SENATOR SMITH: I want you to be as positive as you can. I would like to have you think it over carefully and answer definitely as you are able to answer.
MR. COTTAM: I am doing so. I have no record of the traffic at all. I was so busy at the time that I can not remember what happened at all.
SENATOR SMITH: What time on Monday did Mr. Ismay send a message to "Islefrank" or "Yamsi," telling of the loss of the Titanic?
MR. COTTAM: I do not believe there was one sent from Mr. Ismay on Monday.
SENATOR SMITH: You do not recall any?
MR. COTTAM: No; because I was not in touch with land.
SENATOR SMITH: Were you in touch with the Californian that day?
MR. COTTAM: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Were you in touch with Boston?
MR. COTTAM: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you transmit any messages through the Californian to land?
MR. COTTAM: No.
SENATOR SMITH: Or to other ships for land?
MR. COTTAM: Some went through the Minnewaska and some through the Olympic; but I guess that was on Monday afternoon.
SENATOR SMITH: On Monday afternoon you recollect transmitting some messages through the Olympic?
MR. COTTAM: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: How about the Baltic?
MR. COTTAM: The Baltic was out of touch.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you receive any telegrams from Mr. Marconi asking "Why can we not get news of this disaster?" Ask captain."
MR. COTTAM: I remember some message to that effect, but I can not remember when it was received.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you answer it?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Why not?
MR. COTTAM: Because I had plenty of other work besides; official traffic and for the passengers.
SENATOR SMITH: But this was the head of your company.
MR. COTTAM: That was the captain's orders. I can not go beyond the captain's orders.
SENATOR SMITH: You took your orders from the captain?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you mean that the captain told you not to send the news to Mr. Marconi?
MR. COTTAM: He did not tell me that. He said, "Do not deal with anything otherwise than official traffic and passenger's messages."
SENATOR SMITH: Did you tell him that this telegram was from Mr. Marconi, the president of your company?
MR. COTTAM: I believe I did.
SENATOR SMITH: What did he say to that?
MR. COTTAM: He told me the same reply as indicated.
SENATOR SMITH: Then the captain refused you permission to send message in reply to Mr. Marconi and Mr. Sammis? Do you wish to be understood as saying that?
MR. COTTAM: Yes; to that effect.
SENATOR SMITH: You did not feel at liberty to transmit any information to the head office of your own company?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: On Monday?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you ever transmit any information to the head office of your own company?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir; not any, at all. There was no information at all­­
SENATOR SMITH: You did not communicate any information to them, at all?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir; I did not get any news ashore, at all.
SENATOR SMITH: But you did receive the telegram signed by Mr. Sammis.
MR. COTTAM: I do not know by whom it was signed. I remember something about a message to that effect, I do not remember anything about it.
SENATOR SMITH: You received a telegram saying "Keep your mouth shut; it has been all arranged; you are going to get money in four figures," or words to that effect?
MR. COTTAM: I did not receive that.
SENATOR SMITH: Who did?
MR. COTTAM: Bride, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You talked it over with Bride?
MR. COTTAM: I talked what over with Bride?
SENATOR SMITH: This message.
MR. COTTAM: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: That had the effect of quieting you somewhat, did it not?
MR. COTTAM: Certainly.
SENATOR SMITH: That is all.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: When did you first have the expectation that you would receive money for your story from the newspapers?
MR. COTTAM: I think either when we were docking or when we were in dock.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: At New York?
MR. COTTAM: Yes, sir; at New York.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: Did you have any expectation prior to that time of receiving such money?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: And did your expectation prevent you from giving any information by wireless?
MR. COTTAM: No.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: What did you say in answer to that?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: You were in the dock when you received this wireless message?
MR. COTTAM: I was just going through as Bride took it, and I read it as he was writing it down.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: Were the passengers landing at the time?
MR. COTTAM: Yes; I believe they were.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: That is all.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Had you received any intimation before that it was well for you to keep to yourself the news about the Titanic disaster?
MR. COTTAM: No. It would not have made any difference; it would not have had any effect, in any case, because the captain's order was that no traffic was to go through and no message was to be executed otherwise than official messages and passengers' traffic. I had more than I could handle with the passengers' traffic without this other stuff.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You mean that you were so occupied with official messages and passengers' traffic that you could not answer an inquiry regarding the disaster?
