Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1875-05-29
DISASTERS AT SEA.
Why they Occur and win Continue to Occu

appointed ship, people who ought to
know better say: "You are as safe in
her as in your own house." Nor is this
meant to be a mere metaphor. If we
could leave out of the calculation one
element, that which makes the ship a
floating citadel, the statement might be
true. But of the stanchest craft ever
built, of the wisest seamanship ever
practiced, it is still true that on the path
less and bottomless ocean these NAV
prove nothing but frailty and ignorance.
1t is the sea which at once buoys up the
vessel and cuts her off from human help
that constitutes the element of danger
always present. 1t is the sea which
makes the finest skill in construction
necessary, and yet laughs to scorn the
most ingenious devices of man. 1t is
the unstable water, a vast plain extend
ing to the horizon, that constantly men
aces the voyager and instantly magnlfes
every disaster. From fire, starvation,
mutiny, and wreck, on land, men may
flee. But when any one of these calam-
tiles appears on shipboard, no escape is
possible; the terrible thing must be
fought hand to hand, and the waters
wait to swallow up the victim when he
falls. 1t is not true-it never can be
true-that ship may be 50 strong, well
provided, anil well manned that she may
be as safe refuge on the sea as may be
found on the solid land. The sooner
people make up their minds to this, the
better will they be prepared for the sud
den loss of "those who go down to the
sea in ships"
just now it is not worth while to in
quire whether the percentage of loss to
human life on the ocean is greater or less
than formerly. We know that there is
certain risk in ocean travel; that the risk
is probably greater than in any other de-
partment of human activity, and that
every man who ventures to sea "takes
his life in his hand more truly than he
who travels by rail or other means of To-
comotion. Not only have the disasters
to passenger ships been very destructive
of human life, but they have been fire.
quent. The list of ships lost at sea
within the memory of our middle-aged
readers is long. Its death-ron would be
enormous. On the President, which
sailed out into an unknown fate thirty
four years ago, there were three hundred
people. On the Arctic were more than
three hundred. And when we mention
the names Of the five OF six great ships
which have gone down within ten years,
we recall at once the details of very
great calamities. We do not here allude
to the disasters in which sailing vessels
have been lost. The sum of these must
be very large. In addition to strong
crews, these ships carried down many
who were passengers. But the loss of
life by steamships carrying great num-
bers of passengers is that which must
everywhere command attention. 1t is
these large sacrifices of human life
which emphasize the perils of the ocean,
rather than the sum total of loss dis
tributed in small figures over many un-
eventful years.
OF course, the natural inquiry will be:
Must this state of things always con-
tinue3 1t seems mockery of science
and human intelligence that we should,
in this advanced century of progress, be
so far behind the general progress of the
times in our appliances for saving life
and preventing great catastrophes on
the ocean. But it must be confessed
that mans ingenuity has not kept pace
on the sea with his achievements on the
land, if we consider the relative risks in
travel by sea and land. The deviation of
the compass, the unexpected and un-
known influences of the currents, and
various other subtle elements which a
landsman cannot understand, go to
make up the puzzling problem which
the shipmaster must solve or perish.
Add to this the insane desire of passen-
gers to save q day, or a few hours, and
we have some notion of the complication
of troubles under which the commander
of steamship must labor. Many peo-
pie, commenting ON the Schiller wreck,
have said: "There is no reason why a
voyage on stanch ship, properly
managed, should not be as safe as trip
on the land" Now, the fact is that the
ships are not "properly managed" in
the restricted sense in which this is
meant. Nor will they be, until human
nature is radically changed. While the
newer transatlantic lines make their
reputation on the mere speed of their
steamers, and SO attract passengers,
where is the use of preaching about
speed to which safety is sacrifcedl If
the Schiller had been absolutely fearless
of competition, would not her course
have been differentG If there was but
one line from New York to England
would disasters be as common as now9
These inquiries answer themselves.
Moreover, they cover the whole case.
The people who travel practically de-
mand speed before safety. They rush
for the fast ships. The simultaneous
departure of large feet begets rivalry.
The result is inevitable. In spite of the
precautions of science, ocean travel must
under such circumstances remain
dangerous.
Twelve pounds of hay and ten pounds