The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-04-16
elected by federal courts there will soon be an
end to republican government in every part
Of the country.


We publish elsewhere this morning letter
from the Secretary of the Chamber of Com
merce commencing the course of the HERALD
In urging upon Congress and the maritime
nations the early establishment Of ''steam
lanes" We are gratiAed that the
memorial Of this useful public body has
been graciously received by Congress and
that it has found able advocates in Senator
Roscoe Conkling and Representative 8. s.
Cox. All, apparently, that remains to be done
is to secure the immediate passage of Senator
Conkling's bill and the cooperation of foreign
maritime nations. When the Vile du Havre
was lost Admiral Jaurez, a member of the
French Assembly, at once introduced a reso-
luton asking that an international commission
might be established for the determination of
such q code as would lessen the dangers Of
Transatlantic voyages and punish officers who
might negligently jeopardize the lives Of their
passengers. This proposition was followed
by q similar movement in the House of Com
mons. We are not aware that any steps have
been taken in Germany to accomplish the ends
in view; but, if not, we hope that the Chamber
of Commerce will lose no time in communicate
ing with the German government and with
those organs and corporations which may have
an influence in fastening the organization of
this commission. We would say, furthermore,
that it would be idle to convene at such q con-
gress afew 9ld-stage horse rsformers who would
meet at several dinner parties and then ad-
journ, after having written fine manuscript
on tinted paper, neatly tied together with red
ribbon and perfumed with Ihlang- Ihlang
Serious, practical scientific men, who are not
SO scientific that they are useless, should be
appointed, and each and every delegate SO
named should have the reputation Of having
done something. In our day we have had all
manner Of international congresses. We have
had Coinage Congress, q Telegraph Congress.
a Weight and Measure Congress, Prison Re-
form Congress, Peace Congress, Universal
Language Congress, and yet every nation holds
on to the medieval traditions of its money,
to it's own system of telegraphy, to
its own avoirdupois, to its own abuses
of prison discipline, to its own vicious
and belligerent susceptbilities and to it's
own tongue and dialects. A mari
time congress called together to decide
upon ocean tracks, to command electric lights
on the sea and to improve our maritime law
should not meet and pass similarly into his
tory. Seamen and merchants are generally
practical men, who have little or no time to
lose, add from this class we hope the majority
of the delegates will be chosen; and we de-
voutly pray that the congress in prospective
will not adjourn without, at least, having
taken some decisive action Week after week
until December there will be on the average
between ten thousand and twelve thousand
passengers in trdnsitu between this and Euro
pean ports. Although the season of snow
storms is over in the higher ATTITUDES, icebergs.
fogs, collisions, unwisely heightened ships.
bad seamanship or defective boilers may at
any moment entail appalling disasters. We
do not believe they will occur, but they are
possible To render them impossible is to
assemble the best maritime wisdom of the two
hemispheres, to convene the best masters of
photography and the laws of storms not for
getting that old sea captains without theo-
retical training have an experience not to be
treated with derision.