision?
MR. ROWE: I felt a slight jar and I looked at my watch. It was a fine night, and it was then 20 minutes to 12. I looked toward the starboard side of the ship and saw a mass of ice. I then remained on the after bridge to await orders through the telephone. No orders came down, and I remained until 25 minutes past 12, when I saw a boat on the starboard beam.
SENATOR BURTON: What was the number of the boat?
MR. ROWE: You could not tell the number. I telephoned to the fore bridge to know if they knew there was a boat lowered. They replied, asking me if I was the third officer. I replied, "No; I am the quartermaster." They told me to bring over detonators, which are used in firing distress signals.
SENATOR BURTON: What next happened?
MR. ROWE: I took them to the forebridge and turned them over to the fourth officer. I assisted officer to fire them, and was firing the distress signals until about five and twenty minutes past 1. At that time they were getting out the starboard collapsible boats. The chief officer, Wilde, wanted a sailor. I asked Capt. Smith if I should fire any more, and he said "No; get into that boat." I went to the boat. Women and children were being passed in. I assisted six, three women and three children. The order was then given to lower the boat. The chief officer wanted to know if there were more women and children. There were none in the vicinity. Two gentleman passengers got in; the boat was then lowered. When we reached the water we steered for a light in sight, roughly 5 miles. We pulled away for about three­quarters of a mile, when the ship sank. We pulled through the night, but seemed to get no nearer to the lights. So we altered our course back to a boat that was carrying a green light. During that time daylight broke and the Carpathia was in sight.
SENATOR BURTON: There was nothing special about your getting on the Carpathia?
MR. ROWE: No, sir. In the meantime I found that one of the two gentlemen was Mr. Ismay. I don't know who the other was. Thirty­nine in the boat, all told.
SENATOR BURTON: You say there were 39 passengers in the boat?
MR. ROWE: Not all passengers, sir; 39 all told.
SENATOR BURTON: How many of those were crew or sailors?
MR. ROWE: Myself was the only sailor, three firemen, and one steward.
SENATOR BURTON: You had no trouble in managing the boat?
MR. ROWE: Not a bit.
SENATOR BURTON: The passengers, aside from you sailors, were all women and children?
MR. ROWE: Except Mr. Ismay and another gentleman. When daylight broke, we found four men, Chinamen, I think they were, or Filipinos.
SENATOR BURTON: Were those additional to the 39.
MR. ROWE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: All the rest of the 39 were women and children, except two, Mr. Ismay and another gentleman?
MR. ROWE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: When day broke, you found four Chinamen or Filipinos under the seats?
MR. ROWE: Not under the seats then, sir. The came up between the seats. Ours was about the ninth boat which was unloaded upon the Carpathia. The night was very cold; but those who were in the boat were very well wrapped up and did not suffer.
SENATOR BURTON: Now, tell us the circumstances under which Mr. Ismay and that other gentleman got in the boat.
MR. ROWE: When Chief Officer Wilde asked if there was any more women and children there was no reply. So Mr. Ismay came aboard the boat.
SENATOR BURTON: Mr. Wilde asked were there any more women and children. Can you say there were none?
MR. ROWE: I could not see; but there were none forthcoming.
SENATOR BURTON: You could see around there on the deck, could you not?
MR. ROWE: I could see the fireman and steward that completed the boat's crew, but as regards any females I could not see any.
SENATOR BURTON: Were there any men passengers besides Mr. Ismay and the other man?
MR. ROWE: I did not see any, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Was it light enough so that you could see anyone near by?
MR. ROWE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: If I understand, there were firemen and stokers around in that neighborhood?
MR. ROWE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: But no women or children?
MR. ROWE: No women or children, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: And so far as you could see, no other passengers except Mr. Ismay and this other gentleman?
MR. ROWE: Yes.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you know Mr. Ismay at the time?
MR. ROWE: I did know him, sir, because I had seen the gentleman before.
SENATOR BURTON: In going along on the water, did he give any directions?
MR. ROWE: I was in charge of the boat.
SENATOR BURTON: You were in entire charge of the boat?
MR. ROWE: Absolute, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you see any ice when on the watch?
MR. ROWE: No, sir; only when we struck, when we passed it on the starboard side.
SENATOR BURTON: About how high was that iceberg?
