The sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 14–15, 1912 resulted in an inquiry by a subcommittee of the Commerce Committee of the United States Senate, chaired by Senator William Alden Smith. The hearings began in New York on April 19, 1912, later moving to Washington, D.C., concluding on May 25, 1912, with a return visit to New York.

There were a total of 18 days of official investigation. Smith and seven other senators questioned surviving passengers and crew, along with people who had helped in the rescue. More than 80 witnesses gave testimony or deposited affidavits. Subjects covered included the ice warnings received, the inadequate number of lifeboats, the handling of the ship and its speed, Titanics distress calls, and the handling of the evacuation of the ship.

The subcommittee's report was presented to the United States Senate on May 28, 1912. Its recommendations, along with those of the British inquiry that concluded a few months later, led to changes in safety practices following the disaster.

Background

The sinking of , a trans-Atlantic passenger liner owned and operated by the White Star Line, occurred in the early hours of April 15, 1912, while the ship was on its maiden voyage from Southampton, United Kingdom, to New York City, United States. The sinking was caused by a collision with an iceberg in the North Atlantic some 700 nautical miles east of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Over 1,500 passengers and crew died, with some 710 survivors in Titanics lifeboats rescued by a short time later.

There was initially some confusion in both the US and the UK over the extent of the disaster, with some newspapers at first reporting that the ship and the passengers and crew were safe. By the time Carpathia reached New York, it had become clear that Titanic, reputed to be unsinkable, had sunk and many had died. Official inquiries were set up in both countries to investigate the circumstances of the disaster.

Formation

When news of the disaster reached Senator William Alden Smith, he saw an opportunity to establish an inquiry to investigate marine safety issues. Smith, who was a Republican Senator for Michigan, had previously investigated railroad safety issues and had sponsored many of the safety and operating regulations passed by Congress to govern the operations of the American rail industry. He realized the need for rapid action if a US inquiry was to be possible before the surviving passengers and crew dispersed and returned home. He first attempted to contact US President William Howard Taft, but was told by the President's secretary that no action was intended.

Despite this, Smith took the initiative and on April 17, 1912, he addressed the Senate and proposed a resolution that would grant the Committee on Commerce powers to establish a hearing to investigate the sinking. Smith's resolution passed, and fellow Senator Knute Nelson, chair of the Commerce Committee, appointed Smith as chair of a subcommittee to carry out the hearings. The following day Smith met with President Taft, who had just received the news that his friend and military advisor Archibald Butt was not on the list of survivors. Taft and Smith arranged additional measures related to the inquiry, including a naval escort for Carpathia to ensure that no one left the ship before it docked.

That afternoon, Smith, fellow senator and subcommittee member Francis G. Newlands, and other officials traveled by train to New York, planning to meet Carpathia as it docked on the evening of 18 April 1912. It was already known that J. Bruce Ismay, chairman and managing director of White Star Line, had survived, and the intention was to serve subpoenas on Ismay and the surviving officers and crew, requiring them to remain in the United States and give testimony at the inquiry. Smith and his colleagues boarded Carpathia and informed Ismay that he would be required to testify before the subcommittee the following morning. The hearings began on 19 April 1912 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York, and later moved to Washington, D.C., where they were held in the Russell Senate Office Building.

Committee Seven senators served on the subcommittee: three Republicans and three Democrats in addition to Smith as chair. The other six senators were Jonathan Bourne (Republican, Oregon), Theodore E. Burton (Republican, Ohio), Duncan U. Fletcher (Democrat, Florida), Francis G. Newlands (Democrat, Nevada), George Clement Perkins (Republican, California), and Furnifold McLendel Simmons (Democrat, North Carolina). The composition of the subcommittee was carefully chosen to represent the conservative, moderate and liberal wings of the two parties.

Questioning was carried out by various members of the committee at various times, and not all seven senators were present for each meeting. The work of the committee was dominated by Smith, who personally conducted the questioning of all of the key witnesses. This caused some tension among the members of the committee and made him a number of enemies, as it was interpreted as an attempt to seize the limelight. Some members attended later hearings infrequently as there was little for them to do.

Testimony

During 18 days of official investigations, punctuated by recesses, testimony was recorded from over 80 witnesses. These included surviving passengers and crew members, as well as captains and crew members of other ships in the vicinity, expert witnesses, and various officials and others involved in receiving and transmitting the news of the disaster. The evidence submitted varied from spoken testimony and questioning, to the deposition of correspondence and affidavits. Subjects covered included the ice warnings received, the inadequate, but legal, number of lifeboats, the handling of the ship and its speed, Titanics distress calls, and the handling of the evacuation of the ship.

