New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1873-04-10
The Great Steamship Disaster.


ITr5z Ia y-u York Via,
II the dispatches from Halifax do 10. Ms
state the primary cause OF the wreck OF the
White Star steamship Atlantic oa the Nova
>c0tian cast, there were moro than seven
hundred human 5eings who trusted them
selves "a that ye>-s! 20 the dangers O.. IL
deap the April fools q: one Q! the most III IL
lar lines Of steamships n the world. On the
21th Of MaFch-the month a storms the
Atlantic LEI. Liverpool on The following dav
she sailed from Queenstown for tbs port.
Nine DAYS only had she continued on her
voyage, with = valuable cargo, and the !ar
more precious freight o; q thousand souls
when /. Ne Iusv trust the ECcouu:.l .r- sup
| rE r goa! -an sio-t. Nothing moSe start
Ing, or, al the outset, more incredible Than
this statement, las ever accompanied the
tidiuEs ola similar caiaru.ty by sea and those
who have been accustomed 20 "a down to tho
sea Ia the SLIPS oE the White Star COMPANY,
or in the steamships owned by any other iirst-
class company which undertakes to carry
Passengers II and FRO across the Atlantic,
will share the i.strlist with which I've receive
tbs part # las: nights terrible news
T5-7 .As nv I..z T...=1.
This = tie great Disaster Of the halE ,eu-
Jury. Not since the British frigates. St.
George and Deianca. we're wrecked Of the
coast Of Ju!lari, in ISL. has any such fright
tul loss oE l:fe been added 10 the sorrow oC
tue sea. IL that wreck 1900 men were
drowned. The sinking Of the Royal George
Of Spithead, in 1872. when Admiral kempen-
feldt went down with his Goo men. was long
celebrated in song and story as the great
catastrophe by sea for many generations.
The wreckiug Of the Royal Charter, on the
AngleseG coast, In J $50, when 40 lives and
lr.fl y,Ti J.,
rOT throughout the civilized world. That
same year, too, the Pomona was cast away on
Blackwater Bank. and 3J5 men were drown
ed. The Austria, burned in mid-ocean
the year before, lost fGl persons. On the
Pacific, which disappeared in 49,, there
we're lS6 people and on the City Of Glas-
gov, neve. heard of since 1854, there wore
$50.
Ui tie Arctic. We in America have still !
sorrowtul rcCollections; three hundred men,
women, ard children were lost on that ship. |
CT The coast Of Newfoundland, In 1854 On |
the same dread line of coast the Hungarian, !
with two hundred and twenty people, was ,
cast away In IsGG. The sinking Of the North |
feet In the English channel, last January,
was the latest great sea disaster until that !
which we now record. By the wreck Of the |
North1eet three hundred and twenty-five per-
sons were swept out Of the world but the |
story of the heroism, chivalry, and dauutless
courage Of Knowles and those who went
down with him will endure so long az men
love to talk Of bravery in the face Of death.
These calamties, occurring at such short
intervals, show Us how helpless even SCI
encc, skill, and long experience are In the
grasp Of the mighty forces which rule the sea.
profound sorrow for the lost and for the be-
reayed survivors, to gather up whatever may
remain for guidance to future safety and
security On the terrible seaI
F5o5. .I.s NJ I.sE H.ra.;i
Ii England, just now, a member OF Parl,a-
rnant, Mr.. Pllmsoll, IS agitating TO obtain a
law against the rapac;ty ot shipowncrs in
sending rotten ships and overloaded ships to
sea, careless Of the consequences In loss of
life, so the insurance Is covered or the re-
duced cost pays for the property risk. He
has been crying out against the coal trade
and coasting trade in particular; but scarcely
could he have dreamed that from preten-
tious company Of transatlantic steamships he
should so soon obtain such a fearful example
OF this inhuman rapaCity. Over one thous.
and souls on board, and barely eleven days
coal, in season when storms are TO be ex-
pected and a three weeks voyage Is among
the easiest possibilities! This speaks more
than the weighticst inycctiye that Junus
over penned. We presume the provisions
were calculated with similar meanness.
WAS on the scale Of the coal.
Coal was dear in England; but if it was worth
Its weight in gold supply for at least six
teen days should have been on board. Was
it the few shi!lings advance on the price Of
English coal tina. sent this steamer to sea so
neanly ccaed? 1t will be recalled here that
economy OF fuel was one Of the first boasts Of
the owners Of the steamer. The terrible
irony Of that boast will now ring IN the ears
Of thousands of bereaveG families. With the
Of fuel came the economy of space
for bunkers and another question here in
trudes that must be answered: Was the space
that should have been used for fuel turned
into space for more cargo and more passen-
gers: 1t is the more likely Of the two pro-
positions. The saving on the coal would
have been little; but ii it could be saved and
at the same time the space represent fifty or
sixty extra passengers the double greed
would be satisfied. 1t is greed, greed, greed.
A contemplate ayarice has murdered over
seven hundred human beings, for we scout az
the idea that the captain sailed
in ignorance of the amount Of coal he had on
board. Look where We will in this black
story, the fact that murder has been done
stares US in the face. The few dollars that
might have been gained will weigh but Rightly
beside the shrieks Of the passengers who fell,
bcnumbed, from the rigging into the watery
gulf below. 1t is a sickenng, horrible, re-
voting story Of criminal pacity-negligcnce
Is out Of the question. The final question
comes How many more Of these ships cross
the Atlantic week after week similarly
treighted aud similarly cOaled?