MR. ROWE: Roughly, 100 feet, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Was there anything distinctive about the color of that iceberg?
MR. ROWE: Not a bit, sir; just like ordinary ice.
SENATOR BURTON: You saw it as it was brushing by?
MR. ROWE: Yes, sir. It was very close to the ship, almost touching it.
SENATOR BURTON: You do not know about how many compartments were opened up?
MR. ROWE: No, sir; because I never left the afterpart of this boat.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you see Mr. Ismay and Mr. Carter get in the boat?
MR. ROWE: I saw the gentlemen get in; yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you hear anyone ask them to get in?
MR. ROWE: No, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: How were you occupied at the time they got in?
MR. ROWE: I was occupied in attending the afterfall, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Were you watching Chief Officer Wilde?
MR. ROWE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you see him speak to them?
MR. ROWE: No, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: If he had spoken to them would you have known it?
MR. ROWE: I think so, because they got in the afterpart of the boat.
SENATOR BURTON: And you were in the afterpart of the boat?
MR. ROWE: I was in the afterpart; yes.
SENATOR BURTON: Was the helm over when you passed the iceberg?
MR. ROWE: That I could not say.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you hear any order to abandon the ship, or anything like that?
MR. ROWE: No, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you hear any general alarm?
MR. ROWE: No, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you hear the sirens?
MR. ROWE: No sirens, sir; but there was an awful noise made by the escape of steam.
SENATOR BURTON: Was that noise below or up at the escape pipe?
MR. ROWE: At the exhaust pipe.
SENATOR BURTON: Were there any detonators or other signals kept aft?
MR. ROWE: The detonators, such as the distress signal rockets, green lights, and blue lights.
SENATOR BURTON: Were there any kept forward?
MR. ROWE: Yes; on the fore bridge.
SENATOR BURTON: On the after bridge, too?
MR. ROWE: Not on the after bridge. There was a private locker aft.
SENATOR BURTON: Were you at any time on any other deck aside from the top or bridge deck?
MR. ROWE: No, sir; not after 8 o'clock.
SENATOR BURTON: Was there any panic that you saw?
MR. ROWE: Not a bit.
SENATOR BURTON: Might not a number of persons have been on the lower decks?
MR. ROWE: Yes, sir; undoubtedly.
SENATOR BURTON: There were no staterooms on the top deck, were there?
MR. ROWE: That I could not say.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you hear any sign or hear any indication of [of] an alarm to call the passengers?
MR. ROWE: No, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Just where were you when you saw the iceberg?
MR. ROWE: On the poop, sir; underneath the after bridge.
SENATOR BURTON: You were located practically right on the stern of the boat?
MR. ROWE: Right on the stern, sir; the poop.
SENATOR BURTON: And the iceberg, when the boat rubbed against it was right near, was it?
MR. ROWE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: How far, would you say?
MR. ROWE: It was so near that I thought it was going to strike the bridge.
SENATOR BURTON: Did it strike the bridge?
MR. ROWE: No, sir; never.
SENATOR BURTON: Only 10 or 20 feet away?
MR. ROWE: Not that far, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you notice the iceberg when the boat got clear of it?
MR. ROWE: No, sir; I went on the bridge then, to stand by the telephone.
SENATOR BURTON: Could you hear the ice scraping along on the boat where you were?
MR. ROWE: No, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: So you do not know whether it was rubbing against the hull there or not?
MR. ROWE: No, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: What is your best judgment about that?
MR. ROWE: I do not think it was.
SENATOR BURTON: You are positive you heard no rubbing?
MR. ROWE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Do you not think that if the helm had been hard astarboard the stern would have been up against the berg?
MR. ROWE: It stands to reason it would, sir, if the helm were hard astarboard.
SENATOR BURTON: Were you able to form any judgment as to how long that berg was?
MR. ROWE: No, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: How near were you to the starboard side of the boat when you first notice it rubbing?
MR. ROWE: About 8 or 10 feet; I went to the side.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you go immediately to the side?
MR. ROWE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: What were your duties as quartermaster aft?
MR. ROWE: My duties were to attend the log and night signals by night, logging ensign by day, and to look out for any accidents, a man [man] overboard or something like that.
SENATOR BURTON: Were you also to keep track of vessels that might be coming up on the side?
