The Titanic
They Billed The Families Of The Victims
Photo credit: updatehunt.com
The White Star Line was nothing if not frugal. Due to a clause worked into their contracts, every employee aboard the ship was fired the second that the Titanic began to sink. The company would not, after all, pay wages for employees who were wasting their time drowning.
Afterward, the families of the dead were informed that they would have to pay the freight cost if they wanted their loved ones’ bodies. Most couldn’t afford it, of course, and so today, many of those who died have memorials instead of graves.
Things were far worse for the musicians. The band who heroically played on while the ship sank were completely abandoned. They were registered as independent contractors, which meant that White Star Line legally didn’t have to do anything for them. The other crew members’ families got survivor benefits, but the families of the band didn’t get a penny.
That doesn’t mean they got nothing, though. The families of the band were sent one memento: a bill for the cost of the uniforms.
Can you imagine what an insult that must have been? It boggles the mind, I think!
Coffee in the kitchen this morning. It's cold out on the patio!
