The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-03-26
k.ross ction TO Ocean SteAsnsTs-W~
Compartments.


Compartments.
The lesson taught ny the terrible csstastro.
phs OF the John Rutledgc should not be lost.
That vessel, after having beer severa, days II
the ice, and Notwithstanding watch the vigi-
lance of which il guaranteed oy the i'm nj
Renee OF the danger ran foul Of an iceberg al
10 o'clock 4. NJ on February morning, and
went down ON the evening Of the same day
To Judge from the report OF the sole survivor
and the language of the log, NO precaution
could have sverted the nishsp. It had bean
apprehended, expected, ter days; all the ere y
and passengers were constantly on the alert;
every one knew that collision might occur at
any moment; the ship was full manned, her
discipline was good, her crew efficient. her
passengers ready to work, her captain ap.
psrentiy equal to the emergency; yet in
spite OF all, she struck-strack in broad day
hght-at ten o'clock In the morning, pro.
uably On one OF the very icebergs wnose size
and proximity the last entry in the log book
records. Nor is there any reason to hope that
her misfortune is q solitary accident. Of TIE
many selated vessels whose arrival hes been SO
long and anxiOusly expected, there is indeed
reason to fear that several have shared her
tate. Tine Pacific may be safe-God grant che
be!-but in her case, like the others, presume
ton points with crushing force to that field
Of ice-to that archipelago OF icebergs-as
but too probably the grave OF the gallant ship
and her hapless inmates. That sucn iieid did
exist That 1t was thickly strewn with berss
against which 1t was certain destruction to run
that it spread right across the path which
nearly every vessel takes in crossing the ocean
in fine, that every vessel which LETT Engia Ia
TOR America between the 18th January and the
beginning OF March must have either run into
it, or providentially seen it IN tine 10 reverse
its course aud sail out OF the wsy-is abua-
dainty proved by the reports OF the steamers
which have escaped the peril.
The question now arises +: 10" is this danger
Of the deep TO be met?
! Let Us refer TO our memories for the refec-
tons which we're in every mind when the Arc
tic was lost. As every one knows, she ran mt
the French steamer Vesta, in fog Off the
Banks, and foundered in consequence Of the
injury caused by the collision. When the news
OF that terrible disaster arrived, the word In
every ones mouth wag-This is but the first
Of series of collisions at sea. 1t was shown
ttat in proportion to our acquisitions OF know
ledge with regard to the currents ana winds
affecting the ocean, the channel used by steam
e1s and sailing vessels had become rarro yer
and narrower and that ct tue time the
Arctic was lost, all vessels sailing eastward
snd westward sailed if they could, 10 a
belt OF s0.2e ninety to one hundred miles width
Hence it was reasonably argued that, as eacD
year witnessed vastircrease of navigation,
and as the tendency Of science was rather TO
strai gbtel ships courses than otherwise, the
danger Of collision was enormously increased
and that, unless some means were taken 10
meet the difficulty. the accident OF the Arctic
course OF each year.
Still Notwithstanding this very proper COO
clusion. no new means were taken either to
prevent collisions or to render them inn0cu-
Gus. The catastrophe Of the John Rutledge,
and the probable fate of other missing vessels,
uUN pItstut l4t SaAuC 4uCEtiOh 0hucl u AOV
aspect of increased in,minence. 1t has been
usual to begin to expect ice in April, May AM
June. The large foes and heavy icebergs arr
seldom seen in any numbers as Tar south as the
latitude in which the European vessels ran b.
fore May. This year they blocked the path il
February; they will probably be there iu July.
For four months Of this year, at least in add
ton 10 the dangers of collisions with otha-
vessels, steamers and ships cross the Atlantic
both ways under imminent risk Of running into
icebergs, with the result which befell the John
Rutledge. There is no reason to suppose that
the peculiar atmospherical causes which ope-
rated this year to detach the ice earlier thau
usual will never operate again. We mus
count on ice from February to July.
Now, we have very simple choice laid opea
to US We may either continne to run as we are
now doing, with tolerable certainty of several
accidents like that OF the Arctic or that of the
John Rutledge every year, or We may devise
means OF rendering such catastrophes impos-
sible. Any one can Judge which of the two
plans is most consonant with the spirit of the
age, the duty OF the legislative authorities, the
bare policy of this nation.
1t is possible to build ships so that q collision
either with an iceberg OR another vessel shall
not necessarily involve shipwreck. Water
tight compartments will enable steamers OF
ships to run foul Of, without sinking each
other. The Vesta, which ran into the Arc.
tic, steamed quietly and safely, with a
huge bole in her bows, into the port Of S.
Johns Builders OF large experience are o.
opinion that unless the vessels running into
each other we're very large and sailing very
fast, they might run at full tilt foul of each
other, end on end. and the shock would injurs
nothing beyond the foremost compartment. In
England and France, the compartment system
is being almost universally adopted. All the
Glasgow vessels-renowned for their safety