Historic Trial Transcripts
Harold Thomas Cottam: Testimony
HAROLD THOMAS COTTAM.
The witness was sworn by the chairman.
By Senator SMITH:
Q. Mr. Cottam, what is your full name?
A. Harold Thomas Cottam.
Q. Where do you reside?
A. Liverpool, England.
Q. How old are you?
A. Twenty-one.
Q. What is your business?
A. Marconi telegraphist.
Q. How long have you been engaged in that business?
A. Three years.
Q. Where have you been employed?
A. The Marconi Co. all the time.
Q. How extensively; that is, how many different employments?
A. I went to sea first. Then I was taken off there and worked for the British post office for a time.
Q. In what capacity?
A. As telegraphist, on one of their land stations.
Q. Under the British post-office authorities?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where?
A. Liverpool.
Q. How long were you thus employed?
A. About 14 to 16 months.
Q. Then what did you do?
A. I was taken off there and went away to sea again, on the Australian run.
Q. On what boat?
A. The Medic, White Star.
Q. How long were you on the Medic?
A. Two voyages.
Q. Were you wireless telegrapher at that time?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Two voyages?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Out and right back?
A. Yes; return voyages.
Q. From Liverpool.
A. To Australia and back to Liverpool again.
Q. What kind of apparatus was there on the Medic?
A. A Marconi, sir.
Q. What type of instrument or equipment?
A. A one and a half watt set, sir.
Q. What was the maximum wave length?
A. A standard wave length, sir; 2,000 feet.
Q. You were in charge of the wireless on that boat?
A. Yes.
Q. Chief in charge?
A. Only one man, sir.
Q. What was your next employment?
A. On the Carpathia, sir.
Q. How long were you on the Carpathia?
A. I joined her in Liverpool, last February, sir.
Q. You have been with the Carpathia ever since?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you ship with her from New York?
A. From Liverpool, sir.
Q. From New York the other day?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What day?
A. I do not remember the day. About the 10th or 11th, I think, sir.
Q. On her last outward voyage?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where was she headed for?
A. Gibraltar, sir.
Q. Did she have a wireless equipment?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What kind?
A. Marconi, sir.
Q. Up-to-date equipment?
A. No, sir; it was an older type.
Q. What was the maximum distance with which that equipment could be operated successfully?
A. Two hundred and fifty miles.
Q. Did you obtain satisfactory results from 250-mile experiments?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. On the Carpathia?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You were on the boat last Sunday?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What were your hours of employment?
A. There are no stated hours. There is only one man on the boat.
Q. I understand; but what periods during the day and night are you expected to be at your instrument?
A. It all depends on where you are. If you were in the vicinity of New York or thereabouts you would be expected to be on duty all the time.
Q. Night and day?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is that practicable?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. In making the voyage from New York to Gibraltar, after you have gotten out to sea, there is no rigid rule which requires you to be at your post?
A. No, sir.
Q. No regulation of the British Government?
A. No, sir.
Q. No direction by the Marconi Co.?
A. No, sir; but you are more or less responsible for communications which are expected.
Q. You are responsible for communication?
A. Yes, sir; if there is a ship expected, sir. If a ship is expected to pass at 3 o’clock in the morning you should be at duty at that time to establish communication.
Q. Has it been your custom to go to the apparatus at regular times?
A. No, sir.
Q. Are you employed at anything else on the boat?
A. No, sir.
Q. What wages do you receive?
A. Four pounds ten a month.
Q. Four pounds ten shillings a month?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And board?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And room?
A. The room is attached to the operating room.
Q. Is that the average wage of wireless telegraphers in England?
A. I can not say that it is.
Q. To whom do you report aboard ship?
A. To the captain.
Q. Personally?
A. Yes.
Q. And from whom do you take orders?
A. From the captain, sir.
Q. Personally.
A. Yes.
Q. From anyone else?
A. No, sir.
Q. From the officer on watch? Do you take orders from him?
A. No, sir; not without I have the authority of the captain.
Q. Not without the direction of the captain?
A. No.
Q. Would you take orders from anyone except the captain of the ship while you were aboard ship? Suppose Mr. Marconi or some officer of the Marconi Co. gave orders to you by wireless which you should pick up, would you consider it your duty to take them from the officers of the Marconi Co. while you were at sea?
