The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-09-08
SHIP SIGNALING AT SEA.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE COMING
CONFERENCE AT WASHINGTON.
Tho Art Of Communicating Between ves-
sells on the Ocean Has Been Brought
Down TO n Very Fine Point. and 1t VIII
lie stilI Further Improved.
lSncclal Correspondence.l

. he stiII Further Improved.
}. Especial Correspondence
It New YORK, Aug. ALPHABETICALLY it
: is entirely safe to 20 to sea in a first class
c steamship Of today" said Ensign Blow,
d of the United States photographic office,
o the other day. Excepting for one thing.
The danger Of fire is substantially done
G away with, for the appliances are 50 per-
o feet that with a large crew there is 20
= difficulty in subduing any connagration
= that may start. The ships that are built
-, nowadays will outlive any storm, even a
hurricane, and there is no danger Of a
J ship built with compartments sinking
D from any ordinary leak. The one peril
which is not yet avoided is that Of col
lision. Nothing that has yet been con-
trivcd 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 10 know that
practical steps have been taken toward
solving this important problem. Some
iime ago the president Of the United
\ States issued circular letter to all the
maritime nations of the world, inviting
them 70 send delegates To a convention to
be held in Washington for the purpose Of
I IL Il
at first refused. and for some time hung
back, and, as a matter OF course, no
conference that should be held without
her cooperation would be Of any great
importance. At length, however, the
English government reconsidered the
question and appointed her delegates.
Nearly all the other nations followed her
example, and the conference is TO be held
in the coming fall.
That it is much needed no one who is
at all conversant with maritime matters
will question for Il moment The mum
Der of vessels actually sunk by collision
i'm 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 qucs-
lions 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 cncoun-
tered by the mariner. They are expected |
therefore, to adopt a 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 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 derelicts
this is manifcstly impossible. and con
sequently the dereict inspires more
terror than any other source Of peril at
sea 1t presents the only danger which
cannot Doe forcseen, against which ne
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 q system now in use among all
seamcn by which il is intended that this
fhall be done. Not everybody knows.
though. that this system is radically de
fcctiye and in some cases very inefficient.
Manilcstly the only way TO communicate
at sea is by signals TO the eve or to the
ear Experiments are constantly being
made in the hope Of developing the posi-
bility Of tclegraphing 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 qucs-
ton.
For the present the only possible rcli-
ance is on the perception of the eye and
ear, and this is reached in few WAYS
only. Flags and similar contrivances,
such as balls hung like flags. lights,
whistles or. horns or sirens, guns and
bells are the only means in use outside
of the system of motions known as "wig
wag.'
Wigwag is a setof 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
jet like flag, a cap, stick, anything
he can get, which the eye will readily
follow. Swinging this in certain ways
he can talk in the Morse alphabet bv dots
and dashes, while the movements are in
iicatcd 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
cificaciOus when circumstances allow of
the two men seeing each other In the
daik or in fog, of course. it is useless.
though at night and under favorable cir
cumstanccs communication may be had
with lanterns under this system.
Lights, also useless or nearly so in
fog, are the main reliance of the mariner
in trying to locate the vessel he may en-
counter at night. International law fixes :
the manner in which vessels shall carry O
these lights, and penalty of $500 is l.
fixed by act of congress for any viola
ton Of tho regulations. These rules pre- 6
scribe that all ocean going steamers and y
steamers carrying sail shall carry at the
foremost head bright white light of
such a character as 70 be visible on a
lark night, with a clear atmosphere, at l.
4 distance of at least five miles, and so u
constructed as TO show a uniform and q
light over an arc of the horizon o