The New York herald., 1869-04-04


tainly depends on the cleard-headedness ana pre-
sence OF mind OF the man whose duty 1t Is TO lower
or iree, tne poat IRON, .he = soerS, av Saus' nder
disciplined men, WORK satisfactorily properly ana
effectively, but 1t requires practical experience and
Goodness to manage II, and In the hands OF others,
IN the bnstie and vui.ius.vu ,nc,oenl to
1901 = a. ~ ina whole a,a,r
would be found to be so complicated it
would drown more than II ever saved. il owners
OF steamboats, viii furnish them with Iifeboats in
good condition, enough of them and IN accessible
positions they can walt awhile until the invention
OF decent disengaeing apparatus shall supersede
the Old safe plan OF lowering" a boat.
The life preservers OF the present day Won't
many traveller by water smile when they are
Jackets" or 'rings" saving the life OF any oneS
Who ever saw these instruments designed to save
e on board OF any 81 our myer boats IN sqS @ acces
was hurriedly decided upon they could be easily and
Immediately procuredS and who ever found them in
perfect condition. The life preservers OF the pres
ent day mere rubbish: there is not a decent In
strument OF the kind eXtant More poverty Of In
vention has been displayed in the manufac-
ture OF these things than in aught else in the
broad range OF mechanics. The "cork jackets''
may have saved at times some poor wrecked
fellow at sea, but II Is so common to place
them IN OutO-the-way locations, letting them rest
without attention for months, even years, that
their outside covering becomes torn the cork lk 9
stone and the strings intended to fasten the pre-
server about the body gone. One and oil OF these
socaied ltlesaving affairs can be placed in Che same
category. IL Is certainly strange that our commend,
aple fertile inventive genius has not ere this placed
before the public and In the water not straw, put
something drowning man could clutch at ana De
saved and which In times of anticipated danger could
be easily and securely adjusted to the body enabling
its wearer to take to the water with confidence One
cannot help but feel every time he reads or fatal
disaster on the water that there has been culpabe
negligence In providing means for the saving OF life.
il may not be within the wisdom OF man nor in the
strength OF timber to prevent winds and waves as.
serting at times their superiority and collisions VIII
occur in spite OF the efforts OF officers TO keep
vessels apart; but there need not be the
frightful loss Of life which so often attends
thn.n vtaIl nj and hnp tna n.
boats occur 80 often on our rivers and lakes resulting
In great loss Of life lead TO the supDost0n
that there such thing as good life preserver
manufactured, and really there is not. If there be
one, why are not all steamboats, compelled TO be
supplied with 1T? Owners of these vessels VIII not
provide means Of safety Tor their passengers unless
compelled to do SO. They Will not voluntarily he al
the expense of placing good life preseryers In such
accessible positions that they could be used In
emergent cases. Beside the expense they seem 10
have prejudice against having anything on board
their YES els which implies that she could possibly
be lost. In TINS respect something should be done
and that at once, to lessen the frghtful risk OF
voyages on the water in the matter OF the invention
OF good life bu0ys.
We have a friend VINO was among those at the
awful disaster on Lake Erie last summer, and who
jacket" and only saved himself by dIseardlng
It, and we cannot recall to mnd at this
wag more % , aan oe % ,aaree man %o p e Mas 30 e'sp ar
individual in tho fearful Henry clay disaster on the
Hudson many years ago, VINO fastened one 70 ms
body and jumped into the water; but before ten
minutes had elapsed it began TO settle ana pull him
under, when he saved his life eventually by climb
ing on floating bale OF COTTON where he was nearly
frozen 10 death before being rescued. Assuming
that disaster shond nefall any OF palaal Sounu
steamers In the height o the summer season, or the
Albany boats, when each has from 500 to 1000 per-
sons board s it difficult TO answer the interroga-
tive, ''dow many lives would tns cork Jackets or
the present day saver But few. Many of their
manufacturers, too, practise Lii their construction
the most shameless frauds This has been proven
recently III London, and such experiments might
without doubt be repeated here with ike results.
prominent gentleman interested in such matters
went among the '5alioIs' shops' ana bought he
buoys. preservers, with view OF testing them.