A. Not before the captain of the ship, sir.
Q. Then I am to understand you have no specified hours when you shall be in attendance at your instrument?
A. During the whole of the day, sir; not necessarily at night.
Q. During all the day?
A. The whole of the day, daytime, but not at nights.
Q. Do you have liberty to retire at nights when you please?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And what has been your custom in that regard, what time would you retire?
A. While at sea I should retire about midnight.
Q. Where is this instrument located on the ship?
A. In the Carpathia, sir?
Q. Yes, where?
A. On the after part of the ship.
Q. On what deck?
A. On an island above the second-class smoking room.
Q. What have you there, a room?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Or two rooms?
A. One room.
Q. And you say you were at liberty to retire at night when you please?
A. Everything depends on circumstances.
Q. What would it depend on?
A. If I had work to get off and I could not get it off before the early hours of the morning I should have to stay up to attend it.
Q. That is commercial work?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Sending messages for your passengers?
A. Or for the captain; yes, sir.
Q. At night you are not open for commercial business?
A. Never have done it; only with the captain, sir.
Q. Or official business?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Are you able to get the best results in the daytime or in the night ordinarily?
A. In the night.
Q. Can you tell why that is—why that is so?
A. Owing to a certain state of the atmosphere. I do not know what the state is.
Q. And yet at night you undertake to do no business, or are your customers lacking at night?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. The passengers on the boat do not seek to do business at night?
A. No, sir.
Q. Have you any rules which require you to use your instrument or put it in position to be used for distress calls every hour of the day or any hour of the day?
A. There is nothing in the Marconi system that would detect the signals if the operator is not present.
Q. That is, no warning or alarm?
A. No, sir.
Q. Is that true of the more modern equipment?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. They have an alarm?
A. No, sir.
Q. They have none?
A. No, sir.
Q. What were you doing last Sunday evening about 10 o’clock?
A. Receiving the news from Cape Cod, the long-distance station.
Q. Receiving news from Cape Cod?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What kind of news?
A. General news.
Q. General news for the accommodation for passengers on ship?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Have you specified hours for that purpose?
A. We are not obliged to take the news, sir.
Q. You are not obliged to take it?
A. That is right.
Q. But on this occasion you did take it?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How long did you take it?
A. I did not start to take it.
Q. How far were you from Cape Cod?
A. I could not tell you the exact distance.
Q. About how far? What was the required wave length? Can you tell, or did you do any sending?
A. No transmitting.
Q. No transmitting; just receiving?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. After you finished the Cape Cod business, what did you do then?
A. At the latter end of the news from Cape Cod, he was sending a lot of messages for the Titanic.
Q. What time was that?
A. About 11 o’clock.
Q. What had you been doing just preceding the message from the Titanic?
A. Reporting the day’s communications to the bridge.
Q. Had you closed your station for the night?
A. No.
Q. What do you do when you close your station; anything?
A. No; there is nothing particular done.
Q. Nothing?
A. No.
Q. You do not have to detach any battery wires?
A. Switch the charging battery out, the storage battery. We switch that out for the night.
Q. Switch the storage battery out?
A. Yes.
Q. Does that “kill” the instrument?
A. No.
Q. Can you receive messages with that out?
A. Yes.
Q. But you can not send them?
A. Yes.
Q. You can both receive and send them?
A. Yes.
Q. Well then what in reality have you done when you shift this battery connection?
A. I have taken them off charge, sir.
Q. Does that lessen the likelihood of your getting any signal of any kind?
A. No, sir; not in the least.
Q. I believe you told us how far this equipment on the Carpathia would send a message with accuracy, did you not?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. About 250 miles, I think you said?
A. Yes.
Q. Was there any thunder or lightning or cloud that night?
A. No.
Q. Sunday night?
A. No, sir.
Q. It was clear?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How did you happen to catch this communication from the Titanic?
