They knew they were taking a risk. On board Titanic , J. Bruce Ismay, Managing Director of White Star Line, strongly urged the captain to increase the ship's speed despite the fact that it was standard practice to "run the engines in" slowly, comparable to breaking in a new car. Ismay was eager to break Olympic's record in order to garner additional publicity. On Saturday, April 13, with 24 of the 29 boilers lit, Ismay was overheard in conversation with the captain, talking about improving the ship's performance from the previous day's. Ismay declared emphatically, "You see they are standing the pressure. Everything is going well. The boilers are working well. We will make a better run tomorrow." Ismay pointedly informed the Captain that they would get to New York a full day early.

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