He had done everything he could, he said,
to have the country informed as quickly as possible of the
details of the disaster. That was why he was particularly
glad for the narratives of such important witnesses as the
operators to receive publication, regardless of the papers that
published them.
He repeated the testimony of Cottam that every effort
had been made to get legitimate dispatches ashore. The
cruiser Chester, he said, had been answered as fully as
possible, though it was not known at the time that its queries
came from the President of the United States. The Salem,
he said, had never got in touch with the Carpathia operator.
Senator Newlands suggested that the telegrams, some
signed by the name of Mr. Sammis and some with the name
of Marconi, directing Cottam to "keep his mouth shut"
and hold out for four figures on his story, was sent only as
the Carpathia was entering New York harbor, when there
was no longer need for sending official or private messages
from the rescuing ship. There had been an impression before,
he said, that the messages had been sent to Cottam when
the ship was far at sea, when they might have meant that
he was to hold back messages relieving the anxiety of those
on shore.
Pages:
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331