A. I was looking out for the Parisian, to confirm a previous communication with the Parisian.
Q. You had been in communication with the Parisian that day?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. At what time?
A. I can not say. At some time in the afternoon, sir.
Q. Not a distress signal?
A. Oh, no, sir.
Q. Some commercial or business communication?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How far was the Parisian from you?
A. I do not know, sir.
Q. You have no means of knowing?
A. No, sir.
Q. Her position was not stated?
A. No, sir.
Q. You had been in communication with the Parisian that afternoon?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And this Sunday evening you were looking out for further communication from that boat?
A. No, sir.
Q. Well, how did you happen to be at your instrument?
A. I say, I was confirming, or attempting to confirm a previous communication with the Parisian—I was not sure of her communication.
Q. Did you hear the captain of the Carpathia to-day?
A. No, sir.
Q. He said you were about to retire.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And caught this message rather providentially?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How far had you gotten along in your arrangements to retire?
A. Well, I was about to retire.
Q. Had you disrobed—taken all your clothes?
A. No, sir.
Q. Had you taken off your shoes?
A. No, sir.
Q. Had you taken off any of your clothing?
A. I had my coat off.
Q. When you took your coat off, did you have any instruments attached to your head?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What?
A. Telephones.
Q. How did you happen to leave that on?
A. I was waiting for the Parisian.
Q. How long would you have waited; just long enough to undress?
A. I would have waited a couple of minutes. I had just called the Parisian and was waiting for a reply, if there was one.
Q. And you had just called her?
A. Yes.
Q. And you did not know whether she had gotten it or not?
A. No, sir.
Q. And you were waiting for an acknowledgement?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. So you kept this telephone on your ears, on your head?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. On your head?
A. Yes.
Q. With the hope that before you got into bed you might have your message confirmed?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Was that what you had in mind?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What did you hear at that time?
A. I heard nothing, sir.
Q. How soon? You heard something pretty quick, did you not?
A. No, sir; I went back onto Cape Cod again.
Q. And still left this apparatus on?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you send a message to Cape Cod?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did Cape Cod send a message to you?
A. No, sir.
Q. Then, as a matter of fact, you did not get back to Cape Cod?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How?
A. They were sending it for the trans-Atlantic two-man ships. They were sending the news to the senior ships.
Q. Where?
A. These ships that contribute to the Marconi press.
Q. An intermediate communication, intermediate station?
A. No, sir; Cape Cod, which is the Atlantic station.
Q. You got into communication?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. With one of the Marconi stations?
A. I did not establish it. I was receiving the press communications from Cape Cod.
Q. While you were undressing there?
A. I was not undressing.
Q. After you had taken off your coat?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And then did you sit down to your instrument?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And received this message?
A. I received about four.
Q. In how many minutes?
A. About seven or eight minutes.
Q. You received four in seven or eight minutes?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did that include anything from the Parisian?
A. No, sir.
Q. Simply this Cape Cod relay service?
A. Yes, sir; sending messages for the Titanic. I was taking the messages down with the hope of re-transmitting them the following morning.
Q. Let us understand that a little. When did you first know anything about the Titanic?
A. I had had communication with her late in the afternoon, half past 5 or 6.
Q. A stray communication, or one addressed to the Carpathia?
A. One addressed to the Carpathia.
Q. What did it say?
A. It was a message for one of our passengers aboard.
Q. For whom?
A. Mrs. Marshal.
Q. A commercial message, an official message?
A. A commercial message.
Q. So that was the only message you received from the Titanic in the afternoon. Was the message answered?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you know anything about how far you were from her at that time?
A. No, sir.
Q. Have you no means of knowing?
A. No, sir.
Q. After you got through with this regular business, then what did you do?
A. I called the Titanic.
Q. You called the Titanic yourself?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Who told you to do it?
A. I did it of my own free will.
Q. You did it of your own accord?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What did you say?
A. I asked him if he was aware that Cape Cod was sending a batch of messages for him.
Q. And did they reply?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What did they say?
A. “Come at once.”
Q. Did you gather from that that they had received your communication?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And this was the reply?
