Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-07-02
The Precautions q, o., the Rtrer.

The explosion Of the May Queen on Lake
Minnetonka last Saturday, was revived yester-
day as matter of general conversation at the
announcement of the death of Engineer
Haines from injuries received. The public are
mot slow to render q verdict of neglect and
term it even criminal at that. has s5:ssfa
In this connection the GLOBE reporter
thought it not amiss to make inquiries about
this steamboat inspection business when in
tspeoted and where. I it3lls s!.I.' slfsg3G.ftas
Gen. Charles l.. Stephenson, supervising
inspector of steamboats,, was called upon for
the information. go ttiAt
No sooner was the subject introduced, than
he referred to the Minuetonka disaster, and
added that it was not within his province
to inspect boats on those waters. .sfI zi4aa
He said that one of his jealous inspectors
had once inspected every boat on Lake Minnie
itonka. ana had condemned ev. ~ one Of them.
They were tied up fora time, but were finally
released on the ground that the lake
was, wasn't naylgable commercial water.
inspection was made at the request Of the boat
owners, but, after The result, they had never
renewed their application for. an official sur
tvey. - g w tal' sts's
Coming to where the general province Of in
spectlOn did obtain, he i'm parted the following
valuable information: Gen. Stephenson is
supervising inspector of the fifth district
there are ten in all the United States, which
embraces all navigable water ways, from
river, and also the upper Missouri river from
Yankton, and all tributaries wherever naYi-
gable. In the discharge of his duties the
supervisor is assisted by two inspectors con-
Istantly at work. 1skz a7$@l
Thesrules governing the inspectors of all
steam craft are very stringent. An inspection
Iof each boat, its engine, boiler, ETC., is made
iOnce year, and oftener il the necessity
should arise from rum0r or other cause.
The boilers are subjected to q test, annually,
and during the inspection they are required to
carry pressure fifty per cent. above what il
required for ordinary work. If the boiler
breaks, budges or q rivet is displaced, the boat
is locked for repairs, and afterwards is sub-
Ijected to the SAME test. n If .f f1i5 al
All new boilers are put to the same test, and
careful attention is given to the boiler
/ to see If it cones up to the standard
required by law That is, be as strong as iron
properly riveted and welded can make it. The
technicalities of such an inspection were ex-
planned, showing that the most CAREFUL scrutiny
\ of every part Of the machinery is made.rx ~
s5T ENGINEERS, PILOTS, ETC.
Gen. Stephenson also explained that all
engineers were licensed. They could not
be employed without the United States
license. When an applicant sought a
\ AS6uSC, NC W86 t3I0COmueuOG0 and
endorsed by old and reliable engineers, and
was given trial; meeting it, he got his license,
\ This could be taken from him arbitrarily for
misconduct; and he was out of employment
until it was restored, which seldom or never
happened. save in exceptional cases. Drunk
enness and careless neglect were causes to re-
woke q license. The inspector learned of any
misconduct, and it was made
the duty of all engineers
and other steamboat officers to report eyery
neglect of duty on the part of an, engineer.
record of these men was kept and all &C.
cidents, ETC., were duly charged to them. These
records had yearly overhauling by the board
of supervisors at Washington. To make mat
tiers more certain and safer, engineer licenses
were renewed once each year. ag5a4iY sssi.a3 Il
In this way thoroughly competent
and relsable class of men were obtained who,
taking pride in their business, made it com.
paratively an exclusive business za;
Gen. Stephenson added that all boats plying
in the rivers of this section Of country had
been subjected to an examination since Fnavi-
CATION opened, and each one was pronounced
secure, safe and seaworthy in every respect,
as to timbers and machinery. T s3,a'
The above gives an insight into the precau-
tions used to insure safety ON our rivers,
making all the travelling public shudder by the
contrast presented in the criminal carelessness
and neglect prevailing on our pleasure lakes
sought by SO many summer visitors.