The Portland daily press., 1879-05-20
FLORENCE MATHEsoN.
The Merriam "Gum Suit" Bill.

To the Editor Of the Press:
For many years past there has been grow
ing disposition to impose upon vessel owners
and more especially steamboat owners various
patent appliances under the pretence of afford
ing greater safety to life and property but
really in the interests of patent Rings.
Many of these are not only useless and incon-
venient but really add dangers to navigation
Congress having control of the navigation
interests of the country, has been of course,
the great field of operation for these Rings and
SO great has been their success in thus impos-
ing burdensome and dangerous appliances up
on the shipping interest that the whole steam
ship interests of the country has been COM
PEELED to organize into National Association
in self-defence. Various organizations of the
vessel owning interests have also been effected
+ to prevent the gradual yet inevitable crushing
out by these burdensome taxations of those inn
portant interests. The following article taken
from the Nautical Gazette of New York, apa-
per keenly alive to all the best interests of our
national shipping, gives new revelation OF the
next move in the direction above indicated, a
move more widely sw eepin perhaps than any
of its predecessors;
We give below the 1ull text OF senate Bill
No. 1857, which was offered Dec. 8, 1878, by
Senator Paddock, and was referred to the Com
mittee ON Commerce. 1t may be
well to state here that these suits
have been in use about five years
in the Life Saving Stations on our coast, and,
owing to natural decay, will soon have to be
condemned 1t may be well to state here that
these suits cannot be safely worn except by an
expert, and in the case of Capt. Ankers of the
Metropolis, it was proven that although he had
cd ttr,n and uerbt N, how
known how to use it, he would have been
drowned in the surf with one of Merriman' s
suits on, had it not been for the life-saying
crew who went into the breakers to his rescue.
We give the bill in its entirety:
1855 BILL
For the better protection of life during marine
disasters.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives of the United States of America in Con-
gress assembled, That all vessels navigating the
oceans or any gulf, bay or sound, or the great
northern chain Of lakes water OF the United States
at the United States lifesaving stations such
other lifesaving dresses (not inferior thereto)
shall be approved and recommended by majority of
a board consisting of the Superintendent of the
United States Coast Survey service and the General
Superintendent and the Chief Inspector of the
United States LifeSaying Service, as follows name
Sec 2. All steamships and steambo ats shall
carry such dress for the first fifty tons register
less, and such dress addit onal for each adj
dtiona two hundred tons register fracti ona part
required to carry more than seven such dresses
Sec. 3. All sail-vesses shall carry one such
dress for the first fifty tons register less and one
such dress additional for each additional two humid
ged and fifty tons register fractional part thereof
Provided however, That no sail-vessel shall be re
quired to carry more than five such dresses.
Sec. A. Vessels propelled in part wholly by
steam shall be considered steam vessels as related
to this act
Sec. 5. 1t shall be the duty of the collector or
other chief officer of the customs to require all
steamship and sail-vessels navigating tie aforesaid
waters of the United States to comply with the re-
qIirements of this act.
Sec. 6. 1t shall be the duty of steamboat inspec-
tors to require steamboats, navigating the aforesaid
waters of the United States to comply with the re-
quirements of this act.
Sec. Z. All vessels of the United States, except
excepting public vessels navigating the aforesaid
waters of the United States shall be subject tn
requirements of this act
This bill, it will be seen, includes all vessels
sail and steam-no matter what their tom
mage shall be. We have been informed the bill
has been amended in committee so as to make
the Supervising Inspector General of Steam
boats one of the board, to approve the suits,
and the amendment further fixes the price of
the same at a cost not to exceed $55 each. 1t
must be borne in mind that these suits are
patented article, and hence there can be no
competition. We have aroused public atten-
ton to this matter, and we trust all vessel own
ers will unite in protesting against this unjust
bill and see that it is buried in the committee
room.