MR. MOORE: Yes; I have seen them very often when I have been going up the English Channel. I have seen them very often using those, sir. I should say a very powerful light would be of use in an ice pack, sir, provided there was no fog.
SENATOR SMITH: I want to go back to the scene of the Titanic collision for a moment. When you arrived at the Titanic's position, it was along after 4 in the morning?
MR. MOORE: Half past 4, sir; that is, I reckoned we were at that position at half past 4, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Monday morning?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: After the wreck?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What did you see there, if anything?
MR. MOORE: I saw nothing whatever, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Any wreckage from the Titanic?
MR. MOORE: I saw nothing; but I saw this tramp steamer, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: No wreckage?
MR. MOORE: Nothing whatever, sir, in the way of wreckage?
SENATOR SMITH: Any floating corpses?
MR. MOORE: Nothing at all, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Any abandoned lifeboats?
MR. MOORE: Nothing whatever, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Any floating bodies?
MR. MOORE: Nothing whatever, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: How long did you stay in that position?
MR. MOORE: We searched around to see if there was a clear place we could go through, because I feared the ice was too heavy for me to push through it. Of course, I reckoned I was somewhere near, if not at, the Titanic's position that he gave me, which afterwards proved correct, when I got observations in the morning, sir. I searched for a passage to get through this pack, because I realized that the Titanic could not have been through that pack of ice, sir. I steered away to the south­southeast true, because I thought the ice appeared thinner down there, sir. When I got down, I got within about a mile or so of this other ship, which had already stopped, finding the ice was too strong for it to go through.
SENATOR SMITH: What did you do after discovering that there was no wreckage nor any service you could render?
MR. MOORE: When I found the ice was too heavy, I stopped there and just turned around ­ slowed down and stopped her ­ and searched for a passage, and I could not see any passage whatever, sir. I had a man pulled up to the masthead in a bowline right to the foretopmast head, and I had the chief officer at the mainmast head, and he could not see any line through the ice at all that I could go through.
SENATOR SMITH: Some passengers on your vessel, Sunday night about midnight claim to have seen those rockets from the decks of the Titanic. Have you heard anything about that?
MR. MOORE: I have read it in the papers, sir; but as a matter of fact, I do not believe there was a passenger on deck at 12 o'clock at night. I am positive, because they would not know anything at all about this, and you may be sure that they would be in their beds. I know the steward tells me there was nobody on deck; that is, the night watchman at the aft end. At the forward end there was nobody on deck. The man in what we call the permanent steerage that passes under the bridge deck ­ we have a permanent steerage there, and the other, of course, is a portable one we can take down ­ and nobody saw a passenger on deck, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You were on the bridge immediately following the warning?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir; I was on the bridge.
SENATOR SMITH: And the danger call?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you make an effort to see this vessel or its lights or signals?
MR. MOORE: Oh, yes sir; I had all the officers on deck as soon as ever we turned a round. I sent down and got all the officers and the crew out and we commenced to swing the boats out.
SENATOR SMITH: And got ready to give assistance?
MR. MOORE: We had the gangway ready for lowering, and we had ladders ready to put over the side; we had ropes with riggings in the ends to lower over; we had lifeboats and life belts and everybody was on hand and everything was all made ready along the deck.
SENATOR SMITH: How many lifeboats did you have?
MR. MOORE: Twenty, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What was the passenger capacity of your vessel?
MR. MOORE: We could accommodate about 1,000 in the lifeboats.
SENATOR SMITH: About 1,000 in the lifeboats?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: How many could you accommodate in the Mount Temple, comfortably?
MR. MOORE: With the 20 boats, sir; we reckoned we could accommodate 1,000 people in them.
SENATOR SMITH: I guess we do not understand each other. I want to know if you can tell me what the passenger capacity of the Mount Temple is? How many people is that ship arranged to accommodate?
MR. MOORE: They had no permanent arrangement­­
SENATOR SMITH: [interposing]. Is it a passenger boat?
