The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-12-04
THE PILOTS CHART.
An Aid to Commerce that Shipping
Men Appreciate.

An Aid to Commerce that Shipping
| Men Appreciate.
| The photographic bureau hes begun the
eighth year Of the publication Of TIE pilots
chart. Tire changes and improvements that
have been made in the chart since its first
issue in 1888 are strikingly shown by
! comparison between o late copy and that
| first issued. The most conspicuous additions
| are the following: Steam and sailing
| routes; region OF equatorial rains; table of
barometer normais and percentage of prob
| able Gains for each 50-suuare; storm dia-
| grams with brief rules for action to avoid
| a hurricane; cautio1ary and storm signals
| IN use along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts
| of the United States; the tracks,
| names and dates of derelicts; list of NIGER
Gus distractions to navigation slong the
| coast, and OF charts published and Cancelled
| during the preceding month, regions of
| observed aud predicted fog. Besides these
additions, and other less striking ones. the
greater portion of the forecast meteoroiogic
| data has been thoroughly revised and
brought up to date, while the review is now
| prepared with very Touch greater accuracy
and completeness, owing TO the fer grea er
| number of observers who now send in reQu-
| lar reports ana the hearty appreciation and
| support received from masters Of vessels of
| every nationality.
During the last three years especial ef-
forts ha, been made to publish promptly
| and make practically useful to navigators
| the results OF the many reports that are
| made to this Office, thus giving to each and
every observer the bsneft Of the combined
experience of hundreds of observers, ana at
the same time securing a wide and inter
national circulation for data relating to the
ocean.
In this attempt two objects have been
kept in view First, to give. in a clear,
practical form, as much late and important
news as possible to navi stors, and to aid
them by every means in our power in les
SEEMING the dangers OK the sea and increas-
ing the success and safety OF commerce:
secondly, to attract the interest and atten-
ton of other classes of people to the life AID
duties or the officers and men of the navy
find mercantile marine, and thus to insure a
fair hearing and some attention and sympa-
thy in any reasonable effort t. improve the
status and prospects of sea-faring men and
others directly interested in commerce.
That these efforts have been successful to
some extent seems to be indicated by the
support that our work has received from
masters. owners and agents, as we'll as from
the public generally, and numerous quota
ito 10 might be made from home and foreign
reviews. and from public and private state
nlents by recognized au horities, showing
general recognition of the fact hat this
publication has achieved success in a nsw
an untrled field, and has been creditable
to the United States. Not the least of the
valuable results that have been achieved is
the general recognition of the benefits to be
derived from the uso Of oil in preventing
heavy seas from breaking on board vessels,
a result universally attributed to reports
that have been pu olished on this chart
The subject of derelicts at sea, and the
danger therefrom to commerce. has been
emons sized in the same way, and some au-
thorities are Of the opinion that the recent
marine conference owed its inception largely
to the interest caused by the continued pub
LEGATION of such data.
a feature Of the pilot chart that deserves
special mention is the occasional publication
of a supplement devoted to some subject of
immediate Importance. This plau was first
tried in September. 1887, and since that time
several supplements have boon issued.