The New York herald., 1879-02-28
SAFETY AT SEA.


INSTRUCTIVE LECTURE BY LIEUTENANT MASON
BEFORE THE GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY.
At Chickering Hall last evening a special meeting
of the American Geographical Society was held to
lston to address by Lieutenant L. b. NJ Mason of
the United States Navy. The Preservation of Life
at Sea-" The lecturer illustrated certain portions of
his subject by stereoptican views and models. He
began by quoting from address by Charles b.
Roberts. of Maryland, the life-saving service:-
Measure human sympathy and you will have taken
the dimensions of this subject" We all liable
time to be exposed to the dangers of the
The lecturers object to show how these dangers
might be met If by other means they had not been
prevented Few persons were able to invent ideas in
time of danger, but having thought the subject
in hours of safety they might be able to not only
themselves but others. The first and most important
necessities for preservation in of marine acc
dents GOODNESS and knowledge of
swimming. Goodness allowed q person to
use his mind and his mind if it did
not tell him what to do. would at least advise him
keep out of other peoples way and do what others
better informed might suggest. There times
when. there being artificial at hand, only
swimming would save one. The great majority Of
people could not swim. and. strange though 1t
were, many who followed the profession
could not swim stroke. Referring to the
Revised Statutes Of the United States requiring
every steam vessel to carry plentiful supply of
life preservers, the lecturer said"How these laws
are actually carried out can be by any person
who travels so far Brooklyn or Jersey City. The
life preservers are on board. but where are they?
Strapped up under the cabin ceiling. where
but giant could possibly reach them or stuck
under the seats where none but an expert would
notice them. In river steamers they generally
fact could ever find them. In ocean steamers they
are often kept in some out-of-the-way locker. In
men-of-war the small number usually be found
in the furthest corner of the yeoman's storeroom.
UNPRovIDED SHIPS
The dangers to which ships were usually subjected
Lieutenant Mason enumerated as burning. colldng,
upsetting and stranding. There not to-day one
single vessel sailing steaming from this port
any other that was properly provided. We saw ref
erences made to watertight compartments and col
lision bulkheads. They did not exist in practice.
ments should be absolutely watertight. The bottoms
should be double The whole underwater, and up to
be like honeycomb. The very part of ship oc-
.cupied now by an immense open space is the
very part that should be most subdivided.
Each compartment should have separate pump.
The forward compartments should be very small,
not to lift the screw and rudder out OF the water
when they filed The coal should be slowed well up
on both sides of the engines and boilers to protect
them and also to be at hand that excuse could
be made OF difficulty OF getting at 1t account of
the bukheads. Every pump should be fitted for
work, for air water, and none Of the engines for
working these pumps should be placed down in the
engine room where fire might cut them of. Each
compartment should be fitted with electric
fire alarm. and if possible with an au-
packed in waterproof cases, or, better STILL in bar
rels The compartments being full of such pack
in could be forced out by turning the airpump.
The steering gear of all ships should be worked by
steam and hand. and the helmsman placed forward
close to the officer OF the deck, who should be there
also. A second apparatus should be placed ait in
of accident The officer OF the watch should be
able to stop the engines himself without leaving the
bridge. This could be done by electricity and has
been worked successfully aboard French man-of-
war; There should be an ample supply of fire ex-
tinguishers, buckets and always at hand.
There should be permanent steam water pipes such
as are fitted in hotels and large buildings by which
ship by syphon other pumps. Each apartment
should be provided with tap to this pipe and
An electric light at the masthead would do much
to prevent collisions or stranding. Such light
would be supplied with electricity by the engines
and put in operation extinguished by the officer
of the deck himself.
THE LIFE SAVING SERVICE -
OF the Life Saving Service Lieutenant Mason said:-
"The'private enterprise of one OF journals has
done much to lite i'll giving notice of the ap-
proaches of distant storms and advocating the adop-
ton of greater precautions in the building of ships
The lighthouse service Afforded great protection.
There tho Atlantic coast 45l Lights 43 hot air
steam fog Signals 422 day beacons and go buoys
On the Pacific coast there in all 21l aids to
CATION. There were 81 lightships outlying shoals
our coast would be fairly well lighted. There was
one improvement that should be made, and prob
ably would be il funds were appropriated. Every
lighthouse, and especially outlying ghtshps should
be signal and telegraph stations. They would then
be able to give warning OF bad weather. aud il q
wreck occurred them likely to occur
they could signal for aid TO the nearest port life
saving station Many valuable lives aud cargoes
lost when the timely arrival of tug or ground
tackle would have saved all
The small surf boat used at almost all the sta
tions Our coast was so sandy and rugged that it
was impossible to transport liteboats weighing gen.
orally four five thousand pounds. The surfmen
also familiar with this stye of boat, and seem
to place more reliance in 1t than in any other. The
snallness Of tine crews rendered even this very di
cult OF transportation to any distance. Where they
could be hired horses were used but where they
were most wanted they could not be obtained. 1t
recommended that four horses be kept Mt the
stations on the most exposed and desoate parts of
the coast. The patrols could ride two OF these
horses, the other two being always IN reserve to
bring out the apparatus.
The men were employed for only part Of tho
year. This necessitated the breaking in OF
every season. The pay was small and the work most
arduous. which prevented men from reshipping. 1t
now proposed to regularly enlist the men, employ
ing them IN the OF months in drilling. making coast
road building stations, repairing apparatus putting
up telegraphs and patrolling the Coast. in of
possible accident or to prevent smuggling. The
crew. as it now stood, was too small. Two men
always patrol i'll case OF an alarm one both of
these would be absent The beats at present ia
localities, longer than could possibly be watched
by one man, often reaching length OF eight miles.
Then again no leeway left for the sick list
avoidable absence. BY regular system of enlist
ment good crews could be obtained from districts
where plenty of men were to be found aud trans
ferred to those where the material was poor.
Is II FRAUDg
In concluding, Lieutenant Mason said And now.
gentlemen and ladies', as 1 know you would like to
have u ook at the practical working OF our system,
let me invite you to put ON your warmest clothing,
your waterproofs and your thick boots and come
with me this evening to the lonely coast OF North
Carolina, not quite 80 lonely IL the night
the Huron was lost. Tue patrolman Of the nearest
station which eight miles off. Is now thore. But
see, he is looking seaward. He thought just now
that lie the geam of u light. He was right. Al
most blinded by the salt spray from the
mixed with sand from the beach. he Is able to
make out a vessels lights, and to add TO his
certainty there goes her gun. She is heading right
in for the breakers aud viii ground in lew seconds
The patrol burns his coston light show them that
they More he cannot do until he summons
He starts for the station, aud after weary
hours of toiling. which can only be appreciated by
those who have tried such journey coast in
q winters storm, he reaches his destination. The
alarm Is given, and In few minutes the start
with their apparatus. Six men, all told one being
far away to the westward patrol and cannot