SENATOR FLETCHER: Have you any idea how far the Frankfurt was from you?
MR. EVANS: I can only work on that we were about 20 miles away.
SENATOR FLETCHER: From what?
MR. EVANS: From the Titanic, and therefore he would be 20 miles away from us.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You say that the operator on the Titanic was engaged in sending private messages to Cape Race. What do you mean by private messages?
MR. EVANS: Messages being handed in by passengers.
SENATOR FLETCHER: By passengers, to Cape Race?
MR. EVANS: Yes, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: And Cape Race to passengers, back and forth?
MR. EVANS: Yes, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You do not know from whom they were sent, or to whom they were sent, nor do you recall the nature of the messages?
MR. EVANS: No; I do not.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You are not supposed to know, anyhow, are you? It would be a violation of the rule if you did know, would it not?
MR. EVANS: Yes, sir; because when we go up for our examination in England, we have to make a statement saying we will keep the secrecy of correspondence. That is an international convention.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Do you know Gill, who was a member of the crew of the Californian ­ Ernest Gill?
MR. EVANS: I think I have seen him; yes, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Do you know him when you see him? Did you see him on the ship?
MR. EVANS: Yes; I have seen him.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did you ever have any conversation with him about that ship that was seen that night throwing up rockets?
MR. EVANS: I think so. Practically everybody on the ship ­ it has been common talk on the ship.
SENATOR FLETCHER: From the talk on the ship do you know when the rockets were seen that night; from what direction?
MR. EVANS: No, sir; I had turned in.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Do you know of the conversation, or statement that was made to Gill, about which he testified here?
MR. EVANS: I do not know, sir. Nearly everybody on the ship has talked amongst themselves, and in front of other members of the crew, about it.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Has he ever said anything to you in reference to his statement or testimony in the case in this matter?
MR. EVANS: You mean any special statement he made to me?
SENATOR FLETCHER: Yes. Has he ever said anything to you with reference to his statement that he has made in this matter?
MR. EVANS: No; I do not think so.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Nothing with regard to the circumstances under which he made the statement, or how he came to make it?
MR. EVANS: No.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Was the instrument on the Californian in good working condition?
MR. EVANS: It is the latest set out. It is in thorough working condition. It was inspected by Mr. Binns, last trip.
SENATOR FLETCHER: How far can you send messages with it? What is its power as compared with the one on the Titanic?
MR. EVANS: The Californian is not a big ship and she is only fitted with 60­volt dynamo, and our sets are made for 100­volt dynamos. Our converter ­ motor generator ­ is not made to run over 100 volts. Therefore, I get a little over half the power I should get.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Do you know about the instrument on the Titanic?
MR. EVANS: It was practically the same pattern as mine, only I believe, he had a rotary spark ­ got a musical note. I never got a musical note; but I think he had a rotating spark there.
SENATOR FLETCHER: There was no reason why you could not get his message and he yours?
MR. EVANS: Oh, no, sir; except I had turned in. I was off from 7 o'clock that night to half past 11. It is 16 hours for a man to be on watch.
SENATOR FLETCHER: When the mate aroused you and spoke about a ship having been seen sending up rockets, did he make any statement about when that ship was sending, and what kind of rockets?
MR. EVANS: No. I slipped on my trousers, and got the phones on my ears inside of two minutes.
SENATOR FLETCHER: That was at 4 a.m. on Monday morning?
MR. EVANS: That was 3:40 a.m., New York time.
SENATOR FLETCHER: What ship's time was that?
MR. EVANS: I do not know. I have not worked out the ship's time. I do not know if the ship's clock was changed during that time.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did Gill, the donkeyman, ever talk to you about a story he was telling about the sending up of the rockets by a ship that night?
MR. EVANS: I think he may have mentioned it to me.
SENATOR FLETCHER: When?
MR. EVANS: Everybody on board has been speaking about it amongst themselves.
SENATOR FLETCHER: The captain, too?
MR. EVANS: No, sir. I have never spoken to the captain about the matter of rockets, at all.
SENATOR FLETCHER: None of this talk you have heard on the ship was in the presence of the captain?
MR. EVANS: No, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: In a general way, what was the talk with reference to that, that you heard on the ship?
MR. EVANS: Well, I could not say. It was just simply the usual talk about the rockets.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Were the rockets described?
