The Tragedy of the Titanic And Its Lesson - 1912

The RMS Titanic 1912. GGA Image ID # 105441494e

Introduction

"The Tragedy of the Titanic and Its Lesson," published in the American Review of Reviews in May 1912, explores the shocking and preventable nature of the Titanic disaster, delving into the technical marvel that the ship represented and the subsequent catastrophic failure that led to the loss of over 1,500 lives. The article provides a detailed account of the ship's engineering achievements, the circumstances of its sinking, and the broader implications for maritime safety. It highlights the need for international regulations, accountability, and a reassessment of the public's demand for speed and luxury over safety. The narrative paints a stark picture of the overconfidence placed in modern technology and calls for critical reforms to prevent future tragedies.

The Titanic, a marvel of engineering, was the largest ship in the world, stretching an impressive 882 feet 6 inches in length and 92 feet 6 inches in width. It boasted four majestic funnels, each towering 81 feet 6 inches above the boat deck. The ship was a sight to behold with its 11 steel decks and 30 watertight bulkheads.

The Titanic, a symbol of human ambition, was launched in Belfast on 31 May 1911. With a registered tonnage of 45,000 and an actual displacement of 66,000, it was a behemoth of the seas. It was designed to accommodate 2,500 passengers and 860 crew members, a feat of engineering. The approximate cost of this grandeur was a staggering $7,500,000.

The sinking of the Titanic, a transatlantic liner of unparalleled grandeur, with more than 1,500 of her passengers and crew, was a tragedy of monumental proportions. It stands as one of the most appalling disasters in the entire history of man's contact with the sea.

Undoubtedly, in the number and eminence of its victims, it was the worst calamity ever befell sea-borne passenger travel.

The RMS Titanic as She Lay in Belfast Harbor After Launching. The First Photograph Taken of the Great Liner. The American Review of Reviews (May 1912) p. 549. © American Press Association, New York, 1911. GGA Image ID # 10541b4135

Sunday, 14 April 1912

The White Star Liner Titanic, the largest vessel afloat, was fitted with all the comfort and luxury that money and modern invention could devise and equipped with devices that her builders boasted made her unsinkable on her maiden voyage from Liverpool. At the same time, about 1000 miles southeast of Halifax and 500 miles south of Newfoundland, on Sunday night, 14 April, she collided with an iceberg and four hours later sank to the bottom.

In response to her wireless message for help flashed to Cape Race, Newfoundland, and from there, sent to all the neighboring stations and vessels, many steamers at once rushed to find her.

The Rescue Ship RMS Carpathia Arrives

At daybreak on Monday, the Cunard liner Carpathia arrived at the disaster scene and picked up twenty boatloads of survivors, numbering about 700.

Captain Smith, his chief officers, and many passengers eminent in art, letters, finance, the church, public life, and society perished. Most of these survivors were women and children. The stringent law of the sea and Anglo-Saxon chivalry demanded that women and children first.

When the other ships, which had responded to the signals for help, arrived upon the scene, they found, so they reported, nothing but wreckage and ice. These are the bare facts of this appalling tragedy.

From the testimony of the survivors who reached New York on the Carpathia on 18 April, it is evident that the Titanic, rushing at a speed of 23 knots, was side-swiped by an immense iceberg, the edge of the berg, according to one vivid account, entering the port bow of the ship and gouging out her side like a gigantic can-opener.

Safety and Precautions Taken

Modern ocean liners take extraordinary precautions against disaster from a collision. There are also safeguards against icebergs, the chief one being the submarine thermometer, which notes any sudden temperature change. This instrument can detect an iceberg ten miles distant.

This has been an abnormal year for icebergs. Referring to the disaster of the Titanic, Sir Ernest Shackelton, the Antarctic explorer, stated that this has been particularly true regarding the downward drift of ice from the North. Sir Ernest explains that the great danger is not from those extending high above the water but from the almost submerged bergs.

Remember that a polar iceberg is seven-eighths below water and one-eighth above. When a high one topples over in getting into a warmer current, it is practically all submerged. It is as dangerous to a vessel going at high speed as a submerged rock.

Map Showing Where The RMS Titanic Sank on 15 April 1912. (The broken lines indicate how the other steamers answered the wireless calls for help). The American Review of Reviews (May 1912) p. 551. © New York Times. GGA Image ID # 105425a1c3

The reports indicate that the Titanic sank at 41.46 North and 50.14 West latitudes. This is above the latitude of New York (400 45') and, therefore, about 1600 miles due east.

Immediately after the news of the disaster had reached New York and London, the managers of the great transatlantic steamship companies announced an immediate change in the eastern course for vessels crossing the Atlantic.

Wireless telegraphy saved the 800 passengers who lived to tell the tale. The presumption is that ships in the area would have rescued everybody on board if any of the responding vessels had been within two hours' steaming distance of the Titanic when her operator sent out her first call for help.

The operator at Cape Race, Newfoundland, at once spread the news to all the vessels, which his charts and records told him were near the doomed ship.

The Illusion of Safety Through Technology

The world had come to believe that the tremendous modern ocean liners, with their watertight compartments and the officers' and crew's rigid discipline and vigilance, were practically secure against destruction, even after the most violent shock.

Responsibility for the Disaster

Captain Smith of the Titanic was striving to make the first voyage of his new ship noteworthy for speed. Until all the facts are known, it is fair and reasonable to withhold judgment about this disaster's responsibility. Specific facts must be admitted, however, and certain inferences are fair.

He had been warned by a French liner the day before and by a Hamburg-American liner less than two hours before the collision that several large icebergs were in that part of the ocean to which his ship was rushing at more than twenty miles an hour.

