I regret to say my memory fails me with regard to the time of the occurrence or any of the preceding incidents; but otherwise I am sure of all my statements.
The night before the disaster Mr. Phillips and myself had had a deal of trouble, owing to the leads from the secondary of the transformer having burnt through inside the casing and making contact with certain iron bolts holding the woodwork and frame together, thereby earthing the power to a great extent.
After binding these leads with rubber tape, we once more had the apparatus in perfect working order, but not before we had put in nearly six hours work, Mr. Phillips being of the opinion that, in the first place, it was the condensers which had broken, and these we had had out and examined before locating the damage in the transformer.
Owing to this trouble, I had promised to relieve Mr. Phillips on the following night at midnight instead of the usual time, 2 o'clock, as he seemed very tired.
During Sunday afternoon, toward 5 o'clock, I was called by the Californian (call letters M W L) with an ice report, but I did not immediately answer, as I was writing up the abstracts; and also it used to take us some considerable time to start up the motor and alternator, it not being advisable to leave them working, as the alternator was liable to run hot.
I, however, acknowledge the receipt of the report when "M W L" transmitted it to the Baltic, and took it myself to the officer on watch on the bridge.
Neither Mr. Phillips nor I, to my knowledge, received any further ice reports.
About 9 p.m. I turned in, and woke on my own accord just about midnight, relieving Mr. Phillips, who had just finished sending a large batch of telegrams for Cape Race.
Mr. Phillips told me that apparently we had struck something, as previous to my turning out he had felt the ship tremble and stop, and expressed an opinion that we should have to return to Belfast.
I took over the telephone from him, and he was preparing to retire when Capt. Smith entered the cabin and told us to get assistance immediately.
Mr. Phillips then resumed the phones, after asking the captain if he should use the regulation distress call "CQD."
The captain said "Yes," and Mr. Phillips started in with "CQD.," having obtained the latitude and longitude of the Titanic."
The Frankfurt was the first to answer. We gave him the ship's position, which he acknowledged by "Ok, stbdi."
The second answer was from the Carpathia, who immediately responded with his position and informed us he was coming to our assistance as fast as possible.
These communications I reported myself to the captain, who was, when I found him, engaged in superintending the filling and lowering of the lifeboats.
The noise of escaping steam directly over our cabin caused a great deal of trouble to Mr. Phillips in reading the replies to our distress call, and this I also reported to Capt. Smith, who by some means managed to get it abated.
The Olympic next answered our call, but as far as I know, Mr. Phillips did not go to much trouble with her, as we now realized the awful state of affairs, the ship listing heavily to port and forward.
The captain also came in and told she was sinking fast and could not last longer than half an hour.
Mr. Phillips then went outside to see how things were progressing, and meanwhile I established communication with the Baltic, telling him we were in urgent need of assistance.
This I reported to Mr. Phillips on his return, but suggested "M B C" was too far away to be of much use.
Mr. Phillips told me the forward well deck was under water, and we got our lifebelts out and tied them on each other, after putting on additional clothing.
Again, Mr. Phillips called "C Q D" and "S O S" and for nearly five minutes got no reply, and then both the Carpathia and the Frankfurt called.
Just at this moment the captain came into the cabin and said, "You can do nothing more; look out for yourselves."
Mr. Phillips again resumed the phones and after listening for a few seconds jumped up and fairly screamed. "The _____ fool. He says, "What's up, old man?" I asked, "Who?" Mr. Phillips replied the Frankfurt and at that time it seemed perfectly clear to us that the Frankfurt's operator had taken no notice or misunderstood our first call for help.
Mr. Phillips's reply to this was "You fool, stbdi and keep out."
Undoubtedly, both Mr. Phillips and I were under a great strain at this time, but though the committee inquiring into the facts on this side are inclined to censure that reply, I am still of the opinion that Mr. Phillips was justified in sending it
Leaving Mr. Phillips operating, I went to our sleeping cabin, and got all our money together, returning to find a fireman or coal trimmer gently relieving Mr. Phillips of his life belt.
