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Show RESULT OF IIVQUIRY BEING KEPT SECRET j i (Enough Is Known, However, to Fix Blame for Latest Marine Disaster. LINER FAILED TO STOP Apparently Little Excuse for Sinking of the Monroe by the Nantucket. NORFOLK, Va., Jan. 31. Asserting As-serting the loss of Ws vessel was due to the carelessness of the commander com-mander of the steamer Nantucket, Captain E. E. Johnson of tho steamer Monroe filed A suit against the Nantucket late today, claiming $1,000,000 damages. Action was filed in the United States district court and papers were served on officials of tho Merchants & Miners' Transportation company, owners of the Nantucket, at Baltimore Bal-timore and Norfolk. NOJRFOLK, Va., .Tan. 31. Testimony Testi-mony of oflicers of both ships, eomo of it taken while the Nantucket was bringing in the survivors, is being kept secret today. It slill is in the form of stenographer's notes and will make fifty or sixty typewritten pages. No official statcmont could be obtained ob-tained today, but it is said that witnesses wit-nesses testified that Captain Johnson stopped the Monroe's engines when ho heard the Nantucket's answering siren signal, and the lost ship was practically practical-ly standing still when the Nantucket rammed her amidships and broke her in two. Othor witnesses testified, it is said, that the Nantucket contiuiiod to steam toward the Monroe after the latter had blown two whistles three times. Officers in Pilot House. It is said that the testimony shows that Captain Berry, tho second officer and the quartermaster of the Nantucket Nantuck-et wero all in tho pilot house of their ship wheu the two vessels came to-gotlicr, to-gotlicr, nud that tho outlook on tho Monroe taw tho lights on the mast of the Nantucket about two mimite3 before be-fore the crash. The Monroe met light fogs intermittently intermit-tently after passing out of the capes and had stoppod .frequently while they surrounded the ship. The Monroe was equipped with an automatic time whistle whis-tle and that was blown at intervals of one minute. When the heavy fog wrapped the vessel ves-sel near Winter Quarter lightship, tho Monroe, it. is said, stopped aud aftor blowing her fog horn every minute, favo two blasts, after which the Nan-uokct Nan-uokct plowed its way into the Monroe's Mon-roe's starboard just above amidships at an angle of about forty-five degrees. de-grees. The Nantucket then backed away. The Monroe began to list and in ten minutes had sunk. Harrington's Story. Six survivors of the disaster to the steamship Monroe reached thero today from ISorfolk. Among them was Thomas Ilarriugton ot Bridgeport, Conn., accompanying the body of his wife, who died after being taken aboard tho rescue ship Nantucket. Harrington was the passenger who swam in tho cold water, supporting his wifo by holding her hair in his teeth. His father and his brother met him here. "Toll them what happened. Tom," said tho father. "We all want to know, and it will got it off your mind." Then in a dull monotone tho young man told his story. Harrington ami his wifo had a stato-room stato-room on tho side whore the Mouroe was rammed. "When tho shock came," he said, "wc got up and dressed and wasted timo that might have saved the poor girl's life. "By the time they reached the main saloon the ship had' keeled so that the sido wall was their floor. "There was a lurch," continued Harrington, Har-rington, "and Margaret was thrown twenty feet and lodged under the bench built along tho sides of the cabin. cab-in. I slid and scrambled after her. When T took hold of her she screamed and pointed to her poor rieht arm. it was broken and hanging limp, "'Don't touch 1110! ' she screamed, 'For God's Hako lgt mo dicl ' I told her she would have "to eomo and she would feel hotter about it later. Oh, God! She was right and T didn't know It. But I cot her loobe. "Then the ship sagged back again and there was a rush of water that washed us out to tho deck. I managed to got ofT our outer clothes. Then wo let go and the ship wout away from under us." With Hair in Teeth. Harrington told how ho tried to swim holding his wifo bytho brolcen arm. but this pained her so that, Himlby ho twisted, twist-ed, hor long hair into a rope close to 1 her head aud, taking it in his teeth, floated on his back, hooping tho woman's wom-an's head on his chest. Ono lifoboat passed within ton feet, ho said, and ignored their calls for help. After uoarb' two hours auothor boat conic. "I held Margaret up to them." continued Harrington, "aad a sailor said, 'Let her go; she is dead.' " '6ho is not dead,' I said to him, 'aud you tako her aboard if 3'ou don't want 'to go to hell with murder on your soul. ' "f3o they took her in. Aud she opened hor oyos and smiled at me. "When they got mo aboard tho ship they put her' in one stateroom and left her and put me in another. I believe be-lieve that if a doctor had been with her right away with stimulunts she might bo alive' now. But they were all mixed up, and when I found where sho was Iving all uloue, sho was dead." |