MR. EVANS: Not to my knowledge, no, sir. I never heard them described.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Do you know whether they were distress rockets, or some other kind of rockets?
MR. EVANS: No, sir; I do not. I did not see them myself.
SENATOR FLETCHER: As they were mentioned in this talk on the ship?
MR. EVANS: No, sir; I do not know.
SENATOR BURTON: You say everybody was talking on board among themselves about these rockets?
MR. EVANS: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Do you mean by that they were saying that they themselves had seen the rockets, that there was merely talk about it on the ship?
MR. EVANS: There was talk about it, and some of them said they had see it, and some said they had not.
SENATOR BURTON: With how many did you talk who said they saw rockets that night?
MR. EVANS: Nobody.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you talk with anybody?
MR. EVANS: No one in particular.
SENATOR BURTON: Can you tell anyone you talked with who said he had seen rockets that night?
MR. EVANS: No, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: What was the wave length on your ship, 300 or 600 or what was it?
MR. EVANS: At present it is 600 meters. I have also, according to the telegraph convention, fitted it so as to be able to be used as a 300­meter wave length, if necessary.
SENATOR SMITH: You say this message that you got from the Titanic came with a bang?
MR. EVANS: Yes; he had very high power; I do know that.
SENATOR SMITH: It came with a bang?
MR. EVANS: It came, I should say, not absolutely with a bang, but with fairly loud signals. But you can not tell by the strength of the signals where anybody is.
SENATOR SMITH: I was going to ask you whether that in itself would indicate your proximity to the ship with which you were in communication?
MR. EVANS: It is very hard to answer, because it depends on how a boat is being tuned. I have had boats alongside of me sending and I have replied to them, and their signals were the same as when they were 200 miles away; and other boats I have had 200 miles away with weak signals and when they would get alongside they would come with such a bang you would have to take the telephones away from your ears.
SENATOR SMITH: What wave length did you employ when you sent that warning message to the Titanic Sunday night?
MR. EVANS: Six hundred meters.
SENATOR SMITH: That is the maximum wave length prescribed by the Berlin convention, is it not?
MR. EVANS: That is the wave length prescribed for ship's stations and for stations.
SENATOR SMITH: And the minimum is 300?
MR. EVANS: Yes; especially­­
SENATOR SMITH: And you used your 600 wave length?
MR. EVANS: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You do not know the wave length employed by the Titanic in response to that message?
MR. EVANS: His would be 600, too.
SENATOR SMITH: That is, you think he would use his maximum wave length?
MR. EVANS: He could not change his wave length in that time.
SENATOR SMITH: He could not change it?
MR. EVANS: No. Unless a station is tuned­­­
SENATOR SMITH: With a maximum wave length of 600 in use between the Titanic and yourself, did that drown out any attempted communication with Cape Race?
MR. EVANS: You mean that my signals would drown the Cape Race signals?
SENATOR SMITH: Yes.
MR. EVANS: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Therefore you are very certain that he got your message?
MR. EVANS: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And you received his?
MR. EVANS: I received his; what he sent back.
SENATOR SMITH: You started to make some statement a moment ago that once a station is tuned ­ and there you stopped.
MR. EVANS: Once you get your station tuned, you can not alter the wave length, unless by special arrangement you can alter it over to 300 meters.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you complete your full message­­
MR. EVANS: [interposing]. At 11 o'clock, approximately; 9:05 New York time.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you complete your full message to the Titanic before you got the injunction to shut up?
MR. EVANS: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And that is the last communication you sent to or received from the Titanic?
MR. EVANS: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: That was about when?
MR. EVANS: That was exactly 9:05, New York time.
SENATOR SMITH: That was about 30 minutes before the Titanic struck this iceberg?
MR. EVANS: It was 9:05; that would be about 5 minutes past 11, ship's time.
SENATOR SMITH: Did your mate say how he knew that there had been rockets fired?
MR. EVANS: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: The Titanic sank about 2 hours and 45 minutes before you were called from your bed?
MR. EVANS: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know why you were not called when the rockets were first seen?
MR. EVANS: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What did the first mate or any other officer of the ship or member of the crew tell you about Capt. Lord being notified three times that a vessel was sending up rockets?
MR. EVANS: Well, we have talked among ourselves, but­­­
SENATOR SMITH: One minute. I do not want any idle gossip. If you can recall anything that was said by an officer of your ship about that matter, I would like to have you state it; and if you can not, say so.
