Wilmington daily commercial., 1875-05-11
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THE MORAL OF THE WRECK,

Thoreau in his Whimsical disparagement Of
news and newspapers. says that the principle III
this intelligence is the same in all cases. and that
the reading OF repetitons and details is mere
waste of time. When you read OF one raising,
steamboat accident you read he says, of all,
and need not further fritter away your leisure ia
those directions. That Thoreau had often but
very faint notions of what is interesting to the
mass of readers, this opinion-if, indeed, it is
an opinion-proves. Danger, suffering, and
heroism are ever new and ever fascinating in
the contemplation. Each fresh appeal to the
sympsthies has an interest of its own-undulled
by any reflection OF tho trials put upon other
men in other days We learn Of the awful wreck
upon the Scilly. Islands with keenness Of pitying
interest which the White Star line disasters, and
the lesser ones which have occurred since, do
not diminish
But If we may suppose the sage OF Walden
in his new reading of Solomon's proverb to
mean that there is nothing new in the disasters
which constantly shock the world because men
refuse to take warning Of experience and COM
init the same follies over and over again, then
Ills ironical remark has some point. How many
ships have been wrecked by running upon dam
gerous coasts and distractions during fog? We
ask the question but cannot be expected to an
swer it. That answer would carry us to the be-.
ginning of the history Of navigation. If it could
be made up it would be found to record the loss
OF millions Of treasure and multitudes of lives.
Yet in this year of grace, and with
the benefit of all that has been done and suffer
ed by men who go down to the sea in ships, the
Schiller" was driven to her fate in the same
way, and with result of 43 persons saved out of
Il total list of 1856.
There is variance in the reports regarding
the rate of speed at which the vessel WAS going
at the time Of the disaster. One account says
she was going at full speed, and another that she
was slowed one half but there is no escape from
responsibility here. Even half speed say
six or seven miles an hour, WAS mad
ness under the circumstances. A fog so
thick that everything over the bulwarks was a
wall of smoke so thick that one Of the strong
est lights on the coast was invisible half a mile
away and yet this tremendous machine hur.
risd along, it knew not where, at the speed
OF q fast horse The Captain knew that ht
Was approaching the entrance Of the Englisl
Channel, tho most dangerous locality in all h..
route, yet for the sake of making time h,
took this awful rick.
IL experience Of much worth, after ALL whei
men in authority-whether it was captain O.
Officers in this case We do not pretend TO say
are found as reckless and unscrupulous now a
at any former time ? With all the safeguards o
science the thing comes down to personal foot
ing. 1t is individual impulse which underlie
system or material results, and the travelle
trusts himself not more to the Students ar
Mechanics skill than to personal complication
innumerable, involving business rivalries an
other considerations Of which he knows nothing
The race for wealth is 30 swift that even per
lous seas must be navigated with speed i'll til
fog SO rs to "make" an hour or twoa tim,
Who can measure such follyl