11 MAY 1912, Page 16

THE LOSS OF THE ' TITANIC.'

[TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."]

Efu,—Even if no one else raises a note of protest, I hope you will allow me to express my feelings of disgust and shame at the way my countrymen, from the greatest to the least, have lost their heads over the Titanic' disaster. By all means let us be generous to the sufferers, but let us keep some sense of proportion. The fate of a widow whose husband was lost on the' Titanic' is no worse than that of her neigh- bour whose husband went down in a fishing smack. And, above all, let us beware of the pernicious influence, not only, it appears, on the less educated portion of the community, of the orgy of sentimentality to which the catastrophe has given rise. Not only has it induced the crew of the ' Titanic's ' sister ship to mutiny and desert her, but their action has actually been condoned by the Portsmouth magistrates, who are not ashamed to confess that they are unable to drive the obsession from their minds! As I write I see the 'Olympic's' four funnels idle iu the dock, where she lies unable to go to sea because British seamen cannot be found with the pluck to man her, nor British magistrates with the pluck to reprove

them.—I am, Sir, &a, EDWARD T. DIXON. The Hard, Hythe, Southampton.