A. He said, “Come at once. It is a distress message; C.Q.D.”
Q. Only the three words were used?
A. No, sir, all the lot. The whole message was for me.
Q. When you received that message, what did you do?
A. I confirmed it by asking him if I was to report it to the captain.
Q. Before you reported to the captain you asked him if you were to report it to the captain?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you get an answer?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What did it say?
A. It said, “Yes.”
Q. How did you happen to confirm it?
A. By asking him if—
Q. (interrupting): I know, but what prompted you to confirm it before you delivered it to the captain?
A. Because it is always wise to confirm a message of that description.
Q. Do you always do it?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Are you instructed to do it?
A. No, sir.
Q. Or is that a matter of discretion?
A. It is a matter of discretion.
Q. Had you been misled by messages that were without foundation that prompted you to confirm that message?
A. No, sir.
Q. What would you have done if you had not received any confirmation?
A. I should have reported the communication.
Q. You would have reported it to the captain?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How much time elapsed between the time when you received that distress call and the time you communicated it to the captain?
A. A matter of a couple of minutes.
Q. Only a couple of minutes?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you send any messages after that to the Titanic?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. For whom?
A. For the Titanic.
Q. At the instance of the captain?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What messages?
A. Our position.
Q. What did you say?
A. I simply sent him our position.
Q. Can you state it to the reporter?
A. I can not remember what the position was now.
Q. You can not remember it?
A. No, sir.
Q. But you gave the position of your ship, its longitude; is that the idea?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you did that at the suggestion of the captain?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did he write out a formal message for you?
A. No, sir.
Q. He told you?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you sent it?
A. Yes, sir; he wrote the position out on a little slip of paper.
Q. And you sent that?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you get any reply to that?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How long afterwards?
A. Immediately, sir.
Q. Signed by anyone?
A. No, sir.
Q. What did it say?
A. It simply gave me “Received.”
Q. Is that all?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Signed by the operator or signed by anybody?
A. No, sir.
Q. When did you next hear from the Titanic, or communicate with her?
A. About four minutes afterwards.
Q. Did you communicate with her, or she with you?
A. We communicated with each other.
Q. Who sent the first message?
A. I did.
Q. Four minutes after this last message giving your position?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You sent another?
A. Yes.
Q. What did you say in that?
A. Confirmed both positions, that of the Titanic and ours.
Q. Did you get anything back from that?
A. No, sir; only an acknowledgment.
Q. What did it say?
A. “All right.”
Q. When did you next communicate or receive a communication?
A. A few minutes afterwards.
Q. How many minutes?
A. I could not say, sir, because there was another ship calling the Titanic.
Q. How do you know?
A. Because I heard it.
Q. What did you hear?
A. I heard him calling the Titanic.
Q. I understand, but what was said?
A. There was nothing but the call, sir.
Q. A distress call?
A. No, sir.
Q. Do you know what boat it was?
A. The Frankfurt.
Q. A North German Lloyd boat?
A. I do not know whether it is the North German Lloyd. It is some German line; I do not know which one.
Q. You heard this call?
A. Yes.
Q. The German boat was calling the Titanic?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And did that disarrange your signals?
A. No, sir.
Q. But after that call was finished, then what did you get, if anything?
A. I heard the Olympic calling the Titanic.
Q. Did you hear the Titanic calling the Olympic?
A. No, sir; not at first.
Q. But you heard the Olympic calling the Titanic?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What did the Olympic say?
A. He was calling him and offering a service message.
Q. Offering their service?
A. Offering a service message.
Q. Offering a service message?
A. Yes.
Q. Then what followed?
A. Nothing, for about a half a minute. Everything was quiet.
Q. Nothing for about half a minute?
A. Yes.
Q. By this time you were quite alert to the situation, were you?
A. Yes.
Q. Is that right?
A. Yes.
Q. After this minute, then what?
A. I asked the Titanic if he was aware that the Olympic was calling him, sir.
Q. What was the reply?
A. He said he was not.
Q. He was not aware of it?
A. No, sir.
Q. Then what followed?
A. He told me he could not read him because the rush of air and the escape of steam.
Q. That he could not read him?
A. That he could not read him; yes, sir.
Q. Could not read what?
A. The Olympic.
Q. That he could not read the message from the Olympic because of the rush of air?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And the escape of steam?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What was the next thing you heard?
