MR. LORD: I would not like to say the width. I could give you an approximate idea of the width.
SENATOR SMITH: That was all I asked.
MR. LORD: 700 or 800 feet, it seemed to be. It was a long way off. That seemed to be the biggest one.
SENATOR SMITH: Have you ever seen the Titanic?
MR. LORD: Never.
SENATOR SMITH: Have you ever seen the Olympic?
MR. LORD: Only at a distance; about 5 miles away.
SENATOR SMITH: How much larger than the Olympic would that iceberg be; have you any idea?
MR. LORD: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: As a matter of fact, it would be larger than the Titanic if it was as large as you suggest, would it not?
MR. LORD: I do not know the length of the Titanic.
SENATOR SMITH: How long was the Titanic, Mr. Franklin?
MR. FRANKLIN: 882 1/2 feet.
SENATOR SMITH: And it was 70 feet above the water?
MR. FRANKLIN: Yes; and 92 feet beam.
SENATOR SMITH: The Titanic was 70 feet above the water and 882 1/2 feet long. Now, from what you know of an iceberg in the north Atlantic, or any place else, what proportion of the iceberg is submerged and what proportion out of the water?
MR. LORD: I only tell you what I saw that morning when we were at the mouth of the field. They were not really bergs, they were big chunks of ice, and I suppose there about 2 feet above the water, when we were driving along toward the Titanic, and we would probably get to the corner of one of them and turn it over, and probably see about 10 or 11 feet to it, and I could not see any end to it.
SENATOR SMITH: From your observation or study as a mariner, familiar with the sea, do you know of any rule by which you may determine the proportion of an iceberg under water?
MR. LORD: No. I have always heard it was seven­eighths, but I do not know any rule.
SENATOR SMITH: That is, if 100 feet of an iceberg protruded above the water, there would be seven times as much of the same iceberg below the surface of the water?
MR. LORD: So I understand; yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: My colleague suggests that I qualify that question a trifle by adding "in bulk,' which I will do, in order to be accurate. What was the color of this largest iceberg, as you saw it on Monday morning?
MR. LORD: It looked to me to be white from where we were. Of course, the sun was shining on it then.
SENATOR SMITH: Do they usually show white when the sun shines on them?
MR. LORD: When the sun shines on them, they show white, usually; yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Do they at any time show black?
MR. LORD: I suppose they would at night; not exactly black, but a grayish, a less distinguishable color than white.
SENATOR SMITH: Blue?
MR. LORD: I should imagine it would be gray when the sun was not shining on them.
SENATOR SMITH: I do not want to seem to be impertinent, Captain, and hope you will not so regard it, but the question arose this morning as to whether there had been any attempt on the part of anyone to prevent you from responding to the Senate's request?
MR. LORD: I do not think so. I applied for permission as soon as the marshal served me with the notice. I applied to the local manager for permission, or rather the assistant local manager. I could not get the manager. He said he would inquire from the manager. That is all I know about it.
SENATOR SMITH: The Californian, of which you are commander, belongs to what line?
MR. LORD: The Leyland Line.
SENATOR SMITH: The Leyland Line is a member or part of the International Mercantile Marine Co., is it not?
MR. LORD: I believe it is; yes.
SENATOR SMITH: And is represented in this country by Mr. Franklin?
MR. LORD: So I understand; yes.
SENATOR SMITH: And in England by Mr. Ismay?
MR. LORD: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Captain, during Sunday, when you were in the vicinity of the ice, did you give any special instructions to your wireless operator?
MR. LORD: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Are there any rules and regulations prescribing the conduct of the wireless operator or operators on your ship?
MR. LORD: No; they are kept amenable to the discipline, just like the rest of the crew are.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you recognize them as subordinate to your wishes while they are at sea?
MR. LORD: To a certain extent, I do; yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you recognize their responsibility to the Marconi Co.?
MR. LORD: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: So their responsibility is divided somewhat?
MR. LORD: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: You had but one operator, had you?
MR. LORD: That is all.
SENATOR SMITH: And what was his name?
MR. LORD: Mr. Evans.
SENATOR SMITH: Is he here with you?
MR. LORD: Yes, sir; this is he [indicating].
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know whether your wireless operator was on duty Sunday night after you sent this warning message to the Titanic?
MR. LORD: I do not think he was.
