Another message dated April 17, 1912. Time sent 12:37 p.m. Addressed to Christenson, Marconi Station, South Wellfleet, Mass. Is Carpathia in communication with Cape Cod or Siasconset? Marconi Co.
A further message, April 17, sent at 9:40 p.m. Addressed to Cowden, Siasconset.
Do all possible, ascertain if Astor on Carpathia. F. M. Sammis
A further message of April 17, sent at 6:26 p.m., addressed to "Ward, Marconi station, Sagaponack," Text:
Tug Salutation call K fitted coil plain aerial leaving New London. MARCONI CO.
I also call attention to the following message, dated April 17, sent at 4:34 p.m., addressed to "Marconi station, Seagate, New York." Text:
South Wellfleet, Siasconset, Sagaponack, and Seagate will handle Carpathia's business exclusively. All other commercial and government stations will cease transmitting while Carpathia's business is being exchanged with the above­mentioned stations. No work other than Carpathia's and business from Government ships going to meet Carpathia will be permitted. Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. of America.
SENATOR SMITH: What was the date of that message?
MR. MARCONI: The 17th of April. The time, 4:34 p.m.
SENATOR SMITH: That was Wednesday?
MR. MARCONI: That was Wednesday.
SENATOR SMITH: At 4:34 p.m.?
MR. MARCONI: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Is that what you call a "silence injunction?"
MR. MARCONI: I should call it an instruction to direct any station that had no business to be working in connection with the Carpathia not to interfere. This also stated that privilege or precedence should be given to Carpathia's business and to the business of Government ships going to meet the Carpathia. I think these instructions are very definite.
SENATOR SMITH: Government stations were all silenced, and South Wellfleet, Siasconset, Sagaponack, and Seagate were left free to do business with the Carpathia?
MR. MARCONI: Yes, sir; and with the Government ships.
SENATOR SMITH: These stations were left free to do business with Government ships?
MR. MARCONI: Yes, sir. I think, as I stated before, that an arrangement had been arrived at between us and the Government for the purpose of expediting the receipt of any news.
SENATOR SMITH: Yes; but no work other than the Carpathia's business from Government ships going to meet the Carpathia was to be permitted. That says "from Government ships." Is that a limitation on their right to receive messages?
MR. MARCONI: No, sir; it was intended that any communication to or from Government ships might be had.
SENATOR SMITH: It does not say that. It says "from Government ships going to meet the Carpathia."
MR. MARCONI: I think it would be understood the way I state it.
SENATOR SMITH: It was intended they should have the right to communicate as well as to receive."
MR. MARCONI: Certainly, it was intended that way. I have here a further message, dated April 18, 1912, sent at 1:25 p.m., addressed to "Sam Small, tug Mary Scully, call 'JB'."
Transfer at once Jack Binns to Carpathia; also Hawley and Dunn. Carpathia operator exhausted. (Signed) McGrath and Sammis.
SENATOR SMITH: What date is that?
MR. MARCONI: April 18.
SENATOR SMITH: Thursday?
MR. MARCONI: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know about what time of day that was?
MR. MARCONI: 1:25 p.m. A further message, dated April 18, 1912, time sent blank, addressed to "Ward, Sagaponack, " reads as follows: Endeavor learn for me if Isadore Straus or wife aboard. Sammis.
SENATOR SMITH: What date is that?
MR. MARCONI: April 18, but no time mark.
SENATOR SMITH: That indicates you had in your possession no information whatever regarding the loss of Mr. and Mrs. Straus up to the day the Carpathia reached New York?
MR. MARCONI: Yes, sir. Here is a further message dated April 18, 1912; time sent 1 p.m.; addressed to Ward,
Sagaponack. Text: Personal for me. Make every effort learn if Chas. M. Hays, Grand Trunk president, on Carpathia. Wire me quick. Sammis.
SENATOR SMITH: That is the same date?
MR. MARCONI: That is the same date, sir. I have a further message dated April 18, 1912; time sent, 12:10 p.m. to Cowden ­ this is spelled "C­r­o­w­d­e­n," but I am sure it should be "C­o­w­d­e­n," Siasconset. Text:
Rush definite information whether Astor, Butts, or Guggenheim on Carpathia. Marconi Co.
SENATOR SMITH: What is the hour and date?