MR. COTTAM: No; I could not.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Do you make a distinction between official messages and accounts of disasters?
MR. COTTAM: Certainly.
SENATOR FLETCHER: When you say you had official business to look after, does that official business cover the Titanic disaster, or have anything to do with it?
MR. COTTAM: It would bear on the subject, certainly; but of course I was informing the Cunard and the White Star of the disaster, I guess.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: Prior to that time you had been giving, over the wireless, lists of the survivors, had you not?
MR. COTTAM: Oh, yes.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Do you call that official business?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Then "official business," which had precedence, was business which gave such an account as the captain saw fit to send forth regarding all he knew about the disaster, was it?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Do you remember telling him about this message received from Mr. Sammis and Mr. Ismay?
MR. COTTAM: Yes, sir; I informed him of it. I do not know which one it was. I do not know which message it was. It was the only one, I believe, from the Marconi Co. No; I do remember something about one message ­ asking the captain about it.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You informed him of the only one that you received, that you remember?
MR. COTTAM: I did. The captain told me to ignore the messages altogether.
SENATOR FLETCHER: I mean regarding news of the disaster.
MR. COTTAM: Yes. When I docked in New York there was one wireless station that had between 150 and 200 messages for me that I had not time to take on the way along.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You were crowded with the business of receiving and sending messages on official and passengers' business?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR FLETCHER: How much time was taken up by the passengers' traffic?
MR. COTTAM: All the time I had to spare when I was not dealing with official traffic.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You really had more than you could do, with both together?
MR. COTTAM: Oh, yes; I could not cope with the work at all.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Can you tell how many messages you sent off?
MR. COTTAM: More than 500.
SENATOR FLETCHER: What proportion of those would be official business and what proportion would be passengers' business?
MR. COTTAM: I do not know; about half and half, I should say. All the passengers' names had to go and the survivors' names.
SENATOR FLETCHER: The apparatus was in good working condition all the while?
MR. COTTAM: I can not say it was in good condition, because the weather was not good. The atmosphere at that time was in a static condition. There was rain about all the time. It was wet, foul weather all the time.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did that interfere with the transmission of messages?
MR. COTTAM: Oh, yes.
SENATOR FLETCHER: To what extent?
MR. COTTAM: It caused a leak ­ it caused a leak through the insulators when they were wet.
SENATOR FLETCHER: That made it necessary to repeat often?
MR. COTTAM: I did repeat everything; I never send a telegram without repeating it.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Is it customary to repeat every message?
MR. COTTAM: It all depends on the circumstances. If there is a lot of static about, of course you would.
SENATOR FLETCHER: What do you mean by "static"?
MR. COTTAM: Atmospheric disturbance; an electrical atmospheric disturbance, when there is stormy weather about.
SENATOR FLETCHER: That is all.
SENATOR SMITH: I want to straighten out just a little your replies to Senator Newlands. Do you know what time the Carpathia passed quarantine?
MR. COTTAM: I do not.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know what time you passed Sandy Hook?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir; I do not.
SENATOR SMITH: You passed quarantine at 8:10 that night, and at 8:12 you got the message "Seagate to Carpathia," which was picked up by the naval station, and which the Secretary of the Navy has sent to me. That message says:
Say, old man, Marconi Co. taking good care of you. Keep your mouth shut. Hold your story. It is fixed for you so you will get big money. Now please do your best to clear.
Did you take that message?
MR. COTTAM: I do not remember anything about it.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you remember Bride speaking to you about it?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir; Bride did not speak to me about it.
SENATOR SMITH: You were not at the apparatus when you landed in New York?
MR. COTTAM: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Bride was there?
MR. COTTAM: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: But you left the ship immediately?
MR. COTTAM: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And went to the Strand Hotel to meet Mr. Sammis?
MR. COTTAM: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And you went there because you had a message at 8:30 from Mr. Sammis asking you to come there, did you not?
MR. COTTAM: I got it, but I cannot remember the time. It may have been about 8:30.
SENATOR SMITH: I will give you the time: 8:30 p.m., one hour before you landed at the Cunard dock, when you got a telegram from Mr. Sammis saying:
Arranged for your exclusive story for dollars in four figures, Mr. Marconi agreeing.
