The Sinking of the Titanic, and Great Sea Disasters | Page 5

is futile--List
of survivors--Roll of the dead.
CHAPTER XIII

THE STORY OF CHARLES F. HURD
How the Titanic sank--Water strewn with dead bodies-- Victims met
death with hymn on their lips.
CHAPTER XIV
THRILLING ACCOUNT BY L. BEASLEY
Collision only a slight jar--Passengers could not believe the vessel
doomed--Narrow escape of life-boats--Picked up by the Carpathia.
CHAPTER XV
JACK THAYER'S OWN STORY OF THE WRECK
Seventeen-year-old son of Pennsylvania Railroad official tells moving
story of his rescue--Told mother to be brave--Separated from parents--
Jumped when vessel sank--Drifted on overturned boat--Picked up by
Carpathia.
CHAPTER XVI
INCIDENTS RELATED BY JAMES McGOUGH
Women forced into the life-boats--Why some men were saved before
women--Asked to man life-boats.
CHAPTER XVII
WIRELESS OPERATOR PRAISES HEROIC WORK
Story of Harold Bride, the surviving wireless operator of the Titanic,
who was washed overboard and rescued by life-boat--Band played
ragtime and "Autumn".
CHAPTER XVIII

STORY OF THE STEWARD
Passengers and crew dying when taken aboard Carpathia--One woman
saved a dog--English colonel swam for hours when boat with mother
aboard capsized.
CHAPTER XIX
HOW THE WORLD RECEIVED THE NEWS
Nations prostrate with grief--Messages from kings and cardinals--
Disaster stirs world to necessity of stricter regulations.
CHAPTER XX
BRAVERY OF THE OFFICERS AND CREW
Illustrious career of Captain E. J. Smith--Brave to the last--
Maintenance of order and discipline--Acts of heroism--Engineers died
at posts --Noble-hearted band.
CHAPTER XXI
SEARCHING FOR THE DEAD
Sending out the Mackay-Bennett and Minia--Bremen passengers see
bodies--Identifying bodies--Confusion in names--Recoveries.
CHAPTER XXII
CRITICISM OF ISMAY
Criminal and cowardly conduct charged--Proper caution not exercised
when presence of icebergs was known--Should have stayed on board to
help in work of rescue--Selfish and unsympathetic actions on board the
Carpathia--Ismay's defense--William E. Carter's statement.
CHAPTER XXIII

THE FINANCIAL LOSS
Titanic not fully insured--Valuable cargo and mail--No chance for
salvage--Life insurance loss--Loss to the Carpathia.
CHAPTER XXIV
OPINIONS OF EXPERTS
Captain E. K. Roden, Lewis Nixon, General Greely and Robert H. Kirk
point out lessons taught by Titanic disaster and needed changes in
construction.
CHAPTER XXV
OTHER GREAT MARINE DISASTERS.
Deadly danger of icebergs--Dozens of ships perish in collision-- Other
disasters.
CHAPTER XXVI
DEVELOPMENT OF SHIPBUILDING
Evolution of water travel--Increases in size of vessels-- Is there any
limit?--Achievements in speed--Titanic not the last word.
CHAPTER XXVII
SAFETY AND LIFE-SAVING DEVICES
Wireless telegraphy--Water-tight bulkheads--Submarine signals--
Life-boats and rafts--Nixon's pontoon--Life-preservers and
buoys--Rockets.
CHAPTER XXVIII
TIME FOR REFLECTION AND REFORM

Speed and luxury overemphasized--Space needed for life-boats devoted
to swimming pools and squash-courts--Mania for speed records
compels use of dangerous routes and prevents proper caution in foggy
weather--Life more valuable than luxury--Safety more important than
speed--An aroused public opinion necessary--International conference
recommended--Adequate life-saving equipment should be
compulsory-- Speed regulations in bad weather--Co-operation in
arranging schedules to keep vessels within reach of each other--Legal
regulations.
CHAPTER XXIX
THE SENATORIAL INVESTIGATION
Prompt action of the Government--Senate committee probes disaster
and brings out details--Testimony of Ismay, officers, crew passengers
and other witnesses.

FACTS ABOUT THE WRECK OF THE TITANIC
NUMBER of persons aboard, 2340. Number of life-boats and rafts, 20.
Capacity of each life-boat, 50 passengers and crew of 8. Utmost
capacity of life-boats and rafts, about 1100. Number of life-boats
wrecked in launching, 4. Capacity of life-boats safely launched, 928.
Total number of persons taken in life-boats, 711. Number who died in
life-boats, 6. Total number saved, 705. Total number of Titanic's
company lost, 1635.
The cause of the disaster was a collision with an iceberg in latitude
41.46 north, longitude 50.14 west. The Titanic had had repeated
warnings of the presence of ice in that part of the course. Two official
warnings had been received defining the position of the ice fields. It
had been calculated on the Titanic that she would reach the ice fields
about 11 o'clock Sunday night. The collision occurred at 11.40. At that
time the ship was driving at a speed of 21 to 23 knots, or about 26
miles, an hour.

There had been no details of seamen assigned to each boat.
Some of the boats left the ship without seamen enough to man the oars.
Some of the boats were not more than half full of passengers.
The boats had no provisions, some of them had no water stored, some
were without sail equipment or compasses.
In some boats, which carried sails wrapped and bound, there was not a
person with a knife to cut the ropes. In some boats the plugs in the
bottom had been pulled out and the women passengers were compelled
to thrust their hands into the holes to keep the boats from filling and
sinking.
The captain, E. J. Smith, admiral of the White Star fleet, went down
with his ship.
CHAPTER I
FIRST NEWS OF THE GREATEST MARINE DISASTER IN
HISTORY
"THE TITANIC IN COLLISION, BUT EVERYBODY SAFE"--
ANOTHER TRIUMPH SET DOWN TO WIRELESS
TELEGRAPHY-- THE