Surviving officials, crew, and passengers who were questioned or provided evidence included J. Bruce Ismay (who was the first to be questioned); the most senior surviving officer, Charles Lightoller (Second Officer on Titanic); the lookout who sounded the alarm, Frederick Fleet; the surviving wireless operator, Harold Bride; and first-class passenger Archibald Gracie IV.

Those that testified from among the captains and crew of other ships included Arthur Rostron (Captain of Carpathia), Harold Cottam (wireless operator on Carpathia), Stanley Lord (Captain of ), and Herbert Haddock (Captain of ). Expert witnesses, speaking or corresponding on subjects such as radio communications, iceberg formation, and newspaper reporting, included Guglielmo Marconi (Chairman of the Marconi Company), George Otis Smith (Director of the United States Geological Survey), and Melville Elijah Stone (General Manager of the Associated Press).

Others called to give testimony included Phillip A. S. Franklin, vice president of International Mercantile Marine Co., the shipping consortium headed by J. P. Morgan that controlled White Star Line. The inquiry concluded with Smith visiting Titanics sister ship Olympic in port in New York on 25 May 1912, where he interviewed some members of the crew and inspected the ship's system of watertight doors and bulkheads, which was identical to that of Titanic.

Report and conclusions The final report was presented to the United States Senate on May 28, 1912. It was nineteen pages long, with 44 pages of exhibits, and summarised 1,145 pages of testimony and affidavits. Its recommendations, along with those of the British inquiry that concluded on 3 July 1912, led to many changes in safety practices following the disaster. The report's key findings were:

A lack of emergency preparations had left Titanics passengers and crew in "a state of absolute unpreparedness", and the evacuation had been chaotic: "No general alarm was given, no ship's officers formally assembled, no orderly routine was attempted or organized system of safety begun." The ship's safety and life-saving equipment had not been properly tested. Titanics Captain Edward Smith had shown an "indifference to danger [that] was one of the direct and contributing causes of this unnecessary tragedy." The lack of lifeboats was the fault of the British Board of Trade, "to whose laxity of regulation and hasty inspection the world is largely indebted for this awful tragedy." The SS Californian had been "much nearer [to Titanic] than the captain is willing to admit" and the British Government should take "drastic action" against him for his actions. J. Bruce Ismay had not ordered Captain Smith to put on extra speed, but Ismay's presence on board may have contributed to the captain's decision to do so. Third-class passengers had not been prevented from reaching the lifeboats, but had in many cases not realised until it was too late that the ship was sinking.

The report was strongly critical of established seafaring practices and the roles that Titanics builders, owners, and crew had played in contributing to the disaster. It highlighted the complacency that had been prevalent in the shipping industry and the British Board of Trade. However, it did not find IMM or the White Star Line negligent under existing maritime laws, as they had merely followed standard practice, and the disaster could thus only be categorised as an "act of God".

Senator Smith made a number of recommendations for new regulations to be imposed on passenger vessels wishing to use American ports:

Ships should slow down on entering areas known to have drifting ice and should post extra lookouts. Navigational messages should be brought promptly to the bridge and disseminated as required. There should be enough lifeboats for all on board. All ships equipped with wireless sets should maintain communications at all times of the day and night. New regulations were needed to govern the use of radiotelegraphy. Adequate boat drills were to be carried out for passengers. Rockets should only be fired by ships at sea as distress signals, and not for any other purposes.

The presentation of the US report was accompanied by two speeches, one from Smith and one from Senator Isidor Rayner (Democrat, Maryland). Towards the end of his speech, Smith declared: The calamity through which we have just passed has left traces of sorrow everywhere; hearts have been broken and deep anguish unexpressed; art will typify with master hand its lavish contribution to the sea; soldiers of state and masters of trade will receive the homage which is their honest due; hills will be cleft in search of marble white enough to symbolize these heroic deeds, and, where kinship is the only tie that binds the lowly to the humble home bereft of son or mother or father, little groups of kinsfolk will recount, around the kitchen fire, the traits of human sympathy in those who went down with the ship. These are choice pictures in the treasure house of the affections, but even these will sometime fade; the sea is the place permanently to honor our dead; this should be the occasion for a new birth of vigilance, and future generations must accord to this event a crowning motive for better things.