Page B07
[Translation]
The enrolment of the waiters for the "Titanic"
London, 17 April, night
By midnight no new list of survivors had arrived. Apart from Portaluppi and Peracchi, it seems that none of the Italians have been rescued. 50 Italian families suffer will suffer another most distressing evening.
The general director of the restaurant on Olympic and Titanic, Mr. Gatti, was one of the most respected member of the Italian community. Twenty years of honest and hard work had brought him to a confortable and enviable position. Now everything makes fear that he has died. He has a wife and many children in London.
Desolation is also in the home of Urbino's wife, who is still very weak and feverish.
To increase the cruel anguish and uncertainty for many of the Italian families, is the deplorable fact that there remains only a partial list of the Italian crew aboard the Titanic. The waiters were selected only at the last moment among the staff of the main London's hotels and restaurants at Mr. Gatti's request, and because the departure's day of Titanic from Southampton was imminent, there was no time to inform the Company's directors of the complete list of enrolled crew. Mr. Gatti had this list with him, and intended to telegraph [a list] to White Star Line's managers at Southampton from New York.
There was an Italian waiter, Venturini, who can consider himself miraculously saved. He telephoned me this night from Newcastle, where he lives, telling me that he decided not to board on Titanic only at the last minute. He was enrolled with other 20 mates by Mr. Gatti and accepted gladly the new employment, hoping for good profits.
But on the eve of departure, owing to a misunderstanding, he didn't received the White Star Line's confirmation telegram. He concluded that the Company had rejected him and accepted another offer (of work).
Comment and discuss