He exercised his judgment for the best. It was the judgment of a skilled and experienced man, and although others might have acted differently and perhaps more successfully, he ought not, in my opinion, to be blamed.
The whole blame for the cruel destruction of life in this catastrophe must rest solely with those who plotted and with those who committed the crime.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
The above is called the “Annex” to the “Finding of the Court.” This latter I do not reprint for it consists only of 21 questions, the answers to which are found in the “Annex.”
A notice in “The Daily Telegraph” (London) of May 12, announced that“The Board of Trade have ordered a formal investigation into the circumstances attending the loss of the S.S. ‘Lusitania,’ and they desire to invite passengers of the ‘Lusitania’ who now are, or will shortly be in or near London, and who are able to supply evidence likely to be of value for the Inquiry, to communicate at once, either personally or by letter or telegram, to the Solicitor of the Board of Trade, at the Hotel Metropole, Northumberland Avenue, Charing-Cross, W. C.; with a view to statements being taken from them at the said address, between the hours of elevenA.M.and sixP.M.during the week commencing Wednesday, the 12th instant, and ending, and including, Tuesday the 18th instant.
“The Inquiry will be conducted by the Law Officers, who may be relied upon to see that all material points consistent with the public interest will be dealt with.”
I know that some passengers did appear and did make official statements which they signed. Others laid evidence informally before the Solicitor, and while they did not sign statements, they were in London during the Official Inquiry and could have been summoned and would have testified.
The following testimony, for example, was informally offered: that the portholes were open, that the discipline of the officers and crew was not what it should have been, that the collapsible boats were not fitted with oars and were not in proper working condition, etc. None of this evidence seems to have been desired by his Lordship and his Assessors, or at least there is nothing to show that it was ever laid before them.
I do not question the sincerity of the findings of Lord Mersey’s Court, based on the evidence placed before it; but what became of this informal evidence, as quotedabove, and much more that was laid before the Solicitor of the Board of Trade?
The Court finds that “the portholes were closed.” On what and on whose evidence? The above statement can hardly be made on the evidence of the Captain; for when he testified before the Coroner of Kinsale, in reply to the question, “What precautions did you take in connection with these threats?” (referring to the Notice from the German Imperial Embassy which appeared in the New York papers of May 1), he stated that “I had all the boats swung out and the bulkhead doors closed when we came within the danger zone.” (“The Daily Telegraph,” May 11.)
The Captain had the lifeboats swung out Thursday morning, twenty-four hours before the disaster, but I know of no evidence that shows that he ever ordered the portholes closed. If he had, it is fair to presume hewould have mentioned it when he testified that he had ordered the bulkhead doors closed.
There is evidence that at least two lifeboats, each containing about fifty people, were dropped when almost 20 feet from the water. A survivor of one of these boats told me that the man for’ard, who had charge of the rope, simply let it run out through his hands. He was not one of the “frightened passengers” but one of the crew. It seems to me quite possible in this instance “to impute negligence” and “incompetence in connection with them” (the ropes).
In another part of the report Lord Mersey states that “no doubt there were mishaps in handling the ropes of the boats and in other such matters, but there was, in my opinion, no incompetence or neglect, and I am satisfied that the crew behaved well throughout, and worked with skill and judgment.”Just above this in the report one reads: “That, since the commencement of the war, the Cunard Company has lost all its Royal Reserve and Fleet Reserve men, and the managers have had to take on the best men they could get and to train them as well as might be in the time at their disposal.” Is it likely that any officer could take untrained men and in a few weeks, or even months, make such efficient seamen of them that they could, in a disaster of this magnitude, work “with skill and judgment”?
I do not believe it could be done.
As one of the passengers who was moving around the deck and saw the heroic efforts made by his fellow passengers to achieve that which the crew utterly failed to accomplish, I resent, with every spark of manhood that is in me, the finding of Lord Mersey’s Court when he says that “Probably (the) disastrous attempts of the frightened passengersto assist in the launching operations” added to the “difficulties” the officers and crew found in trying to lower the boats.
I would suggest adding to the “difficulties” mentioned above the following: lack of discipline among the crew and the lack of expert knowledge as to the handling of the boats, knowledge that can come only to the well-trained crew.
He says of this wonderful crew that “many more than half of them lost their lives.” I suppose that is because the other half “worked with skill and judgment.”
It would seem that Lord Mersey measures “skill and judgment” by the number that were lost; and if so, why doesn’t he pass the same relative judgment on the passengers who lost their lives? He mentions figures, but here are the totals: There were 1,257 passengers and 472 were saved. To have been consistent, he should have writtenafter the paragraph, “In addition to these difficulties there were the well-meant but probably disastrous attempts of the frightened passengers to assist in the launching operations,” the following: “Many more than half their number lost their lives.” From what, pray? Because they were “frightened,” or because the crew acted with “skill and judgment”?
It doesn’t seem to me that this Court of Inquiry has stood up to its business like the historic Briton who isn’t afraid to take his medicine, and place blame where it should be placed; rather, it has hidden behind the act itself, which it finds “was done not merely with the intention of sinking the ship, but also with the intention of destroying the lives of the people aboard.”
So for the Captain, the Court finds that he acted with “the judgment ofa skilled and experienced man, and ... ought not ... to be blamed”; for the Crew and Officers, that their “conduct ... was satisfactory. They did their best ... and their best was good”; for the Cunard Line, that the “reduction of the steamer’s speed was of no significance and was proper in the circumstances.” And what does this honorable Court find for the passengers who entrusted their lives to the judgment of the Captain and those under him? To wit, that “some of the passengers attempted to assist in launching the boats ... and did more harm than good,” and that “the frightened passengers (made) probably disastrous attempts to assist in the launching operations.”
“And though thou thinkest that thou knowest sureThy victory, yet thou canst not surely know.For we are all, like swimmers in the sea,Poised on the top of a huge wave of fate,Which hangs uncertain to which side to fall.And whether it will heave us up to land,Or whether it will roll us out to sea,Back out to sea, to the deep waves of death,We know not, and no search will make us know;Only the event will teach us in its hour.”
“And though thou thinkest that thou knowest sureThy victory, yet thou canst not surely know.For we are all, like swimmers in the sea,Poised on the top of a huge wave of fate,Which hangs uncertain to which side to fall.And whether it will heave us up to land,Or whether it will roll us out to sea,Back out to sea, to the deep waves of death,We know not, and no search will make us know;Only the event will teach us in its hour.”
“And though thou thinkest that thou knowest sureThy victory, yet thou canst not surely know.For we are all, like swimmers in the sea,Poised on the top of a huge wave of fate,Which hangs uncertain to which side to fall.And whether it will heave us up to land,Or whether it will roll us out to sea,Back out to sea, to the deep waves of death,We know not, and no search will make us know;Only the event will teach us in its hour.”
The Riverside PressCAMBRIDGE · MASSACHUSETTSU · S · A
FOOTNOTES:[1]Italics are used in the above text where the original German type emphasizes by spacing.[2]Italics are used in the translations where the original German text emphasizes by spacing.
FOOTNOTES:
[1]Italics are used in the above text where the original German type emphasizes by spacing.
[1]Italics are used in the above text where the original German type emphasizes by spacing.
[2]Italics are used in the translations where the original German text emphasizes by spacing.
[2]Italics are used in the translations where the original German text emphasizes by spacing.