The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-02-12

We have held that the fact that the
big French liner, la Gascogne, was long
overdue was net cause. for alarm as to
her fate. although il might naturally be
cause for concern. That the big ship
was disabled seemed probable theory,
but that she had the whole of the At
lantic Ocean to drift about in was very
fair guarantee Of her safety.
This opinion was based on a recog-
nlzed axiom Of ihipss martins that no
snip tllst is n eoaaiiicn ~ be eh9al at
al ought 70 70 down ia open sea under
anything bns extraordinary conditions.
Never ,nind how severe the storm,
well built ship oaght to live through it,
Unless she is unfit to be afloat she will
not spring a-ieak, and unless she gets
caught in a sudden typhoon, there
should be no excuse for her capsizing.
The open sea is the safest place she can
be in in storm, IL she is going to be
away from harbor at all. The storm
can buffet her about, stand her on end
and half swamp her, carry away her
masts and cause good deal of discom-
fort. But, if she has plenty Of sea room,
she ought to live through it.
This idea of deep sea- safety is borne
out by SO many instances that it is suffi-
GENTLY demonstrated. Indeed it is diff
cult to recall exceptions to it. Oc-
casionally vessel loaded with lumber
is storm beaten until the cargo swels
and bursts the vessel apart and then she
is doomed. Tramp steamers and sea
collins Of which there are, to be sure,
too many, go to pieces like pie-crust be-
fore the buifeting OF the waves. Fire
would doubtless account for mysterious
disappearances of ships on the sea.
There have been steamers that have had
holes knocked in their sides by the
thrashing OF a broken connecting rod
and have gone down. But all these are
extraordinary circumstances. On the
other hand. "A ship may suffer any num-
ber Of accidents that will disable her
and leave her TO the mercy of the sea .
without any grave danger to her-unless,
perhaps. as is not infrequently the case
with small ships, the provisions give
out before port. can be made, and the
crew nearly starve TO death.
La Gascogne's experience was pre-
cisely what those familiar with
maritime history believed she was
going through - except that moth
ing so grave as the breaking of the
piston rod was probably figured on.
Still so far as the safety Of the big ship
was concerned, it made little difference
whether her whole machinery was
thrown out or not, so long as she could
be kept in the open sea.
She is a staunch craft and was in no
danger of topping over or sink
ing. She could keep afioat until her
timbers rotted, SO long as she could be
kept off lee shore. The ocean, today,
is dotted with abandoned derelicts that
absolutely refuse to sink. 1t is a mighty
hard job to sink good ship in open
water, for all 1t is SO appallingly easy to
send her to the bottom by collision with
any incopsequential tramp or bang her
| to pieces on few small rocks or a sand
| bar.
La Gascogne is safe in port and there
is much rejoicing. But it is lucky for
her that she broke down when far off on
the trackless ocean. An accident such
as she suffered If it had happened within
few hours run of New York harbor
would most probably have resulted in
throwing her ashore with fearfully dis
astrous consequences to passengers,
crew, and good ship, too.