There immediately followed a general scrimmage with the three of us.
I regret to say we left too hurriedly in the end to take the man in question with us, and without a doubt he sank with the ship in the Marconi cabin as we left him.
I had up to this time kept the PV entered up, intending when we left the ship to tear out the lot and each to take a copy, but now we could hear the water washing over the boat deck, and Mr. Phillips said, "Come, let's clear out."
We had nearly the whole time been in possession of full power from the ship's dynamo, though toward the end the lights sank, and we were ready to stand by with emergency apparatus and candles, but there was no necessity to use them.
Leaving the cabin, we climbed on top of the houses comprising the officers quarters and our own, and here I saw the last of Mr. Phillips, for he disappeared walking aft.
I now assisted in pushing off a collapsible lifeboat, which was on the port side of the forward funnel, onto the boat deck. Just as the boat fell I noticed Capt. Smith dive from the bridge into the sea.
Then followed a general scramble down on the boat deck, but no sooner had we got there than the sea washed over. I managed to catch hold of the boat we had previously fixed up and was swept overboard with her. I then experience the most exciting three or four hours anyone could reasonably wish for, and was in due course, with the rest of the survivors, picked up by the Carpathia.
As you have probably heard, I got on the collapsible boat a second time, which was I had left it, upturned. I called Phillips several times, but got no response, but learned later from several sources that he was on this boat and expired even before we were picked off by the Titanic's boat.
I am told fright and exposure was the cause of his death.
As far as I can ;find out, he was taken on board the Carpathia and buried at sea from her, though for some reason the bodies of those who had died were not identified before burial from the Carpathia, and so I can not vouch for the truth of this.
After a short stay in the hospital of the Carpathia I was asked to assist Mr. Cottam, the operator, who seemed fairly worn out with work.
Hundreds of telegrams from survivors were waiting to go as soon as we could get communication with shore stations.
Regarding the working of the Carpathia.
The list of survivors, Mr. Cottam told me, had been sent to the Minnewaska and the Olympic.
When we established communication with the various coast stations, all of which had heavy traffic for us, in some cases running into hundreds of messages, we told them we would only accept service and urgent messages, as we knew the remainder would be press and messages inquiring after some one on the Titanic.
It is easy to see we might have spent hours receiving messages inquiring after some survivor, while we had messages waiting from that survivor for transmission.
News was not withheld by Mr. Cottam or myself with the idea of making money, but because, as far as I know, the captain of the Carpathia was advising Mr. Cottam to get off the survivors' traffic first.
Quite 75 per cent of this we got off.
On arrival in New York Mr. Marconi came on board with a reporter of the New York Times. Also Mr. Sammis was present, and I received $500 for my story, which both Mr. Marconi and Mr. Sammis authorized me to tell.
I have forgotten to mention that the United States Government sent out a ship, as they said, to assist us named the Chester.
Several messages passed between the commander of that vessel and the Carpathia, and resulted in the captain telling us to transmit the names of the third­class passengers to the Chester.
Though it has since been reported that the most expert operator in the United States Navy was on board the Chester, I had to repeat those names, nearly 300 in all, several times to him, taking up nearly a couple of hours of valuable time, though I sent them in the first place slowly and carefully.
I am now staying with relatives and waiting orders from the Marconi Co. here, who have been most considerate and kind, buying me much needed clothes and looking after me generally.
I am glad to say I can now walk around, the sprain in my left foot being much better, though my right foot remains numbed from the exposure and cold, but causes me no pain or inconvenience whatever.
I greatly appreciate the cable the company so kindly sent me and thank them for the same.
Trusting this report will be satisfactory until my return to England, I beg to remain,
Yours, obediently, Harold S. Bride.
MR. BRIDE: I should like to have the letter back, Senator. That is my personal copy.
SENATOR SMITH: Certainly. I shall return it to you.
That is all, Mr. Bride. We are very much obliged to you for coming again to­day.