Hls story suggests the inquiry whether or not the
'lie preservers" on board our steamboats, are any
better tban those described and tested by him. lie
says
One branded warranted corkwood" ono 'a cork
ana The third Simply bore the word warranted They
They al three carried home ani dissectei with the fol-
Mo- (.wsrranted corkwood'), when its fimsy yellow
skin was slit, was discovered to consist bodily o. straw
l. of any cautious mariner VINO msht disposed
10 Ike s IN his purchase 90 az to make sure OF Its
NO z S.swsrrsntcd'y was stuffed with rushes.
0Sr sb n,ps 81 sna Se fss us "Oou' twenty per
the buoyan capah,y OF the three detected inpos
attached % each Ina wa, wa' the be rSs1,; n;-
"Warantet' stood the test for nearly two hours and
"hi coSE"~Fios,od for four hours and then sank
view.
Fire buckets should he on hand IN abundance in
every steamboat; the application OF bucket OF
water has often extingQl3hed the trhDg spark,
which Ia o hundred cases of frightful steamboat
burnings was the beginning of the disaster. The
neglect of furnishing p0at With proper fire buckets
and keeping them 1iied with wafer has proven
greatly destructive OF life and property, cai1yi
grief INTO once happy households anu reducing 10 10
calamity arising from criminal neglect or careless
ness brought them to, perhaps, pinching want.
We're the proper precautionary measures adopted
board steamboats,, In nine out of ten cases none
OF the dreadful occurrences whica TOO often rghten
the community from Its prophecy would nni a
sion OF buckets Is not sufficient. For all practical
nurposes IN case they are reguired they might as well
be pendant from the spre OF Trinity church they
placed In locations where gynnastc skill neces-
sary accomplishment In order to reach them, or
accessible only to the initiated, and empty. Un-
fortunately this has been observed IN many in
stances during our late inspections.
similar comment may be made In relation TO water
hose. n stored away under the Impression OF iaise
security, aud that 1t may NOT be required owing TO
the prelautiou otherwise adopted To guard against
accident the moment surely VIII come, and at tine
least expected when, panic stricken with fear, the
confidence thus reposed results In miserable ana
rightful dcluson.
Axe. should also abound In number and be acces-
slbe In numerous instances they have peen found
TO be slowed away IN officers rooms OF IN plO'
houses, where no passenger Is permitted " Co.
VESSELS VISITED.
practicable wnen tls subject matter was announced,
our Inspector has visited the inland STEAMBOATS,
carrying passengers lying ut our PIERS TO observe
the ''quanty aud quality OF their life-saNng ap.
purteuances.r Tnus ran his instructions, witn an
also TO their adopted ''secury ana pToNl5lons
npanst ire.n At this season, u Is repeated norna-
ton OF this character must be or great
moment 10 the travelling public, showing as
does that both owners and captains OF steamboats,,
with tue exception OF temporary vigilance, suggest
ed by selfish Considerations are careless and neg
ectfui rule regarding the lives OF those entrusted
as passengers TO their II certainly has been
taught IN many instances by frequent disasters,
resulting in loss of life, that the time - at hand
when the most thorough, competent and eIective
means prevent aud preclude the possibility or
recurrence OF suca dreadful caiamites should DC
made.
| The Atlas hence to South Amboy, Is owned by the
Camden and Amboy Railroad Company, aud Is
about $50 tons burden. Inc captain could not be
found nor could the 100 life preservers which the
United states certificate OF inspection called iOr
one miserable 'rinQ,n painted yellow, was found
hanging att, ana this such a condition that u
would probably sink sooner than man who could
| not swim. None others could be seen. They ma,
be on board: but OF what service are they In the
hold OF the vessel or elsewhere, htd away where
1 naturally they must be neIectedf Only eighteen