New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-04-06

TORTURED BULLOCKs-HUMAN LIFE IN
DAXGERED Loss cF THE ERIN
AND ITS PROBABLE CAUSE.
The g-continued abuses in the transportation
of cattle from his city 10 Europe do not
ever to have attracted the notice Of humane
societies on either side of the Atlantic. This
appears exceedingly strange. they are so glarng.
The loss Of the steamer Erin. Of the National
Line, ought TO have been sufficient 70 start an
Investigation. That vessel sailed from this port
on December IS. and is now supposed to be al
the bottom OF the sea. As her destination was
London, il is possible that size shaped her course
TOO near the Great Banks and came in collision
with an iceberg. 1t is highly probable that
she went down in storm The Atlantic was
extremely boisterous about that time and the
Erns decks encountered with cattle as
TO render her unmana gcablc in a heavy sea. On
her main deck she carried 275. her upper
deck 252. makiar lo7 in all This certainly made
her tophcavy. With svch cargo far above
the watcrlinc. she could not rally from the shock
of fast-succccding waves. which, sweeping over
Ter decks. threw hcr on her beam ends. tore away
the stanchons which pcnred the cattle and hurled
the brutes in a helpless heap 10 the Ice side Of
the ship. where they tranpLrd and gorcd one
another till the Erin went down. Cause Of the
disaster: a shifting cargo.
The insurance company insisted that the Erin
should not attempt TO carry so many cattle. It's
inspectors placed the limit at 40 While entirely
willing that 27J should be carried on the main
deck they did not consider il safe that the num-
Der on the upper deck should exceed 200. The
simmer. who in this case proved to be Meyer
Goldsmith, the largest exporter Of live stock in
D.. the United States was informed that if he did
Ill al har fu1l Ipa
according to the company's agcnts-hc would be
REQUIRED to pay dead freight. In other words,
if Mr. Goldsmith accepted the insurance company 5
estimate of 41j head, and shipped only that
number, he would he charged with the freight
on the entire 527, which meant that he would be
forced TO pay the National Line over Sl.i0o for
carving ifty-two head of cattle which 1t did not
carry.
Mr. Goldsmith refused to ship the cattle I'M
insured The insurance company refused 10 'aKc
n risk on more than 40. The issue, thus PLAINLY
defined Threatened 10 cause trouble, Dut COM
nromisc was finally effected by the steamship com
pany itself agreeing TO take the FISK on 'hc
ffty-two head As il is the custom of exporters
70 insure cattle for - per cent of their value, the
amount lost by the National Line by this translc-
ton was in round numbers S2.'O0.
That little experience taught the steamship
peoplc a wholesome lesson, and since the disap-
pearance of the Erin vessels of all lines have hccil
carving from l2j to 80 head less than usual
Three weeks ago the steamer Greece sailed from
this port with 3sj head, of which only SIN were
lost. all on the main deck. The Spain carried
277 on her main and 2s2 on her upper dcck' ana
lost none The Italy carried 2o2 on her upper
deck and 252 below. and lost none.
But 20 back n few months. Al the beginning
NJ winter. the steamer England which could not
possibly make more than 900 cattle comfort
able ON her decks, sailed from New-Nork WIN
a cargo Of 900. Fortune favored hcr, >nc
encountered beautiful weather and lost but eigh'
head The Queen, Whose capacity Is A'o, car
sd soo of which p,nety died. The Spain,