New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-08-23
INSPECTIONS IND LICENSES.

The Government Steamboat Inspectors I'M
ished their report the other day on the west
field disaster with an earnest prayer TO AL
"mighty God chat our country may be spared
"another visitation of so sad and dreadful
"calamity." 1t was a very proper prayer, for
which the country will be duly gratefnlj but
as another explosion with loss of life was an
nounced from st. Louis during the progress OF
the investigation, and third, OIL Staten
Island, accompanied the publication OF the re-
port, we cannot but call to mind the Old pro-
verb that "God helps those who help them
"selves,r and ask ourselves whether this Board
of Inspectors is likely to do much for us.
Their business was not so much TO try the
engineer, the fireman. the superintendent, and
the owner of the Westfeld, as to ascertain
whether the laws for insuring the safety of
boilers had been properly complied with by
the local Inspector, and they reached the con-
clusiOn that the inspector had faithfully
performed his duty, and the system under
which he acted was all that could be de-
sired. We do not deny that Mr.. Matthews
did what the law required of him; but If he
did the law is useless. For look at the facts.
The investigation showed that the boiler had
been tested for the pressure of forty pounds
yet blew up at twenty eight or thirty that
the primary cause of the explosion was flaw
in tho iron which could not be detected by
the method OF examination adopted by Mr.
Matthews and that the safety-valve, when
the pressure amounted to twenty eight pounds,
was unable to relieve the b0iler-in other
words, when the pressure was only three
pounds more than Mr. Matthews allowed, 1t
ceased to be q safety-valve at all. The in
spector certifies that boiler with these faults
is a safe one, and yet we are assured that he
did his whole duty. Then the engineer Is
shown to have been ignorant and incompetent,
and the owner and superintendent Of the ferry
are severely censured for employing him. Yet
Robinson had license testfying that he was
fit to take charge of an engine, and we are
left to infer that in the opinion of the Board
(since they say nothing to the contrary the
examiners who gave this certificate did their
whole duty too.
The explosion on board the G. II. Starbuck
resulted in only one death, but the negligence
which caused it was much grOSser than that
of Robinson, Braisted, and Vanderbilt, and the
verdict of the COroner's jury, charging the en-
gineer and the inspector who examined the
boiler with manslaughter in the third degree,
and censuring the inspector who gave the GER
tifcate to the engineer, comes as a forcible
commentary upon the official report we have
lust been considering. The boiler of the G. ii.
Starbuck was proved to be absolutely rotten
vet Mr.. Z. Platt Stratton tested it only two
months ago with hydrostatic pressure of 90
pounds, and pronounced it sound! The ques-
-. A III DO.
is worth when it cannot detect the shameful
weakness of q WORKOUT boiler like this; and
we may wonder also what Mr. Stratton is worth
when he cOuld not see the dozen or fifteen de-
fective patches, or ascertain the condition of
rusty shell which yielded at once to few
taps of the hammer. If he did his duty, then
boiler inspections as now managed are farce
which we might just as well dispense with.
The practical lesson of the report of the
Board and the verdict of the jury is plain
enough. We need a thorough revision of the
inspection laws, and then an examination of
the inspectors. We have learned something
of late about the lOoseness with which certiti
Gates are given, and especially the airy free
dom with which inspectors are accustomed to
sign one anothcr's names, and TO certify the
existence of imaginary valves and gauges.
These evils can be corrected by few sharp
verdicts like that in the Starbuck case, fol-
lowed by an equally prompt and sharp trial
before the criminal courts; but we must have
also an overhauling Of the whole system OF
tests. licenses, and certificates. The Secretary
of the Treasury can do a great public service
by empowering committee OF experts to ex-
anime this matter, report wherein our present
system is defective, and suggest remedy.
That there is some grave fundamental defect
hardly admits of a doubt, and we believe that
science can tell us how to cure it.
THIS YEARS ELECTIONS.