SENATOR SMITH: You do not think he was on duty?
MR. LORD: No.
SENATOR SMITH: Then you are unable to say whether an attempt was made to communicate with the Californian?
MR. LORD: No; I do not know as to that. I went past his room at about a quarter to 12, and there was no light in there.
SENATOR SMITH: Does that indicate he was our, or asleep?
MR. LORD: That would indicate he was asleep. As a rule there is always a light in the accumulator burning when he is not asleep.
SENATOR SMITH: Did he have any hours particularly prescribed for him by yourself or anyone else after you became aware of your proximity to ice?
MR. LORD: No.
SENATOR SMITH: On Sunday?
MR. LORD: No.
SENATOR SMITH: Suppose your wireless operator had been at his post in the operating room when the C.Q.D. call of distress came out from the Titanic, which was received by the Carpathia and other ships, would your ship have been apprised of the distress of the Titanic? I mean, have you such a wireless apparatus on that ship as would have in all probability caught this message?
MR. LORD: If the operator had been on duty?
SENATOR SMITH: Yes.
MR. LORD: Most certainly.
SENATOR SMITH: What has been the custom on your ship with reference to wireless service? Do you profess or undertake to have the operator on duty during the daytime or in the night?
MR. LORD: I have never interfered with them.
SENATOR SMITH: In any way?
MR. LORD: From what I have seen of him, he is generally around until about 10 o'clock in the morning, and next day gives me reports of things that happen after midnight, very frequently.
SENATOR SMITH: If you were have the service of a wireless operator at a time when he might be of most service, when would it be, ordinarily, day or night?
MR. LORD: As it happens, there are so many one­operator ships around that at nighttime most of those fellows are asleep; and he would be more useful in the daytime. We would get a great deal more information in the daytime, as it happens now.
SENATOR SMITH: But at night your passengers are also asleep?
MR. LORD: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Would it not be well to have your wireless operator at his post on duty at night, when other eyes are closed, in order that any possible signal of distress might not escape your attention?
MR. LORD: We have the officer on the bridge, who can see as far at night as in the daytime.
SENATOR SMITH: But the officer on the bridge could not see the Titanic even with glasses, you said, that night.
MR. LORD: No.
SENATOR SMITH: The wireless operator could have heard the call from the Titanic if he had been at his post of duty?
MR. LORD: Yes; he would have heard that.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know whether the wireless service works more satisfactorily at night than it does in the daytime, and with greater accuracy?
MR. LORD: I believe it gets a longer range. I do not know that there is any more accuracy, but you can reach farther.
SENATOR SMITH: Do any of the other Senators desire to ask any questions?
SENATOR BOURNE: I simply want to ask, Captain, whether the wireless operator had any regular hours or not? If so, what were they?
MR. LORD: No; I do not think there are any regular hours. I understand they are usually around from 7 in the morning to half past 2, and then I think they lie down, because I never, as a rule, receive any messages between half past 2 and 4. I presume they are asleep.
SENATOR BOURNE: You think it is better to have two operators on every ship, do you, so as to have continuous service?
MR. LORD: It would be much nicer. You would never miss a message, then.
SENATOR BOURNE: I understood you to say nobody attempted to prevent your responding to the Senate subpoena ­ none of the people with whom you are connected, or your company?
MR. LORD: No. As soon as the marshal came to me ­ he came about half­past 7 last night ­ I told him I did not like to go without notifying ­ at least I told him I would not go until my owners gave me permission. We went to the telephone together, and I told the assistant manager what had happened. He said, "All right, I will notify Mr. Thomas. Keep handy and I will let you know the result." It was a question of whether or not they would allow me. I do not know what the discussion was. He did not say, "You are not to go."
.SENATOR BOURNE: There was no objection made on the part of anybody?
MR. LORD: Not to me; no.
SENATOR BOURNE: Or your company?
MR. LORD: He said, "Just stay around handy to the telephone until I get hold of Mr. Thomas." That is all he said.
SENATOR PERKINS: What was the response? Did you get any further response?
MR. LORD: Yes; he told me to hurry up and go.
SENATOR BURTON: On that Sunday night, when you were stopped by the ice, were you hemmed in by it, or was your ship floating about?
MR. LORD: We were just floating about.
SENATOR BURTON: You spoke with reference to the use of glasses by the lookout men in the crow's nest?