The Titanic's Captain, one of the most experienced in transatlantic travel, did not, apparently, even avoid the region of the icebergs. He steered directly through it at a speed of which the crushing of his ship's frame to the extent that sent her to the bottom in four hours is conclusive evidence.

One of the United States Revenue cutter service engineers estimates that, at half speed, the impact of the Titanic against the iceberg must have been equal to a broadside of 30 twelve-inch projectiles or the concentrated fire of three such dreadnaughts as the USS Florida.

One cannot deny that we must lay some blame for the terrific speed and insufficient attention to safety devices on modem steamships at the door of the traveling public itself.

The companies comply with the law, inadequate as it is proven to be. The indictment of the public's part in the responsibility is well put in the words of Stanley Bowdle, a marine engineer and member of the Ohio Constitutional Convention, who characterizes the loss of life on the Titanic as a sacrifice to degenerate luxury.

International Regulations

In advocating international legislation to regulate the speed and safety equipment of ocean-going passenger vessels, Mr. Bowdle says: The speed of this vessel on its first trip, with but partially tried-out machinery, was criminal.

Its criminality is relieved only by the fact that the passengers using such degenerate vessels demand and enjoy such speed. It is asserted that a sufficient number of lifeboats to carry an average passenger list is unnecessary and cannot be maintained.

This is absurd since the great deck room allows tennis courts and golf links. Such steamers are degenerate in size, foolish in enjoyment, and criminal in speed.

While it may be that the Titanic's equipment of lifeboats, life rafts, and life preservers was technically within the requirements of the law, it is pretty evident that it is not a safe thing for any vessel to undertake an ocean voyage with safety appliances that can, under no circumstances, provide for more than one-third of the number of human souls she carries.

The survivors are almost precisely one-third of those on board the ill-fated vessel. We must infer that the remainder went to their death because there was no adequate provision for their safety.

Late last summer, a heated debate took place in the British Parliament over a bill proposing to compel the White Star Line to provide enough lifeboats and rafts on each of its ships to carry all its passengers and crew, but, said the dispatch, the pressure was brought to bear so that the bill was pigeonholed.

The Myth of the Unsinkable Ship

Experts in shipbuilding are now telling us that an unsinkable ship is impossible. The United States Government ought to investigate this terrible calamity, which has brought 1500 human beings and $15,000,000 worth of property to a watery grave two miles below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.

Resolutions have been introduced in both Houses of Congress, calling for a rigorous investigation. Demand also has been made in the House of Representatives at Washington and the House of Commons at London for some action by the next Hague Conference, which shall result in the agreement upon a lifeboat code and a treaty of uniform observance binding upon every contracting power.

"The Tragedy of the 'Titanic'" In American Review of Reviews, Volume XLV, No. 5, New York, May 1912, Page 549-551.

Key Points

1. Engineering Marvel and Overconfidence: The RMS Titanic was a colossal engineering feat, representing the pinnacle of modern shipbuilding. It was designed to be virtually unsinkable, with multiple watertight compartments and advanced safety measures. However, this belief in its invincibility led to a dangerous complacency.

2. Circumstances of the Disaster: On its maiden voyage, the Titanic struck an iceberg while speeding through icy waters despite receiving multiple warnings. The collision resulted in a massive breach in its hull, leading to its sinking in less than four hours. The ship's failure to avoid the iceberg and the inadequacy of safety measures, such as lifeboats, contributed significantly to the high death toll.

3. Lack of Adequate Safety Measures: Despite being equipped with numerous luxury amenities, the Titanic lacked sufficient lifeboats for all passengers and crew. The belief that the ship was unsinkable led to a disregard for critical safety requirements, highlighting a grave oversight in maritime regulations.

4. Call for International Regulations and Accountability: The article emphasizes the need for international legislation to regulate the speed and safety equipment of ocean-going vessels. It points to the broader culpability of the public and shipping companies for prioritizing luxury and speed over safety.

5. Criticism of Speed and Modern Maritime Practices: The tragedy is characterized as a "sacrifice to degenerate luxury," with speed and indulgence taking precedence over safety protocols. The article critiques the widespread demand for rapid transatlantic crossings, even at the risk of passenger safety.

6. The Myth of the Unsinkable Ship: The sinking of the Titanic shattered the myth that modern engineering could overcome all natural forces. Experts began to publicly refute the idea that any ship could be unsinkable, challenging prior assumptions about maritime safety.

7. Proposals for Future Maritime Safety: In response to the disaster, there were calls for more robust lifeboat regulations, comprehensive international agreements on ship safety, and governmental investigations to ensure stricter adherence to safety protocols.

Summary

"The Tragedy of the Titanic and Its Lesson" serves as both a chronicle of the disaster and a critique of the prevailing attitudes toward maritime safety and luxury at the time. The article details the Titanic's construction and capabilities, underscoring the overconfidence that led to its downfall. Despite warnings of icebergs, the ship's speed was not reduced, and the subsequent collision caused irreparable damage. The lack of adequate lifeboats and safety measures further exacerbated the disaster, leading to significant loss of life. The piece calls for international regulations to prevent future tragedies and criticizes the prioritization of luxury and speed over passenger safety. The article also dispels the notion that any ship could be genuinely unsinkable, emphasizing the need for a more realistic and safety-conscious approach to maritime travel.

Conclusion

The Titanic disaster serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of human arrogance and the misplaced faith in technology. "The Tragedy of the Titanic and Its Lesson" highlights the need for a paradigm shift in how safety and comfort are balanced in maritime travel. The article's call for international regulations, better safety measures, and a reevaluation of public and corporate priorities remains relevant. The tragedy of the Titanic is not just a tale of a ship lost to the sea but a powerful lesson in the consequences of overconfidence and the neglect of fundamental safety principles. As the world reflects on this catastrophe, it must commit to ensuring that such an avoidable loss of life never happens again.