The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-12-19
THE BLAME FOR DISASTERS
lI0lrENTIRY BREAKDOWN OF M4S-
 TER MIND ACCOUNTABLE.

Case of the Mohesan- an-Temporary Fric- ton of the Delicate Brain Machinery Explanation of Many Seemingly In- applicable Catastrophcs.
 Is it right that the lives of hundred of human beings should be left dependent on the sound working of the brain of one single man, the least failure, even if merely momentary, being likely to re- suit in an appalling disaster? This is the query which will naturally suggest it. self to the mind in perusng the records of the recent court of inquiry into the destruction of the ocean liner Mohegan on the Manacle rocks, off the coast of Cornwall.
 Every vestige of evidence rendered during the course of the investigation has gone to show that there is absolute ly no explanation for this catastrophe, whic involved the loss of over one hun
 
 dred lives, unless it is to be found in a momentary alteration of mind on the part of the commander of the ill-fated ship. The ship was almost new, and, like the machinery. in splendid order; the night was fine and clear, the officers and crew were thoroughly competent
 
 and conscientious, while the captain hiself was man of acknowledged ab- stemiousness, of rare experience and apparently in magnificent health, phy- sically as we'll as mentally, As stated during the inquiry by one of the owners of the line, Captain Griffiths must have known the sea road from London to New York, and particularly the Brlti- ish channel portion thereof, as well as London cabman knows Piecadilly or New York hackman knows Fifth ave- nue. He was commodore of the entire fleet of his company. and was on the bridge in actual command of his ship at the time of her loss. Yet it was prov ed during the investigation that the captain had, without any apparent req son, altered the vessels course from that which he should have pursued, and | had deliberately run him ship head on the rocks which line that terrible dan- gerous but yet magnificently lighted southern coast of Cornwall, No conceiv- @ple reason has been adduced why he should have desired purposely to wreck his fine craft, and the moment the Thhn e,t,. ,o1y I,o to his full wits, acted with calmness and 1 resolution, made every effort to save l his passengers and crew, and did his 1 duty to the last in the most unexcep- 1 tionable manner, going down with the ship, In fact, the survivors are unani- nous in their praise of the superb man ner in which he behaved during the ] twenty minutes that interyened be- | tween the moment of the striking of the ! Mohegan and her laundering.
 1 The only explanation, therefore, of | Captain Griffith's otherwise unaccount- able conduct in running the Mohegan l deliberately on the Manacle rocks is | that at a given moment-that is to say for about an hour or so before the ca | tastrophe took place-his brain must have temporarily given away, or stop ped working, and what I purpose to | show in thecourse of this letter is that 1 instances of this kind are far more ire 1 quent than most people either dream or would be inclined to believe and that the houh as come to devise some suit able precaution against perils of this nature which have escaped the neees- sary consideration and attention only 1 because at the close of the nineteenth l century, and especially in this country we lead suoh busy lives. and are al | ways so pressed for time, and in suci a tearing hurry from the moment wher we arise until we go to sleep, that we never have the leisure for either quiet sober thought or for communing witt ourselves.
 Any one who has ever travelled or board a ship or in the cab of the loco motive, or who has visited the engine: of some great mine by means of whicf the air necessary for the respiration o the miners is pumped into the bowels of the earth, will have observed how l constant and unremitting is the atten tion which the engineer on duty give to his machinery No matter how per feet the latter, he is forever examining | inspecting watching this piece and tha piece, testing or feeling the bearings Not 8 minute does he permit his atten l tion to swerve from the engines, realz ing as he does that even the finest ma chinery may break down suddenly an' without any apparent cause. While tn machinery Is at work every portion of i is more or less subject to sever strain which may result in tn givin way of one or another part thereof where, unless the hand of the enginee is almost in a second at the lever,
 frightful accident would ensue, Th main point which I wish to impress that no matter how magnificent or per feet any machinery, the really expert enced engineer never feeis himself Se cure against breakdown, and is COT seauently forever on the qui vive, hi attention literally riveted on his en zines.
 Now, the workings of the huma brain are infinitely more delicate, ant above all, more fragile and liable t break down, than steel or iron machin cry, and just in the same manner tha no machinery is safe from the dange of a sudden giving way at the mos critical moment mans brain, no mat ter how well equipped and powerful will occa sionally and unaccOuntabl