Young Clergyman Sent Parents Letter Before Sailing on Titanic.

INCLOSED [sic] ONE TO HIMSELF

Directed Opening of Envelope if Anything Happened to Him

HELPED WOMEN INTO BOATS

Saw Them Cared for and Then was Directed by Officer to Accompany Them - Assists in Caring for Survivors.

That Rev. S.C. Collett, son of Rev. M.E. Collett of Port Byron and brother of Thomas F.A. Collett of this city, one of the survivors of the Titanic disaster, had premonitions of danger before he sailed is demonstrated by a letter received by his brother last Saturday, mailed in London the day before the Titanic departed.

The receipt of another letter throws light upon the circumstances of the young minister's rescue. The first letter, which was addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Collett, read:

Dear Father and Mother - In the event of anything unforeseen happening to me in my journey to you, please open the inclosed [sic] letter addressed to me. With love, your son,

[Signed] SYDNEY.

Incloses [sic] Letter to Himself.

Enclosed in the letter was a heavy sealed envelope, addressed to Sydney Stuart Collett. The enclosure has not been opened and will not be until the young man returns from New York, where he is being detained by order of the Senate Investigation Committee. It is probable he will have to go to Washington before returning to his home.

Upon leaving Southampton, Mr. Collett promised to take care of Miss Marian [sic] Wright and Miss Kate Buss during the voyage. Both young women were rescued. Miss Wright is to marry Arthur Woolcott of Cottage Grove, Ore., who met her when the Carpathia docked at New York. Miss Buss was given over to some of her relatives when the rescue ship landed.

Had it not been for the fact that Mr. Collett had custody of the two young women there is little doubt that he would have gone down with the liner.

When the crash came he was in his cabin. Hastily drawing on clothes and his life preserver he went to the stateroom occupied by the two young women and escorted them to the deck. When they arrived the officers were preparing to lower the lifeboats.

Places Women in Boat.

The young women were put into one of the boats by Mr. Collett and the officer in charge, revolver in hand, turned to him and said, “What about you?”

Mr. Collett's own description of what happened is contained in part in a letter written to Rev. William Crane of Port

(Continued on Page Six.)

[Page Six was unfortunately missing from the microfilm.]

THE POST-STANDARD, SYRACUSE, N.Y., MONDAY MORNING, APRIL 22, 1912