MR. LORD: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: What is your opinion in regard to that?
MR. LORD: I do not see any necessity for it.
SENATOR BURTON: Why not?
MR. LORD: A light is visible a great deal farther from the crow's nest than it is from the bridge. With two men of equal eyesight and range of vision, the man in the crow's nest would see farther than the man on the bridge. Once he reports that light, it has nothing to do with him what it is afterwards.
SENATOR BURTON: But as regards objects ahead?
MR. LORD: The officer on the bridge can see the objects far enough. I very rarely hear a man in the lookout report a light before the man on the bridge has seen it.
SENATOR BOURNE: The object is not merely to descry light, but to see any obstacle in the passage of the ship?
MR. LORD: Yes; but I do not use glasses.
SENATOR PERKINS: You have never used them?
MR. LORD: Only in that case of the Titanic. The men did not see anything that day quicker than from the bridge.
SENATOR BURTON: That is all.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You were asked by Senator Smith a moment ago whether, if the wireless operator on the Californian had been on duty, he would have picked up this message from the Titanic giving the alarm?
MR. LORD: Yes.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Could you have gone to the relief of the Titanic at that time?
MR. LORD: Most certainly.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You could have gone?
MR. LORD: We could have gone; yes.
SENATOR FLETCHER: The engines were not running then.
MR. LORD: The engines were stopped; perfectly stopped.
SENATOR FLETCHER: But you could have gone to the Titanic?
MR. LORD: The engines were ready. I gave instructions to the chief engineer, and told him I had decided to stay there all night. I did not think it safe to go ahead. I said, "We will keep handy in case some of these big fellows come crunching along and get into it."
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did you keep lookout men on duty after your engines were stopped?
MR. LORD: A man on the lookout; only one, the man in the crow's nest.
SENATOR FLETCHER: On that Sunday night, the 14th of April, one man was relieved and the other was kept on duty?
MR. LORD: We discontinued the one on the forecastle head. We just kept the one on the crow's nest.
SENATOR SMITH: Captain, did you see any distress signals on Sunday night, either rockets or the Morse signals?
MR. LORD: No, sir; I did not. The officer on watch saw some signals, but he said they were not distress signals.
SENATOR SMITH: They were not distress signals?
MR. LORD: Not distress signals.
SENATOR SMITH: But he reported them?
MR. LORD: To me. I think you had better let me tell you that story.
SENATOR SMITH: I wish you would.
MR. LORD: When I came off the bridge, at half past 10, I pointed out to the officer that I thought I saw a light coming along, and it was a most peculiar light, and we had been making mistakes all along with the stars, thinking they were signals. We could not distinguish where the sky ended and where the water commenced. You understand, it was a flat calm. He said he thought it was a star, and I did not say anything more. I went down below. I was talking with the engineer about keeping the steam ready, and we saw these signals coming along, and I said, 'There is a steamer coming. Let us go to the wireless and see what the news is." But on our way down I met the operator coming, and I said, "Do you know anything?" He said, "The Titanic." So then, I gave him instructions to let the Titanic know. I said, "This is not the Titanic; there is no doubt about it." She came and lay, at half past 11, alongside of us until, I suppose, a quarter past 1, within 4 miles of us. We could see everything on her quite distinctly'; see her lights. We signaled her, at half past 11, with the Morse lamp. She did not take the slightest notice of it. That was between half past 11 and 20 minutes to 12. We signaled her again at 10 minutes past 12, half past 12, a quarter to 1 and 1 o'clock. We have a very powerful Morse lamp. I suppose you can see that about 10 miles, and she was about 4 miles off, and she did not take the slightest notice of it. When the second officer came on the bridge, at 12 o'clock, or 10 minutes past 12, I told him to watch that streamer, which was stopped, and I pointed out the ice to him; told him we were surrounded by ice; to watch the steamer that she did not get any closer to her. At 20 minutes to 1 I whistled up the speaking tube and asked him if she was getting any nearer. He said, 'No; she is not taking any notice of us." So, I said, "I will go and lie down a bit." At a quarter past 1 he said, "I think she has fired a rocket." He said, 'She did not answer the Morse lamp and she has commenced to go away from us." So, he put the whistle back, and, apparently, he was calling. I could hear him ticking over my head. Then I went to sleep.