TESTIMONY OF MR. BERK PICKARD.
[Before Senator William Alden Smith, at the Waldorf­Astoria Hotel.]
The witness was sworn by Senator Smith.
SENATOR SMITH: State your name, age, residence, and occupation.
MR. PICKARD: Bert Pickard; No. 229, Hebrew Immigrant Society. At the time I took passage on the Titanic I came from London. I am 32 years old. I am a leather worker; a bag maker. I was born in Russia, in Warsaw. My name was Berk Trembisky. I was for a long time in France and I assumed a French name. As regards private business, I am Pickard.
I was one of the third­class passengers on the Titanic. My cabin was No. 10 in the steerage at the stern. I first knew of the collision when it happened, about 10 minutes to 12. We had all been asleep, and all of a sudden we perceived a shock. We did not hear such a very terrible shock, but we knew something was wrong, and we jumped out of bed and we dressed ourselves and went out, and we could not get back again. I wanted to go back to get my things but I could not. The stewards would not allow us to go back. They made us all go forward on the deck. There were no doors locked to prevent us from going back. I did not take much notice of it, and I went to the deck. The other passengers started in arguing. One said that it was dangerous and the other said that it was not; one said white and the other said black. Instead of arguing with these people, I instantly went to the highest spot.
I said to myself that if the ship had to sink, I should be one of the last. That was my first idea, which was the best. I went and I found the door. There always a few steps from this third class, with a moveable door, and it is marked there that second­class passengers have no right to penetrate there. I found this door open so that I could go into the second class, where I did not find many people, only a few that climbed on the ladder and went into the first class, which I did. I found there only a few men and about two ladies. They had been putting them into lifeboats and as no women were there, we men sprang in the boat. We had only one woman and another young girl. There were two women. They stood just in front of me. We were lowered down, and when I was lowered down I saw the whole ship, as big as she was, the right side a little bit sinking, and I was far from imagining that it was the beginning of the end. When I was going away from the ship, of course I was rather frightened; I was sorry at not being on the ship, and I said to the seaman, "I would rather be on the ship." He was laughing at me, and he said, "Do you not see we are sinking?" I was rather excited, and I said, "It is fortunate that now the sea is nice, but perhaps in five minutes we will be turned over." So I was in the boat until 5 o'clock in the morning.
In regard to the ship, I saw the ship very quickly started sinking, and one rail went under and then another, until in a half an hour, from my point of view, the ship sank altogether.
The steerage passengers, so far as I could see, were not prevented from getting up to the upper decks by anybody, or by closed doors, or anything else. While I was on the ship no one realized the real danger, not even the stewards. If the stewards knew, they were calm. It was their duty to make us believe there was nothing serious. Nobody was prevented from going up. They tried to keep us quiet. They said, "Nothing serious is the matter." Perhaps they did not know themselves. I did not realize it, the whole time, even to the last moment. Of course, I would never believe such a thing could happen.
The lifeboat I got into was an ordinary lifeboat. I do not know what number it was; I am sorry to say I did not look at it. There was some seaman in charge of it, who belonged to the ship. What kind of employment the seamen were in I do not know, but they belonged to the ship.
The only warning given to the steerage passengers after the collision was that we were ordered to take our life belts and go to the deck. There was no water in the steerage when I left.
That is all I know about it. I was one of the first go to. Of course, if I had stayed until a little bit later, I would have seen a little bit more. I was one of the luckiest ones, I think.
Witness excused.
TESTIMONY OF MR. GILBERT WILLIAM BALFOUR.
[Before Senator William Alden Smith, at the Waldorf­Astoria Hotel.]
The witness was sworn by Senator Smith.
SENATOR SMITH: Will you state your name, residence, and occupation?
MR. BALFOUR: Gilbert William Balfour; Stony Croft, Liverpool; I am an inspector of the Marconi Co. I have been in the employ of that company three years last October; that is, practically three years and a half now.
SENATOR SMITH: In that position are you going about from station to station of the Marconi Co?