I do not want any doubt about this matter at all. Mr. Sammis says that message was sent to you.
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: And he says that you went to the Strand Hotel.
MR. COTTAM: I did.
SENATOR SMITH: At 9 o'clock you got a message, from Seagate to Carpathia, saying:
Go to Strand Hotel, 502 West Fourteenth Street, to meet Mr. Marconi.
Is that correct?
MR. COTTAM: Yes, sir. I did not get three or four messages there were only two.
SENATOR SMITH: You know this one; and you got it, did you not?
MR. COTTAM: The one we brought in; yes.
SENATOR SMITH: The one with the four figures for the story?
MR. COTTAM: I do not remember that, sir, at all. I do not remember that one. I remember the one with the number in, to call at the Strand Hotel.
SENATOR SMITH: That was at 9 o'clock, and then you got another at 9:33. The ship does not seem to have landed quite at that time.
MR. COTTAM: We were outside the dock an hour or more.
SENATOR SMITH: It takes an hour to run from quarantine, does it not, 8 miles, the way they run there?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: If you passed quarantine at 8:10, it would take until 9:10 to run down to the Cunard pier; so that before your boat was tied up at the wharf in New York, you did have information from Mr. Sammis, and you did have this information that I have read to you before, saying "Hold your story."
I do not seek to draw any false deductions from what I am asking you, nor do I want to press it too hard upon you; but I want the fact to appear that you received those messages.
MR. COTTAM: I received two, sir, to my knowledge; the one with "four figures" in it, and the one with the number of the Strand Hotel.
SENATOR SMITH: The one with "four figures' in it was sent about 8:30, and the one with the address of the Strand Hotel was sent at 9 p.m., which was 30 minutes before the boat tied up to the wharf?
MR. COTTAM: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: I have an affidavit which I will read at this point:
AFFIDAVIT OF J. W. LEE
John W. Lee, being duly sworn, deposes and says as follows: On the evening of April 18, 1912, I was listening at the Brooklyn station of the National Electric Signaling Co., and at 8:59 I heard the operator of the Marconi station at Sea Gate, Long Island, send the following message to the Carpathia:
"M.P.A. Personal. Hr. Mge. "Go to Strand Hotel, 502 West Fourteenth Street, to meet Mr. Marconi." "MPAMSE."
MPA is the Carpathia's call signal, MSE is Sea Gate.'s. "Hr" stand for "Here's another," and is used at the beginning of all messages. "Mge" stands for "message." The Carpathia did not acknowledge receipt of this message, so far as I heard. I am certain that this message was sent by Sea Gate and by no other station, for two reasons (in addition to the fact that the signature of Sea Gate was used), viz.: (1) From my experience in receiving messages in this vicinity, I have become familiar with the "tune" or wave length of the Sea Gate station, and that of the station which sent the above message was the same; (2) the Sea Gate station has a characteristic spark sound; that is, it has a rising tone at the beginning of sending and a falling tone at the end. No other station around New York has this peculiarity (which is caused by the operator's sending while his spark gap is changing speed), and since the message above was sent in this way, I am certain that it was transmitted from Sea Gate. John W. Lee
State of New York, County of Kings, ss:
Subscribed and sworn to before me on this 27th day of April, A.D., 1912.
Emil Biele, Notary Public, Kings County
SENATOR NEWLANDS: Are we to understand that you received these two telegrams regarding this story for the newspapers before or after the arrival of the Carpathia at the dock?
MR. COTTAM: Apparently, by the time, we could not have arrived there. We could not have arrived, by the time of the telegram's time. I do not remember anything at all about it. I did not know anything at all about the time. We were starting to get the boats out before we got near the dock.
SENATOR NEWLANDS: You started to get the boats out?
MR.: COTTAM: Yes; the Titanic's boats.
SENATOR BOURNE: What is the longest distance you have ever been able to reach with your instrument?
MR. COTTAM: On the Carpathia?
SENATOR BOURNE: Yes.
MR. COTTAM: I never took any particular notice, but about 300 miles, I should say.
SENATOR BOURNE: You have been able to reach 800 miles at sea at night?
MR. COTTAM: Not from the Carpathia.
SENATOR BOURNE: What distance from the Carpathia?
MR. COTTAM: About 300 miles.
SENATOR BOURNE: I misunderstood you. What distance have you ever received from?
