Call Me Ismay (7 page)

Sir Rufus rubbed his chin for a moment before continuing. “The White Star Line runs from New York to Liverpool, does it?”

“Yes.”

“And New York to Southampton?”

“Yes, and to many other ports as well.” Ismay was silently grateful that Sir Rufus hadn't phrased his question as 'Southampton to New York.'

“The White Star Line and these other vessels which are owned originally by British companies still run under the British flag, do they not?”

“Yes.” Ismay was trying to sound helpful without being too eager.

The Attorney-General leaned in. “Now, Mr. Ismay. I want you to tell me about the building of the
Olympic
and the
Titanic
, the two sister vessels. I am not going to ask you the details of the construction, I am going to keep that for some of our more skilled witnesses-” there seemed to be a derisive chuckle or two in the Hall, Ismay feared- “and those who have had more to do with it and who know, but generally speaking- well, first of all, have you any financial interest by way of shareholding or otherwise in the shipbuilding firm of Harland and Wolff?”

“Absolutely none.”

“That is what I thought.” Sir Rufus glanced at his notes for a brief moment before continuing. “Now one other general question with regard to the construction of the vessels- are they constructed under contract at a lump sum in the ordinary course, or are they constructed at cost price plus a percentage?”

“Cost price, plus a percentage. We build no ships by contract at all.”

“So, what it amounts to, if I follow you correctly, is that there is no limit placed by you upon the cost of the vessel?” Sir Rufus's tone carried a hint of surprise.

“Absolutely none. All we ask them to do is to produce the very finest ship they possibly can. The question of money has never been considered at all.” A few of the reporters cast a furtive glance amongst their colleagues: was Ismay truly about to go into an advertising mode?

“And the
Olympic
and
Titanic
were both built upon those terms?”

“Exactly.”

“Will you give me approximately what the cost of the
Titanic
was?” Sir Rufus asked, expectantly.

“A million and a half sterling,” Ismay replied. Once again, a rumble of significance and recognition echoed in the Hall.

“Now, you were on board the
Titanic
on this voyage?” Sir Rufus asked, taking on a decidedly more interrogative tone.

“I was.” Ismay felt the energy from the horde of the reporters as they shifted excitedly in their seats, their pencils at the ready.

“You sailed in her as a passenger?”

“I did.”

“You joined her first, I think, at Southampton?”

“Yes.”

“She carried mail as well as passengers?”

“Yes.”

“I only want to ask you one question with reference to that. Under that contract, are you bound to keep up to a certain rate of speed?”

“No.” Clearly, Sir Rufus was trying to introduce the possibility that commerce might have played a role in the disaster, but Ismay replied with certainty.

“Now, on Sunday, the 14th of April, do you remember dining in the evening?”

“I do.” Ismay steeled himself as he realized the chaos and horror of that night were about to be revisited.

“On this very fateful day?” Sir Rufus called out.

“Yes.”

“Did the captain dine with you?”

“He did not,” Ismay grimaced ever so slightly. The captain Sir Rufus was referencing wasn't a distant figurehead to Ismay; he had a name- Edward James Smith, known as 'E.J.' to White Star Line management. Ismay had known E.J. for decades, and was still trying to comprehend the fact that his old friend had been consumed by the unforgiving sea.

“However, the captain
was
in the restaurant dining, I think, with somebody else?”

“Yes, I believe he was- in fact, I know he was.” Ismay shifted his weight on his feet for a bit, uncomfortable.

“In any case, you say he was not dining with you that evening?”

“No, I never spoke to him at all, I had nothing to do with him at all.” Ismay, out of the corner of his eye, saw dozens of pencils scribbling away furiously.

Sir Rufus seemed to collect his thoughts for a moment before continuing. “You were a passenger on the vessel, but I suppose you travelled as a passenger because of your interest in the vessel and in the company which owned it?”

“Of course I was interested in the ship.”

“I mean, you had nothing to do once you were in New York- you travelled because you wanted to make the first passage on the
Titanic
?”

“Partly, but I can always find something to do.” Ismay cringed slightly, wondering if he'd misheard the question.

Sir Rufus clarified: “You mean to say, you were not travelling on the
Titanic
because you wanted to go to New York, but because you wanted to travel upon the maiden trip of the
Titanic?”

“Yes,” Ismay verified, grateful for the clarification.

“Because in your capacity as managing director, you desired to see how the vessel behaved while at sea, I suppose?”

“Naturally.”

“That was the real object of your travelling on the
Titanic
?”

“Yes, to observe the ship.”