MR. MARCONI: Eighteenth of April, 12:10 p.m. I have also a further message which, on this copy, has not a date; time sent, 10:52 a.m.; addressed to Marconi Station, Sable Island, Nova Scotia. The text:
Franklin, White Star Line, wishes know if his message to Carpathia requesting names of remaining additional survivors and crew was delivered; if not try rush delivery and obtain reply. Inogram
SENATOR SMITH: If I recollect it, the list of survivors that came by wireless was transmitted by way of the Cape Race Station?
MR. MARCONI: I believe so. I do not remember.
SENATOR SMITH: Am I right that Mr. Bride was the operator who sent those names? Did you send those names, Mr. Bride?
MR. BRIDE: Yes, sir.
MR. FRANKLIN: Those were only the names of the first and second class passengers, Senator Smith.
SENATOR SMITH: The names of the third­class passengers came by way of the Chester. Did you send those Mr. Bride?
MR. BRIDE: I sent those; yes, sir.
MR. MARCONI: I want to know, Mr. Marconi, how you account for your inability to get any reply from the Carpathia to these numerous messages sent by the chief officers of the Marconi Co. between Monday the day the Carpathia started with those survivors to New York, and Thursday night, up to the landing of the Carpathia in New York?
MR. MARCONI: I have no explanation to give, except I believe the operators were busy all the time transmitting messages from the survivors which were on the Carpathia to their families. I do not know whether the captain of the Carpathia had any reason or any intention not to transmit information which he had.
SENATOR SMITH: I do. I know that the captain did not have any such disposition or desire and that he officially disclaimed to me personally any responsibility therefor both on the night I talked with him on the Carpathia upon her arrival, and, I think, in the testimony given by him the following day.
Mr. Marconi, if, as a matter of fact, the wireless operators on the Carpathia were busy transmitting other business, indeed, so busy that they could not answer messages from the managing officers of your company, which employed them, is there not some means of ascertaining that fact definitely by checking up their accounts and reports made to your company of the exact business they did during those four days?
MR. MARCONI: Yes; but that would require time, in consequence of the fact that the Carpathia left with all records of the messages received on the Carpathia and transmitted from the Carpathia. I have no knowledge whether some of these messages which were sent to shore stations for transmission to the Carpathia were received on the Carpathia or not.
SENATOR SMITH: According to the testimony of Mr. Cottam, he was so weary from constant vigil that he fell asleep at his post of duty, and I have been unable to discover any great amount of business that was transacted between Monday and Thursday by the operators. I know they did some business, but just how busy they were with outside messages is not very clear to me. If there is any method by which your office can find out just how much business was done and with whom it was transacted, I shall appreciate it if you will get that information for us. For instance, if Mrs. Widener or Mrs. Thayer or Mrs. Astor or any of the other women who were aboard the ship had naturally wanted to communicate with their homes here, or all of the passengers, for that matter, and the wireless operators had been doing that business for the passengers, the public would have had the tiding from those sources; and your messages indicating solicitude about the presence of Mr. Hays aboard the Carpathia and these other gentlemen right up to Wednesday, indicate that their relatives were not advised either in Canada or in this country.
I do not want to leave any uncertainty about this wireless feature of this catastrophe, because I think it goes squarely to the crux of this whole matter, following the collision; and your disposition to help clear it up I appreciate. But I do not want to leave it in just the shape it is in now. Were you going to say something, Mr. Sammis?
MR. SAMMIS: I handled the messages for the vice president of the Grand Trunk Railway and for Mr. Astor, and would have handled them for anybody else who had come to headquarters in order to obtain help, and I would say that both Mr. Kelly and­­I have forgotten the other vice president of the Grand Trunk­­
MR. MARCONI: Mr. Hays.
SENATOR SMITH: Mr. Hays, of the Grand Trunk ­ said that the whole Pacific coast and Canada were waiting for confirmation of the news which they had received by the Canadian station that Mr. Hays was not on board. By means of this message which has been read to you I obtained confirmation of news which they already had. That also applies to the Astor family.
SENATOR SMITH: I am not inquiring particularly about individuals.
MR. SAMMIS: I mean that all these people had received word before, and I have learned since the Carpathia arrived that messages were being handled at the rate of 40 and 50 an hour, sometimes, and that probably not less than 4,000 or 5,000 words of urgent personal telegrams from the survivors of the Titanic were handled, and we have copies of such messages.
