R.M.S. TITANIC

This Sunday, April 15th will mark the one hundredth anniversary of the sinking of this majestic liner with the loss of life of over 1500 souls. This week you will hear and read much about this tragedy which occurred on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York. She was built in Belfast, North Ireland and there is a museum there commemorating the occasion. If you cannot get to Belfast try to see the exposition at South Street Seaport in New York.
Having worked for thirty-seven years with United States Lines I was always fascinated with the comparison to our own S.S. UNITED STATES which sailed on her trans-atlantic maiden voyage in 1952 - forty years after the TITANIC embarked. One of our old hands in the London office felt there was a similarity between the two vessels - except in their fates. Both vessels sought to break the trans-atlantic speed record. Both had their naval architects on board. Both had owner's family members on board. But the TITANIC, the pride of the White Star Line -  struck an iceberg and never made it to New York. We might consider another co-incidence - at the time of the S.S. UNITED STATES crossing in 1952 our company president was Gen. John M. Franklin. When the TITANIC embarked on her fateful voyage in 1912 the General's father P.A.S. Franklin was an executive in the White Star Line's New York office. I often wondered how he handled the hordes of people who descended upon lower Manhattan that week in April 1912 and thereafter. The predecessor of U.S. Lines shared office space with the White Star Line in the London City office and our "old hand" assisted handling claims into the 1930s. He later said that many claims in that era were from various types seeking salvage rights.
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