MR. MOORE: She is really not what you call a passenger boat. We are an immigrant ship. We simply have passenger accommodations permanently for about 160 passengers and 6 in the second cabin.
SENATOR SMITH: How many in the second cabin?
MR. MOORE: Six. We have two rooms.
SENATOR SMITH: Two rooms in the second cabin?
MR. MOORE: That is our saloon.
SENATOR SMITH: And accommodations for about 160 passengers?
MR. MOORE: 160 permanent, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And you carry 20 lifeboats?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Besides the life belts?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Were those lifeboats the standard lifeboats?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Or were they collapsible?
MR. MOORE: There were only two collapsible boats, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Were there any emergency boats?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: How many?
MR. MOORE: There are four on the lower deck.
SENATOR SMITH: Besides those 20?
MR. MOORE: Those are included in the 20.
SENATOR SMITH: And two collapsibles?
MR. MOORE: Two collapsibles.
SENATOR SMITH: And altogether, your emergency boats, collapsibles and lifeboats numbered 20?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: How did you happen to have just 20?
MR. MOORE: There are eight pairs of davits on each side. We had two aft inside of the others ­ inside of the ones under the davits ­ and there were two collapsible boats on the boat deck amidships.
SENATOR SMITH: My question was directed to whether or not the 20 lifeboats you carried on the Mount Temple, with a passenger capacity of 160 people, were in accordance with the regulations of the British Board of Trade?
MR. MOORE: Oh, yes, sir; we had more than our requirements from the British Board of Tradethat is, for the tonnage of the ship.
SENATOR SMITH: So, if any accident had happened to your vessel, such as happened to the Titanic, on a clear, calm night, with no sea, you had ample accommodations­­
MR. MOORE: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: One moment, please. You had ample accommodations on the Mount Temple for your passengers, had you?
MR. MOORE: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: How many would those lifeboats hold?
MR. MOORE: About 50. I am giving you the permanent accommodations, sir. We had 1,461 steerage passengers.
SENATOR SMITH: I was coming to the steerage, and I was coming to the crew.
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: But I was talking at this moment about the passengers. You could have cared for the passengers, first class and second class?
MR. MOORE: No; we had no first class, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What are the 160?
MR. MOORE: That is, 166 we had permanent accommodations for. We call that the permanent steerage.
SENATOR SMITH: In addition to that, you had your steerage accommodations?
MR. MOORE: Below decks.
SENATOR SMITH: And your crew?
MR. MOORE: And the crew, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: How many compose the crew?
MR. MOORE: About 130, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What will the steerage accommodate?
MR. MOORE: We expected to have 2,200 steerage passengers, but instead of that we had only 1,461; but we were fitted up for 2,200.
SENATOR SMITH: And you had 20 lifeboats?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir; we had 22 lifeboats when we left London, so we would have two extra boats on board, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You have given the capacity of your boats for passengers, steerage and crew, and that would include carrying the immigrants?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you wish to be understood as saying that you did not see on Sunday night or Monday morning any signal lights from the Titanic?
MR. MOORE: I can solemnly swear that I saw no signal lights, nor did my officers on the bridge see any signal lights.
SENATOR SMITH: What kind of wireless equipment as the Mount Temple?
MR. MOORE: Marconi, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: How many operators?
MR. MOORE: Only one, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What are his hours?
MR. MOORE: He has not special hours.
SENATOR SMITH: How did he happen to be on duty at 12:30 midnight, Sunday night?
MR. MOORE: I don't know, sir. I think it was just about the time he was turning in. He just picked up the instrument just to see if there was anything coming along. It was just purely and simply an accident that he got the ship's message.
SENATOR SMITH: It was an accident that he got it at all?
MR. MOORE: Simply an accident.
SENATOR SMITH: I would like to know whether you were in communication with any other vessel, by wireless, after you go the C.Q.D. call from the Titanic?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What other vessel?
MR. MOORE: I think, but I am not certain, we were in communication with the Birma. In any case, we heard those three messages, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Are you now reading from the log?