MR. EVANS: I know that the mate did not say anything to me; no.
SENATOR SMITH: The mate did not?
MR. EVANS: The mate did not say anything about the captain being notified­­­
SENATOR SMITH: And the mate was the man that called you?
MR. EVANS: Yes; the mate was the man who called me.
SENATOR SMITH: Did any other officer of the Californian say anything to you about having notified the captain three times that a vessel was sending up rockets?
MR. EVANS: I think the apprentice did.
SENATOR SMITH: What is his name?
MR. EVANS: Gibson.
SENATOR SMITH: Is he now on the Californian?
MR. EVANS: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What did he say to you?
MR. EVANS: I do not know, exactly. I know the effect.
SENATOR SMITH: I would rather have the language he used if you can give it.
MR. EVANS: I do not know his exact words.
SENATOR SMITH: Give it as near as you can.
MR. EVANS: Well, I think he said that the skipper was being called; called three times. I think that is all he said.
SENATOR SMITH: Who was meant by the skipper?
MR. EVANS: The captain, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Was being called, or had been called?
MR. EVANS: Had been called, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you hear anyone else speak of it, any officer of your ship?
MR. EVANS: No; I think not.
SENATOR SMITH: Now, witness, tell me if you heard anybody else say anything about the captain having been called three times and informed that rockets were being sent up, the night the Titanic sank?
MR. EVANS: Well, I do not remember any other special individual, but I know it was being talked about a lot.
SENATOR SMITH: Collectively?
MR. EVANS: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: There was a lot of talk about it, but you can not recall any individual who spoke to you about it?
MR. EVANS: No, sir; except the apprentice. I think he told me that he had called the captain.
SENATOR SMITH: Did this talk occur on board the Californian?
MR. EVANS: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Immediately after the accident to the Titanic?
MR. EVANS: Before we got to the Titanic; yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Before you reached the Titanic?
MR. EVANS: Before we reached the scene of the disaster.
SENATOR SMITH: Monday morning?
MR. EVANS: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: The men on the ship talked about it, did they?
MR. EVANS: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Generally?
MR. EVANS: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What did they say? What was said?
MR. EVANS: From people taking up the conversation I know it was said that rockets had been seen ­ had been fired. They did not know what rockets they were. I know they said that rockets had been fired off, and the captain had been roused.
SENATOR SMITH: How many times?
MR. EVANS: Three times, I think it was, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Is that all you heard said?
MR. EVANS: That is all I can recollect; yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Was there any talk of this kind after you left the scene of the sinking of the Titanic?
MR. EVANS: Yes; it has been talked about all the time since then.
SENATOR SMITH: They have talked about all the time since then?
MR. EVANS: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: As an unusual and extraordinary occurrence?
MR. EVANS: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did anybody, in the course of this conversation that you heard, say anything about having seen the Morse signals?
MR. EVANS: Oh, no. I remember the apprentice told me that he got the Morse lamp out and called up on that, sir. But he did not get any reply on that.
SENATOR SMITH: He started to call up the Titanic?
MR. EVANS: I do not know whether it was the Titanic­­
SENATOR SMITH: But the vessel from which the rockets were being fired ­ he tried to call her up with his Morse signals?
MR. EVANS: With his Morse lamp; yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And got no Morse reply?
MR. EVANS: That is correct.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you remember whether he made any attempt to attract the attention of that ship by firing rockets himself?
MR. EVANS: No; I do not think he did, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Was there anything said about the direction in which these rockets were seen? Did they say that they were off where the Titanic was sunk?
MR. EVANS: Nobody specified any special direction where they came from. From the south they were.
SENATOR BURTON: The direction in which the Titanic was?
MR. EVANS: I would not be sure about that.
SENATOR BURTON: In all this conversation, did they say these rockets came from that boat which the captain has mentioned or that they came from the Titanic?
MR. EVANS: They did not know which.
SENATOR BURTON: Was it said that the rockets were those which had been sent up by the Titanic? Was that the talk on board ship?
MR. EVANS: Some of them seemed to think so, and some not, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Has anyone told you that he was to receive $500 for a story in regard to these rockets ­ anyone on your boat?
MR. EVANS: I think the donkeyman mentioned it.
SENATOR BURTON: What did he say?
MR. EVANS: He said, "I think I will make about $500 on this."
