Titanic: Reaction
Senator William Alden Smith and his strong committee of men were passing safety railroad laws while the Titanic was sailing. After hearing the news about the boat sinking, he knew he had to start investigating. On April 18th, right as the Carpathia docked in New York with the few survivors from the catastrophe; Smith started the investigation of what caused the Titanic's horrific sinking. To start off, he discussed with some of the leading men on the ship, such as J. Bruce Ismay, the chairman of the White Star Line, surviving officials and crew members on the boat, and some distinguished passengers. The analysis began in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York on April 19th where he interviewed 82 witnesses. Every committee that researched came to the conclusion that the boating laws were far outdated and they needed to update that and lifeboat laws, ice patrol, and an advanced wireless system.