Washington sentinel., 1898-07-09
The Fate or La BouTgogne,

BY the strange constitution OF
the human mind the news Of whole
sale slaughter, OF drownings shoot
ing and mutilations that comes to
us with every fash of the cab le in
strument from Cuba leaves us as
sensitive as ever to the tidings ofa
catastrophe of peace. We have
just been exulting over the des-
truction of six Spanish ships, with
the loss Of hundreds of lives, when
our rejoicIngs are turned into
mourning by the pitiiul story oithe
loss OF the Bourgogne.
The tale is lacking in no element
ofhoTror. The sacrifice Of women
and children, the mad rush for the
boats, the brutal unreason ofDanic,
gave glimpses into the repellant
depths OF the nature of the human
animal. But there was heroism to
balance the brutality. The officers
did their duty nobly, and the cap
tain, faithful to the sublime tradi-
tions OF his profession, went down
with his ship.
The minds ofordinary men seem
incapable Of holding more than
one idea at a time. Among the
selfish mob that crowded the
women Of the Bourgogne to their
death there were doubtless many
that would have exposed their own
lives recklessly in battle. If they
had been thinking OF injuring an
enemy they would have given no
thought to their own safety.
Very likely there was more than
one who, if he had seen woman
struggling alone in the water,
would have plunged in to save her.
With their minds filled with some
object outside Of themselves these
men would have been heroes.
When they were intent on self
preservation their heads would not
hold any other thought, and they
became criminal towards.
The loss OF La Bourgogne may
have been unavoidable, but the
loss OF lite in connection with il
was not. The public will blame
nobody until it knows the facts,
but remembering the spectacle OF
Skaters landing 10000 men in
small boats on arockY and hostile
coast it will not believe that it is
necessary to drown two thirds OF a
ships company in transferring
them to boats, even after wreck.
The Bourgogne disaster illus
trates anew the fact that collision
in fog, either between ships OF
with icebergs, is the only danger
Of the sea which the ingenuity o
man has not practically con
quered.
So far as Atlantic liners are con
cerned, skill in naval architecture
has rendered them proof agains
any storm that can blow and an
sea that a storm can stir up. Evei
the failure Of their engines mean
nothing mort than inconvenience
for so scientifically are they con
structed that even when adrii
upon an angry sea they are safe.
But in tog they cannot see whe
other ships approach, and OWN
to natural laws, wrestled with b
no less eminent scientists tina
Joseph Henry and Prof. Tyndal
they cannot even hear withou
danger Of being lured to destruC
tion and by what the scientists hay
named fog's Opacity" to sount
Collision in fog is always a poi
sibility, and when it comes its r,
suits depend upon circumstanc,
that can neither be controlled nC
foreseen.
A great English shipbuilder hi
said that ships might be bui
which even collision would not e.
danger, But this cannot be
long as ships must carry freigt
If any company could afford
dispense with the use of the no
for freight and cut it up in
air and water tight cells, not ev
the worst collision could endang
the lives oi its passengers.