MR. ROWE: Oh, yes, sir; but that is very seldom the case that anything like that happens.
SENATOR BURTON: Were you reading the log that night?
MR. ROWE: As soon as the berg was gone I looked at the log and it read 260 miles. The log was reset at noon. I had charge of the taffrail log, which was a Neptune log.
SENATOR BURTON: You read the log each hour, did you not?
MR. ROWE: Every two hours. I read it at 10 o'clock, but I do not remember what it was, now, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Do you remember what speed she was making or did you make any computation?
MR. ROWE: No, sir. We read the log every two hours, and it is telephoned to the bridge and entered in the quartermaster's log book. It is taken from there every watch and put into the ship's log.
SENATOR BURTON: How soon after she struck was it before she started to tilt or go down by the head? She did not list, did she?
MR. ROWE: No, sir; not at that time, I don't think.
SENATOR BURTON: Did she at any time list over to starboard or port?
MR. ROWE: She did not list, so far as I know, until the time when my boat was lowered. Then she listed to port. She listed about 5 or 6 degrees.
SENATOR BURTON: To port?
MR. ROWE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: What side was your boat on?
MR. ROWE: The starboard side, sir. All the time my boat was being lowered, the rubbing strake kept on catching on the rivets down the ship's side, and it was as much as we could do to keep her off.
SENATOR BURTON: What was the beam of your boat?
MR. ROWE: I could not say.
SENATOR BURTON: Would it have more beam than a lifeboat?
MR. ROWE: It had more beam than what they call the emergency boat.
SENATOR BURTON: But not any more than a lifeboat?
MR. ROWE: No.
SENATOR BURTON: You are sure you rubbed going down?
MR. ROWE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Was the Titanic down by the head?
MR. ROWE: Yes, sir. When we left the ship the fore well deck was awash; that is, when we pushed off from the ship. It was 1:25 when I left the bridge to get into the boat. When the boat was in the water the well deck was submerged. It took us a good five minutes to lower the boat on account of this rubbing going down.
SENATOR BURTON: She must have sunk soon after you left?
MR. ROWE: Twenty minutes, I believe.
SENATOR BURTON: Did any boats get away after yours?
MR. ROWE: One boat got away after mine, on the port side.
SENATOR BURTON: How long did the rubbing or grinding against the ice last?
MR. ROWE: I never heard anything except the first contact; the first jar was all I knew about it. I never heard any rubbing at all.
SENATOR BURTON: Do you think the propeller hit the ice? Did you feel any jolt like the propeller hitting the ice?
MR. ROWE: No, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Do you not think the propeller would have hit the ice if the helm had been turned hard a starboard?
MR. ROWE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you hear any revolver shots?
MR. ROWE: No, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you see the light of a boat, or anything of that kind?
MR. ROWE: I saw the light; that was the light we were pulling for when we left the ship.
SENATOR BURTON: What do you conclude that light was?
MR. ROWE: A sailing ship.
SENATOR BURTON: What sort of light was it?
MR. ROWE: A white light.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you get any nearer to it?
MR. ROWE: We did not seem to get any nearer to it.
SENATOR BURTON: What did you conclude about it?
MR. ROWE: We kept on pulling for it, because it was the only stationary light.
SENATOR BURTON: Do you think there was a sailing boat there?
MR. ROWE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: And was she going away from you?
MR. ROWE: Toward daylight the wind sprung up and she sort of hauled off from us.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you see her?
MR. ROWE: No, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you see any side lights?
MR. ROWE: No, sir. I think there was a ship there. Indeed, I am sure of it, and that she was a sailer.
SENATOR BURTON: The light you saw was a white light?
MR. ROWE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: What did you judge it to be, a stern light?
MR. ROWE: I judged it to be a stern light; yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you see this light before the ship struck?
MR. ROWE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: What was its bearing with regard to the Titanic, forward or aft?
MR. ROWE: Right forward, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Dead ahead?
MR. ROWE: Not dead ahead, but just a little on the port bow.
SENATOR BURTON: That was before the ship struck?
MR. ROWE: No, sir; because I was never on the bridge until after the ship struck.
SENATOR BURTON: You did not see it when you were aft?
MR. ROWE: No, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: But you say you did see her before ever the ship struck?
MR. ROWE: No, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: You did not mean to say you saw her before the ship struck?