MR. MOORE: No; this is from the Marconi man's report to me.
SENATOR SMITH: This is from the operator's minutes?
MR. MOORE: I have my own notes, sir, that he sent up occasionally to me. Would you like to have me read them, sir?
SENATOR SMITH: I would.
MR. MOORE: This is the second message that he received ­ that he picked up, I should say. He was sending these messages to me. He says:
Has got Carpathia and tells him position 41-degrees 46-minutes longitude, 50-degrees 14-minutes.
If you will observe, this latitude and longitude is different from the one which we first received.
SENATOR SMITH: Yes.
MR. MOORE: But this message came almost immediately after the first one.
SENATOR SMITH: He is giving you the Titanic's position?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And what was it again please?
MR. MOORE: "Has got Carpathia." That means to say that the Titanic has got the Carpathia.
SENATOR SMITH: Exactly.
MR. MOORE: "Position 41-degrees 46-minutes longitude, 50-degrees 14-minutes west." You will see that that is 10 miles more to the eastward than the first position he gave, but this message came immediately after the first one.
SENATOR SMITH: How long a time after; immediately?
MR. MOORE: Almost immediately after, sir.
We have struck iceberg. Come to our assistance at once.
That is the message he gives the Carpathia.
SENATOR SMITH: Where did you get it?
MR. MOORE: Almost immediately upon turning back. That is the position I worked to, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you get it from the Titanic or through the Carpathia?
MR. MOORE: It was a message passing between them, and I caught it.
SENATOR SMITH: You got the message that was intended for the Carpathia?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You caught that?
MR. MOORE: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: And you have read it in the record?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir.
We have struck iceberg. Come to our assistance at once.
SENATOR SMITH: Who signs that?
MR. MOORE: It is not signed at all. These were just sent up to me as the operator received them. This is another message received. I can not say as to the order in which they were received. I do not think that will make very much difference, however, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: If you can give the time, I wish you would do so.
MR. MOORE: Olympic sends this message to Titanic: "4:14 a.m. G.M.T. Position 40-degrees 22-minutes N., 61-degrees 18-minutes W. Are you steering southerly to meet us? Haddock." Titanic says, "We are putting the women off in the boats."
You see that would be just 11-degrees to the westward of our position when we go the message, the C.Q.D.
Position 40-degrees 22-minutes N., 61-degrees 18-minutes W. Are you steering southerly to meet us? Haddock.
You see he did not realize that the ship was in such a bad plight.
SENATOR SMITH: And he asked the Titanic if he was steering southerly to meet him?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir. The Titanic says: We are putting the women off in the boats.
SENATOR SMITH: That is signed Haddock?
MR. MOORE: Signed Haddock; yes; and the Titanic says: We are putting the women off in the boats.
SENATOR SMITH: Have you read all of that message?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Then, what did you pick up, or what did you send next?
MR. MOORE: I did not send anything at all, sir. This is a message that we caught:
Titanic says engine room flooded. Olympic sends, "Am lighting up all possible boilers as fast as can."
But he was a day's sail away from him, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: The Olympic was a day's sail away from the Titanic's position?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir. I dare say a little more than that. Then, there is another message that the Marconi man sends to him:
Still calling distress.
SENATOR SMITH: That is your operator?
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: He sends a message to you at the bridge that he is still calling distress?
MR. MOORE: Still calling distress, sir.
Carpathia asks if he wants any special boat to wait on him. Titanic says, 'Captain says get your boats ready; we are going down fast by the head."
SENATOR SMITH: This was from the Titanic?
MR. MOORE: From the Titanic.
SENATOR SMITH: You are giving these message in the order in which you received them?
MR. MOORE: I do not know; I can not say, because as I received them I put them in my pocket.
SENATOR SMITH: Evidently that was later than the one that preceded it in your reading, because she was going down by the head then, he says.
MR. MOORE: Yes, sir. He seems to have got hold of the Olympic and kept on with him, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: His communications were running with the Olympic at that time?