SENATOR SMITH: From what stations?
MR. SAMMIS: The four stations that have been named.
SENATOR SMITH: Sent to the Carpathia or from the Carpathia?
MR. SAMMIS: Mostly from the Carpathia. The Carpathia would not ­ or did not, apparently ­ wish to accept any messages to him, because he considered, and right so, I think, that these had a prior right; that the people who were most directly concerned and who were in the greatest anguish were the people who had survivors on board the Carpathia, and they wanted to know that they were safe. I think these messages were not made public to any degree. I have not as yet seen one complaint from any survivor on the Carpathia about his inability to get messages ashore.
SENATOR SMITH: It appears from Mr. Franklin's testimony that the White Star offices were crowded all day with persons seeking information from people on board.
MR. SAMMIS: I think that could be very easily accounted for by the very example I have noted, that the Grand Trunk officials had had two messages that Mr. Hays was not on board but they still wanted one more word in order to make sure.
MR. MARCONI: I think I have replied to the question. I want to say something in regard to this, if I may. I have spoken to the operator Bride since he arrived and he told me that several hundred messages ­ 400 or 500 messages ­ had been transmitted from the Carpathia and acknowledged by the land stations. They were all messages to survivors to relatives of the survivors or to relatives of those who had perished.
SENATOR SMITH: How can we ascertain whether any messages were transmitted by Mr. Ismay to the Olympic from the Carpathia, and from the Olympic to the White Star offices at Liverpool? Is there any way ascertain those facts?
MR. MARCONI: The only way is to go through the records of the messages of these ships. I am assuming that I am practically before a court of law and bound to give up these messages. There is something in the English law which prevents disclosing messages.
SENATOR SMITH: I do not think you are committing any offense by giving them up.
MR. MARCONI: Yes; I have gone on that assumption as to every message I have got hold of here in America; I have produced every material message.
SENATOR SMITH: How can we ascertain what messages were sent by telephone from New York to Montreal, and from Montreal to Cape Race or Nova Scotia stations, and then to the ship?
MR. MARCONI: I think as to the telephone messages you can only have the testimony of those who sent them. But the messages sent to the ship should be recorded on the proper forms. Of course I am prepared to admit, perhaps due to the fact that the operators were exhausted and tired on the Carpathia, that some of the messages may not have been recorded. I do not say they were not, but they may not have been. In the ordinary course of events, however, they should be all recorded, and I have no reason to believe they were not recorded in this instance.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you regard it as a little singular, to say the least, that the sinking of the Titanic should not become known at the White Star offices until they received official information of the fact from Capt. Haddock of the Olympic well on toward midday on Monday?
MR. MARCONI: It doubtless appears strange to one not acquainted with the exact facts; but if the facts as they have been reported to me are correct, a very easy explanation can be given.
SENATOR SMITH: All right.
MR. MARCONI: The Carpathia, I understand reached the position of the disaster early in the morning and picked up the survivors. Its wireless installation was not powerful enough to reach shore stations in such a manner as to transmit accurate messages. What is the ship you mentioned, the Olympic?
SENATOR SMITH: I mentioned the Olympic because that seemed to be the source from which this information came to Mr. Franklin.
MR. MARCONI: The Olympic heard of the accident, and by means of her more powerful installation was able to transmit it, I believe, to Cape Race. But, so far as I know, the Olympic did not send this message until late in the afternoon, or at least midday.
SENATOR SMITH: Suppose the Olympic were between Cape Race and the Carpathia, and only about 300 miles from the Carpathia, do you not think that the Olympic might have been utilized by the Carpathia to have given information?
MR. MARCONI: I have no report of what actually happened, but I should say 300 miles was a little too great a distance for the Carpathia to accurately transmit messages to the Olympic.
SENATOR SMITH: What wave length were they using on the Carpathia?
MR. MARCONI: I do not know; but they must have been using one of the authorized wave lengths?
SENATOR SMITH: They were using the 600­meter wave length?
MR. MARCONI: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And that 600­meter wave length ought to have put them in touch with a station 300 miles away?
MR. MARCONI: Not necessarily. It depends on the power behind the wave length.
SENATOR SMITH: From the messages received and picked up from time to time by the Californian and by the Frankfurt their apparatus was working fairly well.
