Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1896-12-19
THE PliMSOIl MARK.
4 Device that Has Saved Hundreds Of
Livcs and Much Property.

n Device thot u ~ saved Hundreds OF
Lives and Much Property.
II you ever walk around the water.
front Of large commercial city and
look closely at the big ocean steamships
and sailing ships moored along the
wharves, you will notice that many Of
them have white circle and lot Of
white lines marked on their sides clos.
To the water. almost as II some bad boy
had been chalking picture there Of a
grlddle-cake and a gridiron; but when
you ind that hundreds Of ships arc
marked just the same way, those paint.
ed light colors having the marks In
black, you know that those marks real
" mean something Of importance In
connection with the ships on which
you see them. II you should notice
more closely you would soon discover
that all the ships belonging to Great
Britain, even the magnificent passcp.
ger steamers like the "Lucanla" ani
"Teutonic," We're marked with those
queer signs, and that ships OF no other
nation had them. II you were tO ask
some sailor what the mark meant lie
would tell you briefly that It Is the
"Plimsoll Mark" and you would be 10
wiser than before: In fact, he probably
would not know much more than that
bare fact himself.
That ugly mark. however, Is the safe
guard TO hundreds of vessels on the
stormy ocean. ana to thousands of lives,
and to millions of dollars worth of
freight. II has only been In use about
twenty years, only properly used for
the last ten years, and IL still adopted
by only one great seafaring nation In
all the world.
Twenty-Five years ago II was no un-
common thing for ships to 60 ont TO
sea laden with valuable cargo and
hopeful human beings, never to be seen
or heard OF again. People on shore,
even the owners Of the cargoes ana rel,
atives of the passengers. would take
IL as something they must be prepared
TO expect on account of the dangers of
the ocean. Finally, one man deter
mined TO make study Of the subject,
and see II such terrible tragedies We're
really unavoidable. He was an In.
flexible Engllshman, named PlimsOll,
and a member OF Parliament. He spent
day after day along the docks watch
ing ships loading and unloading, COM
ing in and going out; he talked with
ship-owners, captains, and sailors. lie
saw ships sent 10 sea with leal:v bot.
toms, rotten spars, and worn-out rig
ging, with rusty boilers and rattletrup
engines. He saw them loaded until
even In the still waters of the harbor
their upper decks We're down To the
waters edge, and this overlooking
seemed 10 be the worst and most fire.
quent fault.
Then he went back to Parliament,
and introduced bill 10 put mark on
the sides OF ships 10 show how deeply
they could with safety be loaded. The
mark suggested was a circle with
horizontal line through It's center When
this horizontal line was down 10 the
waters edge, no more freight was 10
be PUT into the vessel; she was TO he
soil brought down upon himself the
wrath OF the ship-owners, while every
body else laughed AT his cranky Idea;
but he was not going 10 he dOwncJ.
He published a book telling all he had
learned about the criminal overlooking
of vessels, and their wretched cOndi-
ton when sent to sea.
At last he got vague sort Of an act
passed, giving the Board Of Trade
power 10 survey ships going to sea,
and 10 stop those which seemed to be
unseawOrthy. This was In 1873. ana
during the first nine months Of the act
2s'i vessels Were surveyed and :.J6 OF
them found unsea worthy. Al least one
In every ten was found 10 be so dan
gerously overloaded as 10 bee In almost
a sinking condition before leaving the