Patrick, I can't let this statement go.
"the people who were drowned on the titanic,and their families who suffered especially the crew whose widows and children got no compensation."
Here are the facts in brief.
Dependents of the deceased crew were paid up to 300 pounds under the Workmen's Compensation Act. Most payments were prompt and undisputed.
Dependents of the postal workers were looked after by their employers.
Dependents of the musicians were not looked after, other than by charitable appeals, which raised plenty of money for them.
Dependents of deceased passenger, and those who lost property claimed in the civil courts.
In the USA, payments of up to $50,000 were made in an out of court deal.
In Britain, we know of four 100 pound payments made after White Star was found negligent in a civil court. We know that other claims were made after this, as some claimants in the USA withdrew their US claims so they could claim in Britain. I've never seen the records of these claims, which were settled out of court, as negligence was already proven. The files may have been destroyed, perhaps when Cunard and White Star combined, or merely in a routine cleanup.
Add to this the enormous amounts paid out over many years by the British and American charitable funds and the dependents didn't do all that badly.
