The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-11-22
ROCK ISLAND z NrHorn &C.. 2. q.
Tuesday. November % 1881
Local Inspectors George w. Girdon 8

Local Inspectors George W. Girdon and
John G. Scott have made their report anent
the Jennie Gilchrist disaster, and said re-
port is published in the local columns of
THE ARGUS. That report, briefly summar-
lied, revokes the licenses Of the pilot, en-
gineer, captain and mate, and censures the
officers and owners for not having the an
Choir ready to cast at the time of danger.
The Inspectors comment on the fact
that there was no outlook on the hurricane
deck as is required by law; and this in an
especially dangerous part of the river.
The statutes riquire that one of the crew
shall always be on watch to carry orders
and in general be ready for any emergency,
but in this instance no such an one was
present.
1t is also stated in the report that
the Jennie Gilchrist was only licensed as q
daylight passenger boat and had no au-
thority to travel at night, but in spite Of
this prohibition she was at the time Of the
disaster, operating as night carrier.
In addition the Inspectors find that
there was no effort made to cast the an
Choir and further that the anchor was in
such condition that it was impossible to
use; this is an ugly feature of the case and
needs more than passing mention Steam
boat men state that no careful master viii
go over the rapids without the anchor
being in rediness for use as it is their only
hope in case anything breaks, and there
are records Of more than one accident
being averted by the timely cast of an
anchor. On the Gilchrist it seems the
anchor was useless and the boat could
have gone to destruction a dozen times
over before it could have been put in
shape. For this The owners are severely
censured.
Further more the inspectors affirm the
stand taken by the ARGUS that there was not
sufficient effort made to rescue the passen-
gers. The words of the report are. I'VE
find that there was want Of diligence on
the part of the captain and great lack Of
discipline on the part of the officers in not
giving timely warning to the passengers
dAd CAC" w " SoSGpO AAch1
the steamer to the empty barge Robert,
alonside Of the steamer" This is the worst
part of the transaction and it has been the
stand taken by the ARGUS from the begin
ming that the effort to save life was not
what was the duty of the officers.
In accordance with this report
Of the local inspectors, the licenses of the
pilot, captain, mate and engineer have been
revoked and the owners of the boat have
been put in position where they are re-
sponsible for the horrible work of that
stormy night.
In their report Messrs Girdon and Scott
have been more thorough than previous
reports, had led us to believe they would |
be, and they have done part of their duty. |
Their position was not that of the judge |
and they could simply comment on the
facts before them. It was not part of |
heir duty to visit punishment and they
simply did what they thought they should
n revoking the licenses. Rdmor had it
hat they would justify everybody for what
hey had done. regardless of the conse I
luences and that rumor was happily dis
appointed.