The Inquiry That Began in a Hotel

Name: The Inquiry That Began in a Hotel
Genre: Documentary

One day after the survivors landed, an American senator opened an investigation before crucial witnesses could disperse.

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Transcript

The Titanic Senate inquiry began at the Waldorf-Astoria the day after survivors landed.
To understand the inquiry, go back: Titanic left Southampton, the largest, most sumptuous liner afloat.
On the fourth day, an iceberg struck; Titanic sank at 2:20 a.m. on April 15th, 1912.
Senator William A. Smith chaired the Senate hearings.
On April 19th, 1912, the Senate hearings began at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
The proceedings later moved to Washington, into the first hearing room of the Russell Senate Office Building.
In all, 82 witnesses testified before the Senate subcommittee.
Their questions reached lifeboats, ice warnings, Titanic’s speed, and distress calls.
Ice reports had circulated daily, and the Amerika warning passed through Titanic’s radio room.
The testimony also examined class treatment and nearby ships that failed to answer distress calls.
The U.S. and British governments conducted hearings into how the disaster occurred.
The Senate records provided the bridge officers’ exact words before the collision.

Among the 82 witnesses, the most haunting evidence would preserve the Titanic bridge officers’ own words before impact.

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