emotion, with the awful disaster to the British steamship " Ti- tanic." At. 2:20 A.M. on April 15, that great White Star liner, the largest afloat, on her maiden voyage, went to the bottom of the Atlantic in lat. 41 46' N., long. 50 14' W., about 2j h. after striking at full speed on an iceberg, with a loss of 1,513 souls put of 2,224 on board. 1 It had been supposed that such a vessel was unsinkable, and the tragedy raised numerous questions as to methods of ship construction, and additional provision of life-saving equipment. The " Titanic " had nomin- ally boat accommodation for double the number saved, and the 20 boats launched were meant to hold 1,178 persons instead of the 652 they actually contained when they left the ship; more- over, the disaster occurred under exceptional conditions for getting people safely off, in the way of smooth water and fine weather. The most salutary lessons seemed to lie in the follow- ing directions: first, improved design and construction so as to provide a really unsinkable ship; secondly, greater precautions in navigation and look-out for the " Titanic " was going at 18 knots (according to Lord Mersey an " excessive speed "), though it was known that icebergs were exceptionally numerous on the course; thirdly, better and more regular organization on shipboard by boat drill (there had been none on the " Titanic ") and otherwise, for the emergency of having to abandon ship; and fourthly, a compulsory service of wireless on all liners, working day and night for it was one of the most lamentable incidents in the whole terrible story that the " Titanic's " wireless call for help, picked up all over the ocean and nobly responded to by the " Carpathia." (Capt. Rostron), 70 m. off, fell on deaf ears on the " Californian " only 8 or 10 m. away. 2 The full record of the disaster is contained in the reports of the inquiries held at once in America by a committee of Congress under Senator Smith, and later in London by a special commission presided over by Lord Mersey (report issued July 30). Painful and dif- ficult though it was to distribute blame in such a case, there could be little doubt that the loss of life 817 passengers out of 1,316, and 696 out of a crew of 908 was much greater than ought to have been possible. Capt. E. J. Smith (b. 1853), a highly ex- perienced seaman, who had been for 38 years in the service of the White Star Co. and who now went down with his ship, seems to have been averse from taking steps at first which might cause a panic on board; otherwise there should have been time, if ade- quate means of organization and of commanding discipline had existed, not only to get more people into the boats but to im- provise rafts. In naval circles the opinion was strongly held that this should have been done, since the injuries received by the ship made it certain that she would sink in a given time. If so, there was a weakness in the higher command, or the means provided for exercising it in the organization of the crew on the " Titanic," for which no merely material equipment could compensate. A natural expectation of security had been en- gendered, alike among the owners, officers and passengers of these magnificently appointed liners, which, until a crisis actually came, had made it almost unthinkable that it could come in that way; but the fact remains that responsibility for the lives of passengers rests with those who control the ship. In this case, it was not the inadequacy of the physical means of escape that accounted for the large proportion of the lost who remained on board; it was the inadequate organization for purposes of using them, and inadequate information as to the necessity. Apart from that, both Great Britain and America could mingle sorrow and pride over many fine incidents of the tragedy, with its long death roll of prominent people from both sides of the Atlantic. When it came to the sending away of the boats, the order was
1 The exact figures remained doubtful, but those given are from Lord Mersey's report.
2 Apart from the " Californian's " wireless operator having gone to bed, however, Lord Mersey was satisfied that if her captain had realized the situation properly she could have saved "many, if not all, of the lives that were lost"; for evidence showed that distress rockets sent up on the " Titanic " were actually seen from the " Californian," though no action was taken in response to them. The incredibility of such a disaster appears, in that case, to have paralysed the capacity for interference.
" women and children first." The figures of the 711 saved by the " Carpathia ' (including about 60 who were picked up in the boats after the ship went down) speak for themselves: Women: first class, 140 out of 144; second class, 80 out of 93; third class, 76 out of 165; crew, 20 out of 23. Children: first class, 6 out of 6; second class, 24 out of 24; third class, 27 out of 79. Men: first class, 57 out of 175; second class, 14 out of 168; third class, 75 out of 462; crew 192 out of 885. Altogether the percentage of women saved was 74-35, of children 52-29, of men 20-27. The comparatively small proportion of third-class passengers saved was shown to be purely accidental and not due to any preference being deliberately given to others; they were handicapped, how- ever, by their quarters being remote from the boat deck, and by so many of them being unable to speak or understand English.
TITTONI, TOMMASO (1855- ), Italian statesman, was
born in Rome 1855. His father, Vincenzo, a tenant farmer on a large scale at^La Manziana, had taken part in the defence of
the Roman Republic under Garibaldi in 1849, was exiled by
Pius IX., and reentered Rome in 1870 through the breach of
Porta Pia. Tommaso Tittoni was educated first at Naples, and
subsequently at Oxford and Liege. He began his parliamentary
career as deputy for Civitavecchia in 1886, sitting on the Right,
but he resigned his seat in 1897, having been appointed pre-
fect of Perugia; three years later he went to Naples in a simi-
lar capacity, and in 1902 he was raised to the Senate. When
Giolitti became premier for the second time in 1903, Tittoni
became his Foreign Minister. He aimed at improving rela-
tions with Austria, and also tried to bring about a reconciliation
with France; it was in fact under his auspices that President
Loubet visited Rome. On the resignation of Giolitti in March
1905 Tittoni became interim premier for a few days and remained
in the Fortis Cabinet as Foreign Minister. His proposal to
reduce the duty on Spanish wines in connexion with an Italo-
Spanish commercial treaty aroused -a storm of indignation among
the agricultural classes and caused the fall of the Cabinet on
Dec. 24 1905; and although Fortis composed a new administra-
tion, Tittoni did not enter it. A few months later he was
appointed ambassador in London (March 1906), but in May,
on the fall of the Sonnino Cabinet and the return of Giolitti
to power, he was again summoned to the Consulla. He con-
tinued the policy of improving relations with Austria, which did
not contribute to his popularity; after the annexation of Bosnia
and the Herzegovina his imprudently worded speech at Carate
created the illusion that Italy was to be compensated, perhaps
by the cession of the Trentino, and the disappointment when
nothing of the kind materialized greatly weakened his prestige.
He remained in office until the fall of Giolitti in Dec. 1909. In
April of the following year he was appointed ambassador in
Paris. When the World War broke out, in spite of his Triplicist
policy he openly expressed himself in favour of Italian neutrality,
and on Italy's entry into the war he was careful not to com-
promise himself with Giolitti's attitude. But he was not at his
ease in the French capital and in Nov. 1916 he resigned from
the Paris embassy. On the fall of the Orlando Cabinet in June
1919, the new Premier Nitti chose Tittoni as Foreign Minister
and first delegate at the Peace Conference, but the severe strain
of the work told on his health and he was forced to resign in
November. He was chosen president of the Senate in Dec.,
and soon after was appointed Italian delegate on the Council
and Assembly of the League of Nations, but ill-health again
forced him to relinquish both appointments. In 1910 he had
published a volume of speeches, which was translated into
English, and in 1919 he brought out a work on political conflicts
and constitutional reform.
TOBACCO (see 26.1035). In 1913 the quantity of tobacco retained for home consumption in the United Kingdom was: unmanufactured 94,079,343 lb., and manufactured i ,896,668 Ib. The year 1914 showed the beginning of the abnormal business in the factories. In that year, apart from tobacco sent to H.M. forces through the bonded factories, the quantity retained for home consumption was: unmanufactured 99,415,786 lb., and manufactured 1,585,411 pounds. In 1915 the amount of unmanufactured
