Also Closed

Beginning before and ending after the trial of Colonel Mitchell, the Court of Inquiry into the causes of the Shenandoah disaster closed last week. Its report must yet be made and approved by the Secretary of the Navy. The three months of the inquiry were not all spent in hearings, since there were lengthy recesses.

On the next to the last day of hearings, Colonel Mitchell was called to testify, as he had been once before. On the previous occasion he refused to speak because his court martial was impending. "Good morning, Admiral Jones," he hailed the President of the Court as he entered. On this occasion he did not refuse to testify but asked to make a statement before testifying. Permission was denied.

He said his knowledge of the Shenandoah disaster was "based on hearsay, general knowledge of the weather and my experiences." He had never been aboard the Shenandoah, had however seen her in the distance, had studied dirigibles here and abroad. He said that what he meant when he said that the survivors were muzzled was that "psychologically they were afraid to talk." He said that he knew that the Shenandoah was overweight because her cruising range was reduced. Little more. He was excused.

Professor Hovgaard, the technical adviser of the Court, recommended: that in future dirigibles be thicker in proportion to their length; that the control car be built into the ship's hull instead of depended from it; that if possible the engine cars be similarly placed; that the speed of dirigibles be increased to enable them to escape storms; that more mooring masts be set up, and better weather reports instituted for air navigation.

Lieutenant Commander Rosendahl, senior officer of the survivors, declared that Commander Lansdowne had not protested against the fatal flight, that the disaster was an inevitable accident. He closed with the declaration: "Although we are survivors of one of the worst air accidents that has ever occurred, we nevertheless have not lost faith in rigid airships, and are still of the opinion that rigid airships are of a great deal of value for naval and commercial purposes as well."

The investigation was closed.