CRITICISM FOR CAPTAIN LORD.
Regarding the part played after the disaster by Captain Lord, of the steamship Californian, Senator Smith declares that, while it is not a pleasant duty to criticize the conduct of others, the plain truth should be told. Referring to the testimony of repeated signals given from the Californian with Morse lights, he declared:
“Most of the witnesses of the ill-fated vessel before the committee saw plainly the light, which Captain Lord says was displayed for nearly two hours after the accident, while the captain and some of the officers of the Titanic directed the lifeboats to pull for that light and return with the empty boats to the side of the ship.
“Why did the Californian display its Morse signal lamp from the moment of the collision continuously for nearly two hours if they saw nothing? And the signals which were visible to Mr. Gill at 12.30 o’clock and afterward, and which were also seen by the captain and officer of the watch, should have excited more solicitude than was displayed by the officers of that vessel, and the failure of Captain Lord to arouse the wireless operator on his ship, who could have easily ascertained the name of the vessel in distress, and reached her in time to avert loss of life, places a tremendous responsibility upon this officer from which it will be very difficult for him to escape.
“Had he been as vigilant in the movement of his vessel as he was active in displaying his own signal lamp, there is a very strong probability that every human life that was sacrificed through this disaster could have been saved. The dictates of humanity should have prompted vigilance under such conditions, and the law of Great Britain, giving effect to Article II of the Brussels convention in regard to assistance and salvage at sea, is as follows:
“‘The master or person in charge of a vessel shall, so far as he can do so without serious danger to his own vessel, her crew and her passengers (if any), render assistance to every person, even if such person be a subject of a foreign state at war with his Majesty, who is found at sea in danger of being lost, and if he fails to do so, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.’