A. Then the Titanic called the Olympic.
Q. Was there anything urgent about that or anything related to the Titanic?
A. No, sir.
Q. What did you do then?
A. I told the Titanic to call the Baltic.
Q. What followed?
A. The communication was apparently unsatisfactory.
Q. It was apparently unsatisfactory?
A. Yes.
Q. Well, go right ahead and tell us just what occurred as long as you were aboard that ship doing work to the time of the rescue of these people.
A. I was in communication at regular intervals the whole of the time until the last communication gained with the Titanic.
Q. You heard that?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What was said in that message?
A. He told him to come at once; that he was head down. And he sent his position.
Q. And do you know whether he got any reply to that message?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What was it?
A. “Received.” He told him the message was received.
Q. Is that all?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. When did you hear anything again? What happened next?
A. I heard the Baltic calling Cape Race (Newfoundland).
Q. You were in regular communication?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. With the Titanic?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Until the last communication was heard?
A. Yes; until the last communication was heard.
Q. What was the last one?
A. The last one was, “Come quick; our engine room is filling up to the boilers.”
Q. That was the last communication you received?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you make any reply to it?
A. I acknowledged the message and reported it to the captain.
Q. Did you report each of those messages to the captain?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. By leaving your place?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And going forward?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Or by the captain coming to your room?
A. No, sir; I reported on the bridge to the captain.
Q. And this was the last communication you received?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And the reply that was made was to what effect?
A. I simply acknowledged the message and went up to the captain and reported it.
Q. Was any other message sent to them?
A. No, sir.
Q. In saying that you acknowledged the message, you just use the word “received”?
A. No, sir; we called the Titanic by the three-letter code and signed it by our own and gave the signal for “received”—R.D.”
Q. That indicates that the message has been received? Does it indicate any more than that; that it has had attention?
A. No, sir.
Q. So that in response to this last call the only reply they got was “received”?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. But the position of your boat was not stated?
A. No, sir.
Q. I thought I understood the captain to say that one of the last messages told the sinking ship that they were within a certain distance and coming hard, or coming fast.
A. I called him with that message, but I got no acknowledgment.
Q. Just tell us what that message was. You called him with that message?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. We would like to know about that; just tell what it was.
A. The captain told me to tell the Titanic that all our boats were ready and we were coming as hard as we could come, with a double watch on in the engine room, and to be prepared, when we got there, with lifeboats. I got no acknowledgment of that message.
Q. But you sent it?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Whether it was received or not, you don’t know?
A. No, sir.
Q. Let us understand. When you received that last call from the Titanic, that her engine room was filling with water, you say you acknowledged its receipt and took that message to the captain. Did you acknowledge its receipt before you took it to the captain?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Then, after you had taken this message to the captain, you came back to your instrument and sent the message that you have just described?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And to that you received no reply?
A. No, sir.
Q. And you never received any other reply?
A. No, sir.
Q. Or any other word from the ship?
A. No, sir.
Q. After the Carpathia had picked up these lifeboats and started for New York, did you receive messages?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How long did you remain at your post that night?
A. All the night, sir.
Q. How much of the time next day?
A. All the day, sir.
Q. That was Sunday and Monday; how about Monday night?
A. I was on all night again, sir.
Q. And Tuesday?
A. All the time again.
Q. And Tuesday night?
A. I got about a couple or three hours sleep.
Q. You got about two or three hours sleep Tuesday night?
A. Yes.
Q. At what hour?
A. I can not say the hour I fell off.
Q. You fell off to sleep?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Involuntarily?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You do not know what time it was?
