National Republican., 1873-04-04

he bill, and we fail 10 see any, II Is more
han outwelghed by the good that II has ac-
and time viii show II.
THE PRESS UPON THE ATLANTIC DIS
AsTER.
The Ney York journals all contain lengthy
upon the loss of the unfortunate
Atlantic. The accounts Of the disaster are
also exceedingly full and vivid but We can
fnd nothing In them that throws the falntest
light upon the real cause of the terrible event
Primarily It ls Of course to be traced to the
short supply Of coal; but why the vessel
should have been so far out OF her reckoning
has not yet been satisfactorily .lcarod up.
That only the investigation which Is certain
to be made will, we suppose, develop. The
Herald, In discussing the event, rays;
"The causes Of this calamity may be charge d
TO the peculiar construction OF the steamer; her
Bcant supply Of coal for even an average trip;
her approach in the night to the rock.bound
coast upon which she was wrecked; the dark
ness and heavy sea, and the awful mistake Of
the OflCeT In immediate charge Of the ship; In
supposine the light Intended 10 warn hin irom
destruction TO be the light inviting him TO
the safety OF q frlendly harbor. II has
been the boast Of the White Star line that
three essential conditions Of safety, speed
and comfort II Is also true that down
to this dreadful misfortune these ships have
been proved by thousands OF passengers 10
be safe, speedy and comfortable. But a ship
four hundred and twenty feet long and only forty
feet in width, with draught OF twenty-three
feet of water, and rising twenty-odd feet above
the water to her top deck, presents on a lee
shore q most inviting brOadside to the heavy
breakers Of rough sea, To such ship, In q
situation like this, there Is no escape from speedy
destruction; for, against the millions OF tons Of
rolling wAyea beating upon her side all hei
modern improvements 20 for nothing. She
must have sea room In running dangerous coas
or she Is lost"
The Times Is Inclined to be severe upor
the company and dcuomces It's parsimony III
followsi
'The Atlantic left Liverpool on the 10th o
March. On the 3lst she was 80 nearly out o
coal that she was compelled to steer for llalifa,
In order to lay In fresh supply. lp other words
she was sent out Of port, during one Of tn
storniest months Of the year, with only sum
cient coal to last her for eleven days. Thos
who were guilty OF this crime-fOr II was moth
Ing less-knew that u she could not reach NeV
York In eleven days she must put into port o
distress. Had she carried a proper supply O
Ss woaS NOT nS' hSNs Sesn driven % on
rocks, AND her passengers might have Teache
New YORK In safety. The immediate cause {
the death OF bt6'persons was, then, the reckless
CESS OF the Liverpool agents OF the White Sta
line, who, In order to economic space or 10 say
| the cost of buying few extra tons Of coal
| present Liverpool prices, sent the ship to sea
| an unnt condition to breast the long wcsteT
gales that she had good reason TO look 70
| This reckless trlnlng with human life Il vi
happily not without Its counterpart In u
previous management Of the White star lin
What company Ia II that builds steamers near
| eleven times as long as they are broad, and thI
| renders them unwicdy and dangerous In heaN
weather, and so weak that In case Of gtoundlT
they are morally certain to break up with frlgh
| ful TaDinitV9 What TOmnanV Ia II that 1TiNpa
ships through fog and storm at the height
their speed, on the dangerous northern passai
that the ships Of more carefully managed lin
uniformly AvOid7 What company Is II that Ia
December sent the Adriatic TO sea with but oI
which has thus trined with the lives Of its pa
/ sengers is that which owned the steamship A
lantic, now the collin Of over nve huidrC
| drowned corpses.'
| The TTibun, SAYS
"With regard to the management Of the We
sci on Monday night our reports are yet 4
confused and imperfect to Afford us clear Jud
ment In one respect the story OF Third ono
Brady Is most obscure. He says that at mi
| night II was judged that Sambro light bore
| N. W. about thlrty-nlne miles. lie could n
only at twenty miles distance. The captain sa
| he estimated that Sambro light was fofty-eig
miles distant north, at ~ O'Clock, midnight. !
then lefI the deck. Now, sambro light Is abo
ten miles west Of the entrance to Halifax ha
bOr and Capt. Williams thereupon doubtless Q
dered the ship kept on a n NE. course, and we
below, satisfied that all was right. OF the du
OF captain, In approaching VIGOROUSLY Tia
gerous coast on a dark night, there can he
doubt. His place was on the bridge. We q
told, indeed, that the last dreadful moment foul
him at his post but we know not how he b
passed the previous two hours, nor whose fal
was that the terrible mistake made at mldnig
was not sooner discovered. For 1t seems to
beyond question that he never saw any light
all. All reckoning was at fault. The spot whe
the steamer struck Is ten miles west Of SambrC
enough TO show that neither the captain, nor a
ofilcer who survived TO tell the tale, knew I
| ships real position
The World scems inclined to whitcwash I
company, and Is severe upon the captain,
follows:
"The commander OF the Atlantic Is now kno,
20 be among the living. Had he perished vi
his ship, as was hts duty; n by remaining
board her he could have saved u single o
among the lives intrusted to him, he would ha
escaped what TO man In his position ought
| be more than the bitterness OF death. The m
take OF the wrong light for the right one "
the immediate cause Of the wreck OF
Atlantic. Whatever may he the judgmC
OF experts, to whom OF course the questi
must be left by laymen, upon that mistake
whether It he held to show CrimiI
lncompetency or criminal neglect, or whether
Is mistake into which competent and carei
commander might be led-we need not wait
the verdict Of navlgators to declare that co
petent commander approaching such a coast
that OF Nova Scotia would not have left the de
OF his vessel until he was absolutely certain
his course, unless he left 1t, and his respOn
blllty with 1t, to a licensed pilot, The brave Al
skillful Maury was sent to sea In an ill-built a
| ill-found ship which he did all that man could
TO bring safely into port. The reckless or I
unskillful Williams threw away superb stea
ship, well equipped and supplied In all respei
save one, anu that one the most essential Of a
Taking them all in all these be bra
words from the New York press, aud
) country will rejoice that they have be
spoken. There Is no doubt that gr,
crime 1t cannot be called great blundcl
has been committed by somebody, and Il
the responsibility for the death Of Ave 1t
: dred human beings rests with some one
other. The public opinion Of two countr
lmperativcly demands that that responsible
shall be brought home to the guilty per:
or persons.
VIZ ARE SORRY to spoil nice little slC
that is now going tho rounds Of our
changes but decent regard for truth CO
pels 1t. Ex-senator Cole, Of California, d.
not desire TO be Commissioner Of Inter-
Revenue, and the waning influence" Of
. Douglass lg all moonshlnc.
The TWO GERMAN NEWSPAPERS Of this city,
3 AnseiyeT and Columbia, were consolidated
/ days ago under the name Of the Washing
' Journal, with Mr.. Carl ROeser as editor.
. Roeser Is a trained aud accomplished jOurT
, ist, and a writer OF acknowledged force |
ability. We arc glad TO know that under
, management the success OF the Journd! is
ready assured.