“What I want to put to you,” Sir Rufus intoned, seeming to build his questioning as a bit more forceful, “Is that you were not there as an ordinary passenger?”

Ismay seemed to answer a bit too quickly. “So far as the navigation of the ship was concerned, yes.”

As some of his colleagues on the Board of Trade stole suspicious glances at each other, Sir Rufus replied, “I will ask you some questions later on about all that. I am not suggesting you controlled the navigation, but what I suggest to you is that it would not be right to describe you as really travelling on that ship as an ordinary passenger, because of the interest you had in the
Titanic
, and because of your natural watchfulness as to the behaviour of the
Titanic
on her first voyage?”

“I looked upon myself simply as an ordinary passenger.” Ismay cut his eyes from side to side for about for a moment, startled, as he thought he could make out exclamations of disbelief coming from the spectators.

The Attorney General chose his words carefully. “You have told us in what capacity you were travelling across the Atlantic?”

“Yes.”

Lord Mersey suddenly broke in. “Did you pay your fare?”

Ismay paused for a moment, embarrassed, feeling as though he'd just been reeled in. “No, I did not.”

Sir Rufus quickly resumed, allowing Ismay to save face. “Now I think we understand what you mean when you say you were travelling as a passenger. Now on this day, on the 14th, did you get information from the captain of ice reports?”

Ismay coughed vigorously before answering. “The captain handed me a Marconi message which he had received from the
Baltic
on that Sunday.”

The Attorney General seemed startled. “He handed you the actual message as it was delivered to him from the
Baltic
?”

“Yes, sir,” Ismay replied, confused and uncomfortable.
How can the Attorney General not be aware of that ghastly awkward exchange I had with the Americans at their inquiry?
he wondered.

“Do you remember at what time it was?”

“I- I think it was just before lunch.”

“On
the
Sunday?”

“Yes, on the Sunday.” Ismay replied, trying hard to sound truthful, but not frightened.

The Attorney-General fell silent for a moment, shuffling through his notes, before turning to Lord Mersey. “Your Lordship remembers the copy of the message from the
Baltic
. I am going to hand you a little later a document which gives the messages in their proper order of dates, but this copied message is the one I am referring to now. I will read it.”

Ismay's mind was reeling; the Board of Trade certainly
had
to have known of the whole telegram affair. He had been thoroughly humiliated at the American Inquiry, telling every detail of a story he knew sounded implausible and yet as far as he had known, it was the truth. His eyes blinked rapidly as the Attorney General continued.

“It is sent at 11:52 a.m. to Captain Smith,
Titanic
: 'Have had moderate, variable winds and clear, fine weather since leaving. Greek steamer
Athenai
reports low on coal, also passing icebergs and large quantity of field ice today...' If your Lordship will take this list you will see how convenient it is,” Sir Rufus stated, as he offered up a copy to Lord Mersey. “We will have some more printed to hand up to the assessors.”

The Attorney General then continued. “Now, if your Lordship would like to complete this whilst you have got it before you, you will find, if you turn to the bottom of the page, the answer: 'Time received 12:55 p.m., to the commander of the
Baltic.
Thanks for your message and good wishes. Had fine weather since leaving, Smith.'” Sir Rufus turned his attention back to Ismay. “Now what I want to understand from you is this- that message was handed to you by Captain Smith, you say?”

“Yes.”

“He handed it to you because you were the managing director of the company?”

“I do not know, it... it was a matter of information.”

“Information which he would not give to everybody, but which he gave to you,” Sir Rufus replied, his eyes narrowing. “There is not the least doubt about it, is there?”

“No, I do not think so.” For the first time since the proceedings began- and he had been battling the urge to do so for several minutes- Ismay pulled out a handkerchief and patted it gently to his forehead.

“He handed it to you, and you read it, I suppose?”

“Yes.”

“Did he say anything to you about it?”

“Not a word.”

Sir Rufus placed down the papers he had been shuffling throughout the testimony and addressed Ismay directly. “He merely handed it to you, and you put it in your pocket after you had read it?”

“Yes, I glanced at it very casually,” Ismay stated, quickly clearing his throat. “I was on deck at the time.”

“Had he handed any message to you before this one?”

“No.”

“So this was the first message he had handed to you on this voyage?”

“Yes- I daresay the only message he handed to me while on
Titanic,
really
.
”

“The
only
message,” Sir Rufus repeated, and became more animated in his questioning of Ismay. “And when he handed this message to you- when the captain of the ship came to
you
, the managing director, and put into your hands the Marconigram, it was for you to read?”