It is also aggravating with the Board of Trade Inquiry when a witness would start to go into their own personal story, only to be halted by "Do not get into that, we've heard it all before..." Imagine what tid-bits of information could have been garnered had they been allowed to speak.
Chris: Thanks for providing that balance. I'm touchy about "slams" on the Senate Inquiry myself, partly because my initial pre-conceptions about Senator Smith and the U.S Inquiry (from
Walter Lord, et al.) were pretty much shattered by Wyn Wade's book, and subsequently by my own readings in the U.S. Inquiry. Much of the negative imagery, it would seem, came from the largely politically-based lambasting Smith was subjected to by the British Press. But for operating on a shoestring while attending to other full-time duties, all under intense international pressure -- including some apparently orchestrated by Ismay -- those Senators did a pretty darn good job, and left us with some highly significant testimony that can't be found elsewhere.
Frankly, I reject the notion of "moronic senators" entirely! (Sorry, Tarn, but I think you're "out to lunch" on this one.) This wasn't a Board of Trade Inquiry into the technical whys and wherefores, but an inquest into the tragic death of American and other citizens with an eye towards culpability and restitution.
Were it NOT for those "moronic senators", we would have virtually NO passenger testimony whatsoever. (The Mersey Inquiry invited only the Duff-Gordons.) Nor would we have the depth of free-flow insights often provided only in the U.S. Inquiry.
What you pointed out, Chris, is something I've often observed and commented on myself. If only I had a dollar for every time I encountered an intriguing line of questioning that arose but was quickly stifled in the Mersey Commission proceedings! If there's a weakness in that Inquiry, it's in the fact that the questioning was frequently SO directed that potentially meaningful information (to us, at least) was often squelched simply because it wasn't on the agenda.
Both Inquiries are vitally important, and they are truly complementary! Some things covered well in the U.S. Hearings were not even brought up in the British Inquiry, and vice versa. Had there *been* no Senate Investigation, I think we'd all be a LOT poorer in our knowledge today.
Just my two cents worth of indignant soapboxing. ;^)
Cheers,
John