The Sinking of the Titanic
ONE of the most awful disasters that has ever occurred on the high seas, was the sinking of the Titanic on April 15, at about 2:20 A.M., after having been struck by an iceberg about three hours before. She was in command of one of the most proficient officers that could be found to walk the bridge of an ocean liner, Captain E. J. Smith. He had been promoted to one after another of these large ships as they had been built of ever-increasing size. And even after she was struck by the iceberg, her venerable captain laughed at the idea of her going to the bottom, for was she not the "unsinkable Titanic"! The Titanic and her twin sister, the Olympic, were the acme of twentieth century ship-building, both for massive strength and luxurious comfort. It was considered that such ships could safely encounter any storm or other difficulty at sea, and with their six water-tight bulkheads they would still be able to float, no matter what they might meet in the way of disaster. The increasing size and speed, as well as the safety, of ocean-going vessels, has been one of the greatest marvels of this marvelous age. The Britannia of 1840 was 207 feet long, with a speed of 8.5 knots; the Asia of 1850 was 266 feet long, and her speed 12.5; then followed the Scotia of 1862, length 379 feet; the Bothnia of 1874, length 420 feet; the Servia of 1881, length 515 feet; the Ivernia of 1900, length 580 feet; the Campania of 1893, length 600 feet; the Corona of 1905, length 650 feet; the Oceanic, length 704 feet; the Lusitania and the Mauritania, each 790 feet in length, these three built about 1907; and these were followed in 1911-12 by the Olympic and the Titanic, each 832 feet and six inches. And now German ship-builders are projecting a ship that is to be 915 feet, and the emperor is urging them not to allow any builders to exceed them in size, speed, and general efficiency. The ambition is to build ships 1,000 feet long or over. And the speed of the ships of 1840 has been increased more than threefold. It seems to be very evident that it was not the size of the Titanic that was the cause of her ruin. It is generally affirmed that she should not have taken the awful risk of the northern route, where we may be very sure of encountering icebergs at this season of the year. And one of the best naval architects of the country thinks that she must have struck the iceberg a glazing blow with her sides; for if she had struck it with her prow, it would merely have crumpled her up some in front, but would not have destroyed enough of her water-tight compartments to cause her to sink. Modern ship-builders have been very successful in strengthening vessels so that they can take an inconceivable blow on the prow; but a wooden pier has been known to rip the steel from the sides of the modern ship as "a knife takes the scales from a fish," when the vessel is struck on her beam ends. This expert says that the weak point of the modern ship is in not being able to take the strong blows on her beams that she can readily take with her prow, and that this phase of the matter should receive close scientific study. Another defect in the equipment of the Titanic is the failure to supply her with the proper number of life-boats. She had only sufficient life-boat capacity for one in four of her passengers. She was long enough in going down for all on board to have been taken off if she had been provided with the boats. This is true generally of the ocean liners. The work that wireless telegraphy did in connection with the sinking of the ship is another tribute to the material progress of this time. Had the accident occurred a few years ago, the vessel might have gone down, and the icebergs, large and small, together with the cold and the lack of clothing for those that were taken off in the boats, might have caused every individual to perish, and the world would never have known what had been the fate of the ship. But as soon as the crash with the iceberg came, the wireless began to sound the distress signal, the longitude and latitude of the sinking ship were given, and within a few moments of time the assuring news was flashed to the shore that vessels nearest her were hastening to her assistance. Among those that sought to reach her was her monster twin sister, the Olympic. Lessons like this should teach us how small we are, and how powerless, when even some of the very insignificant forces of nature are brought against us. That iceberg was a very little thing, when compared with some of the great things of creation, and yet it was sufficient to crush without effort one of the greatest achievements the human family has ever been able to produce. The night of the disaster was a "gala evening" on the ship, and the passengers had given themselves up to the vanities of pleasure. The great wealth that many of the passengers possessed had been made to bear its part in the revelries of the night; and right in the midst of it, with never a moment to lay aside their insufficient evening clothes, they had to be hurried to the life-boats. How few there are who realize that this whole world is drifting in a position that is very similar to that occupied by the Titanic just before she struck the iceberg! Are we in touch with the life-boats that will save us when the final crash comes?