The sun., 1897-05-16
KEEPERS or LIG HTHo USES.
Regulations or the Monotonous Lives They Are
Compelled TO Lead.
From the Philadelphia Public Ledger.

From the Philadelphia Public Ledger.
lighthouse keeper is appointed by the Secre-
| tary of the Treasury on the recommendation Of
the Lighthouse Board, and at first receives only
an acting appointment. AT the end of three
| months, II he passes an examination by the
naval officer who is tho inspector of the district
ho receives full appointment; II he does not
pass, he is dropped from the service. A keeper
must be able to read and WRITE keep accounts.
sail and pull boat. and have enough mechan-
ical ability to mako the necessary minor
repairs about tho station and keep 1t in
order. There is only one grade of keeper
recognized by law. but the custom Of the service
has divided the keepers into different grades.
with different pay and duties, and with promo
tion from one grade to another. A man may be
appointed to the service and assigned to n par
ticular station, but he may be moved at any
time IL promoted, or IL the interests OF the SER
vice demand IT.. At stations requiring but one
keeper, retired seafaring man. with a family,
is usually selected and. in general, men of the
seafaring class are most wanted. At stations
where there Is fog signal one of the assistants
is a man who has an engineers license and is
| something of a machinst.
heeRsts per are are Paatd on an average about $500 %
800 to 81 900 year. according to the impor-
tance of the station and the amount Of service
Ledge Ledge Light, just Outside outside Of % Boston ~ receives T
81 900 year for his services, and this furnishes
tho only instance where the pay of keeper is
The keepers who live, at, isolated lighthouses
otonous life, broken only by the sight OF passing
vessels and the quarterly visit of the lighthouse
supply boat
These Keepers get considerable leave, about
| two weeks in three months. during which time
| they visit their families on full pay. A light
house on an outlying reef for instance, is on the
same status as Il lightshp, except that it cannot
be blown away and the keepers cannot leave
might come up and prevent their return.
Much is done by the Lighthouse Board to fur
ther the comfort of all its employees but most Is
| done for those who end ure the solitary life at
tho isolated lights and on the lightships. Ii
lilies; each contains about forty volumes. of
! supply OF good novels. This complete library is
left at a station for three months, and is then
transferred to another station by an inspector
on hs,quarterly, visit. There are nearly 900 of
these libraries in circulation, each in its little
portable case. and. by their judicious inter.
change, the keepers of Of stations where they are
Keepers are forbidden 10 engage in any busi-
| ness which will prevent their presence at their
profitable occupations which they carry on at
the stations. while some III pplpis are Justices
some cases Tor their families. In some cases they
tiOns have barns furnished for cattle and horses,
and boats are furnished all stations inaccessible
The discipline OF the service has been always
rigid. as betting a service where negligence
OF lnelHtlenCy may mean tne loss Ut many lives
and much valuable property.
Dismissal instantly follows in two cases
where keeper is found intoxicated and where
he allows his light TO go out. Keepers are
trained TO consider the care of the light and the
lighthouse property above any and all personal
considerations, and II is rare, indeed, when they
fail 10 realize this high ideal. There have been
Il number Of instances illustrating the esDrh de
corps of the service; how the keepers OF the
Minot's Ledge Light first built went down with
the light and died at their posts: how one keeper
saved his lens and let his family look out for
themselves, and instances whore they have
saved public property and lost their own.
Fortunately, the service Is not hampered by
any question Of politics, and this fact, coupled
with the excellent discipline maintained,
counts for the fine class OF men now in the SER
vice-men who take an honest pride in their
work, and whose interest makes the efficiency OF
the service what it is. 1t is unfortunate that
the navy has no retiring laws for its seamen,
which would allow men after twenty, twenty
five or thirty years service, depending on tho
physical condition of the man, to be retired and
placed in the lighthouse service for the rest OF
their lives. 4 valuable class OF men would thus
be added. and the nation would be paying u debt
which now goes unpaid.