Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-09-06
SHIP SIGNALING AT SEA.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE COMING
CONFERENCE AT WASHINGTON.
The Art of Communicating Between ves-
sells on the Ocean Has Been Brought
Down to u Very Fine Point, and 1t VIII
Be Still Further Improved.
Especial Correspondence

BE Still Further Improved.
Especial Correspondence
NEW YORK, Aug. ALPHABETICALLY it
is entirely safe to go to sea in first class
steamship of today" said Ensign Blow,
of the United States photographic office,
the other day, excepting for one thing.
The danger of fire is substantially done
away with, for the appliances are SO per-
feet that with large crew there is no
difficulty in subduing any conhagration
that may start. The ships that are built
nowadays will outlive any storm, even a
hurricane, and there is no danger of a
ship built with compartments sinking
from any ordinary leak. The one peril
which is not yet avoided is that of col
lision. Nothing that has yet been con-
trived enables the most careful navigator
to rest free from anxiety on that point.
This utterance is one that Is echoed by
any and all sea captains who will talk
on the subject. They declare that nothing
remains to make sea going practically as
safe as any land travel excepting to do
away with the danger of collision, and it
is therefore comforting to know that
practical steps have been taken toward
solving this important problem. Some
time ago the president of the United
States issued circular letter to all the
maritime nations of the world, inviting
them to send delegates to convention to
be held in Washington for the purpose of
considering this very question England
at first refused, and for some time hung
knx
conference that should be held without
her cooperation would be of any great
importance. AT length, howe yer, the
English government reconsidered the
question and appointed her delegates
Nearly all the other nations followed her
example, and the conference is co be held
in the coming fall.
That it is much needed no one who is
at all conversant with maritime matters
will question for moment. The num-
Der of vessels actually sunk by collision
in the world runs not far from 200 each
year, and statistics show that even this
large number is increasing from year to
year.
The conference will discuss many ques-
tions bearing on the subject of safety at
sea, but, as is suggested above. their
main work will be directed to the use of
signals for the purpose of avoiding col
lisions, that being universally conceded
to be the principal danger now encoun-
tered by the mariner. They are expected,
therefore, to adopt uniform system of
marine signals or other means of plainly
indicating the direction in which vessels
are moving in fog, mist, falling snow
and thick weather, and at night. To
their treatment of this subject will be at
tracted the most public attention.
AS a matter of course, in order to avoid
bringing his own vessel into collision with
another, the master must know where
that other is, and at the same time inform
the master of the other vessel of his own
whereabouts In the case of dereicts
this is manifestly impossible, and con-
sequently the derelict inspires more
terror than any other source of peril at
sea. 1t presents the only danger which
cannot be foreseen, against which no
precaution is adequate So long as there
are ships it is likely that this peril will
remain. There seems to be no reason,
however, why system of communica-
ton cannot be devised which will enable
commanders to inform one another of
their whereabouts even in fog or on the
darkest nights. Everybody knows that
there is a system now in use among all
seamen by which it is intended that this
shall be done. Not everybody knows,
though, that this system is radically de-
fective and in some cases very inefficient.
Manifestly the only way to communicate
at sea is by signals to the eye or to the
ear. Experiments are constantly being
made in the hope Of developing the posi-
bility of telegraphing through the water,
and it has been claimed that messages
have been sent and received in this way
No practically valuable results have yet
been attained in this direction, however,
though it would be foolish in this day to
deny the probability of electricity being
the ultimate solution of the whole ques-
ton.
For the present the only possible reli-
ance is on the perception of the eye and
ear, and this is reached in few ways
only. Flags and similar contrivances,
such DIS balls hung like flags, lights,
|
bells are the only means in use outside
of the system of motions known as "wig-
wag."
Wigwag is a set of motions to be made
by man in sight, but out of hearing of
another man, by which words can be
conveyed. The sender stands in as con-
spicuous a place as possible and holds
in one hand. or in each hand. some OBJ
ject like flag, cap, stick, anything
he can get, which the eye win readily
follow, Swinging this in certain ways
he can talk in the Morse alphabet by dots
and dashes, while the movements are in
dictated by certain attitudes arbitrarily
settled and agreed upon. This system is
officially recognized by the army and
navy of the United States and England,
and is in use also in the merchant SER
vice of both countries 1t is simple and
eficacious when circumstances allow of
the two men seeing each other. In the
dark or in q foo of couraa il ia uSalaeo