A. No, sir.
Q. Or how much you slept?
A. No, sir.
Q. How were you awakened?
A. I don’t know, sir.
Q. When were you awakened?
A. About 20 to half past 4, ship’s time, just as the dawn was coming on; about half past 4 in the morning.
Q. It was nearing dawn?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. That would be Wednesday morning?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Were you at your post all day Wednesday?
A. Yes, sir; with the exception of meals.
Q. And Wednesday night?
A. Yes, sir; the junior man of the Titanic had then been brought up out of the hospital to give me a hand for a while with the wireless.
Q. What was your state of mind or physical condition at that time when you got this relief?
A. I was feeling very tired, and about worked out.
Q. How long did this relief that you got from the Titanic operator continue?
A. He gave me a hand all the way to New York.
Q. All the way to New York?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. During those days beginning with Monday morning, was there an attempt made to communicate with your ship often?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. That was successful?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Of course you would not know whether any attempt were made that was not successful?
A. No, sir.
Q. In other words you have no means of knowing what passed through the air except as it has registered on you instrument?
A. No, sir.
Q. Was there any successful attempt made to communicate with you on Monday? Did you take any messages on Monday?
A. I can not remember that I did on Monday.
Q. Can you remember what you did Tuesday?
A. I kept no record of the whole work; only memorized it.
Q. You kept no record of it?
A. No, sir.
Q. Was there no written record of those messages?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. When was it made up?
A. As the messages were sent.
Q. And received?
A. And received.
Q. So that those are on file with your ship’s office?
A. They are in the Marconi house on the ship, sir.
Q. Was anybody successful in getting into communication with your ship on Monday and Tuesday?
A. I was in communication with some station or other the whole way from the time of the wreck right to New York.
Q. You were in communication with some ship?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. All the way?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. All the way?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And often?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you recall having received any message from the President of the United States?
A. No, sir; I do not remember anything about that.
Q. Do you recall getting into communication with either the Chester or the Salem?
A. With the Chester, sir.
Q. The Chester?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What was the nature of their inquiry?
A. They were asking for a list of the passengers and crew.
Q. Did you comply with their request?
A. I asked the captain. The names of the first and second class passengers and the crew had been sent off previously.
Q. They had been sent to whom?
A. The names of the first and second class passengers had been sent to the Olympic, and the list of the crew had been sent to the Minnewaska.
Q. And therefore you did not duplicate those lists?
A. No, sir.
Q. Was there any message from the Chester?
A. They sent some message, but I can not remember whether they were replied to or not. The first message was replied to.
Q. Did this wireless instrument or equipment work satisfactorily, so far as you know?
A. On the Carpathia?
Q. On the Carpathia.
A. Yes. It worked satisfactorily for what it was, sir.
Q. Did it seem to be an impaired equipment?
A. An old type.
By Mr. UHLER:
What does he mean by that—that the field was limited or the type of machine?
By Senator SMITH:
Q. The type of machine.
A. The type of machine. Both the field of communication and the type of machine.
By Mr. UHLER:
Q. Both were unsatisfactory?
A. Yes, sir.
By Senator SMITH:
Q. The field was limited by the type, was it not?
A. Yes, sir.
By Mr. UHLER:
What was the power of the machine on the Carpathia?
By Senator SMITH:
Q. Answer the question. What was the power? What wave length was used?
By Mr. UHLER:
No; what was the kilowatt?
By Senator SMITH:
Q. What power did you use?
A. I can not tell you the kilowatt; it varied according to the source of supply from the ship’s main.
Q. I think I will just let you stand aside for a while, but we may want you in the morning; will you be here?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. I should like to have you here as early as 10 o’clock to-morrow morning.
By Mr. GRIGGS:
Shall we try to bring down the junior operator of the Titanic at the same time?
By Senator SMITH:
I wish you would.
By Mr. GRIGGS:
We will have him here in the morning.
By Senator SMITH:
Thank you.
Q. Do you know what time you received the message from the Salem
A. That is hard to say, sir, but it would be about half past 9 to 10 o’clock in the morning.
Q. Which morning? Tuesday morning?
A. Tuesday morning.
Q. About half past 9?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. That is all from you to-night. I will now call Mr. Crawford.
