The Rose Man of Sing Sing by James McGrath Morris

Author:James McGrath Morris [Morris, James McGrath]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780823222674
Publisher: Fordham UP
Published: 2003-09-15T05:00:00+00:00

NEW YORK APRIL 17TH CARLOS HURD, CARPATHIA, NY.

CHAPIN IS ON TUG DALZELLINE. WILL MEET CARPATHIA BETWEEN NEW YORK AND FIRE ISLAND THURSDAY. BE ON LOOKOUT AND DELIVER TO CHAPIN TUG YOUR FULL REPORT OF THE WRECK WITH ALL INTERVIEWS OBTAINABLE.

RALPH PULITZER18

Pulitzer and Chapin weren’t the only ones trying to reach Hurd. The New York Sun hoped to get Hurd to jump ship, so to speak. It wired Hurd, “Sun will pay handsomely for wireless dispatches Titanic and exclusive story when you land.” The Post-Dispatch city editor, working with Chapin, aimed to keep the story as their exclusive by wiring Hurd to ignore any requests from the Associated Press and give it only to the World. “World steamer will meet Carpathia have completed story ready throw them,” wrote Bovard, St. Louis Post-Dispatch city editor. None of the messages, however, were delivered because the Carpathia continued to maintain a radio silence. Instead, they were all put in a bin to be processed for refunds as “non-transmitted” messages.19

Thursday morning, the waters between the permanently moored Ambrose light ship and Sandy Hook were churning as more than fifty boats of all sorts and sizes cruised back and forth like sentinel ships of a blockade. A strong east wind was blowing, and the waters were rough and choppy. The Associated Press, the Herald, the Tribune, and the American each had its own tug, and each was decorated with a massive banner visible a half-mile away. Not to be outdone, the Sun had procured a tug with a powerful searchlight. The greyhound of the fleet, however, had been grabbed by the Evening World. On board Captain Augustin Keene’s Dalzelline were Lindsay Denison, from the rewrite desk, and reporters Rosswin Whytock, Samuel Eiseler, Harry Stowe, and Herman Robbins. In command was Chapin.

Authorities were also preparing for the rescue ship’s return to New York. The Treasury Department issued orders that no newspapermen were to board the ship at an area called Quarantine. Mayor Gaynor revoked pier privileges to all but a handful of photographers and reporters. No one from the press would have easy access to the survivors. “Extraordinary Precautions Taken to Prevent Newspaper Men Reaching Them,” declared the World.20

On the Carpathia, Hurd readied himself as well. Pulitzer’s telegram had been intercepted, but Hurd believed that the infamous editor would not fail him. In fact, he was convinced that Chapin would meet the ship at Sandy Hook. Late Thursday, with help from Silverthorne—the St. Louis merchant from the Titanic—Hurd worked on a way to protect his story should the chance come that he could engineer a transfer to Chapin. He obtained some waterproof white canvas, placed the story and his notes at the center, and rolled it up tightly like a furled sail. It looked like “a package about the size of an unabridged dictionary,” said Silverthorne. “Knowing that the matter might have to be tossed over the ship’s side,” said Hurd, “others advised me to attach some sort of buoy or ballast as the bundle might fall into the water.

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