Daily camera., 1898-07-18
LIGHTHOUSESIN WAR
Can Be Used to Lure an Enemy's
Ships to Destruction.
Special Duties of the Keeper in Time
of TrOuble-How the Lights
Might Be Manipulated
to Advantage.

The lighthouse keeper has his special
duties in times of war, and it is in his
power to render valuable service to his
country's cause. The eXtinguishing OF
the lights in the bay was the beginning
of policy which was outlined early in
March by the lighthouse board.
At that time general instructions
were issued to the keepers of the light
houses ordering them to familiarlze
themselves and their assistants with all
the requirements incident to the ext
gencies of war. The extinguishing OF
the shore lights will be last resort, as
the extensive commerce of foreign mer-
chant vessels would be seriously inter-
fered with by it. The order to put out
these lights will only come in case OF
actual danger of invasion by foreign
men-of-war.
In considering the various means by
which the lighthouse keeper can render
service in war time, it is necessary to
know something of the lights them
selves. In every lighthouse station the
beacon has some characteristic with
which the mariner is familiar, or which
he may readily recognize by an exami-
nation of his chart. In some cases the
beacon is a fixed, white light, which
never changes, but sends its rays far
out to sea, where the watchful pilot
recognizes ii at glance.
Other lights change from red to
white, or the reverse, or show disk,
one side of which is white and the other
red. The approaching mariner knows
at once in what direction he should
steer. If the red light is on the right
and the white on the left side of the
disk, he knows that by keeping to the
left he will find safe channel, while
dangerous shoals await him in the op-
posite direction. Of course, it is ohvi-
Gus that the lighthouse keeper by re-
versing the colors on the disk could do
inestimable damage to unfriendly yes
sells. In all such cases it is obvious that
our own mariners must be warned in
time of the changes contemplated.
Other lighthouses have a beacon flash
ing white at regular intervals. Thus
the characteristic of the light at Fire
island is ''one flash every minute" If
this were changed, so that the light
would flash only once In two minutes,
the mariner would be as badly off as if
there were no light at all. With the
idea in his head that he had reached
point near Fire island, the unusual sig
nal would signify to him that his cal
culations were wrong, and that he was
in an entirely different locality.
Another means by which the pilot
gauges his location is the distance of
visibility of the light. Shinnecock light,
for example, is fixed white light stu
ated on Panquogue point, on the north
side of Shinnecock bay, Long island,
one mile from the line of sea beach and
about midway between Montauk point
and Fire island light stations. 1t is
visible at a distance of 1874 nautical
miles. Now, if it were known that an
enemy's ship were approaching, the
light could be screened so as to not be
visible at all or to be visible at half
or quarter OF tne uSual distance. Inc
vessel might thus be led into trap be-
fore its pilot realizes his proximity to
the dangerous coast:
The changing of fog signals has also
been contemplated as an effective
means of deceiving the enemy. It's the
opinion of those most familiar with the
subject, however. that in cases of actual
invasion of our waters by the enemy's
ships the signals would be discontinued
altogether.
The characteristics of fog signals are
indicated by the length of blasts and
the intervals at which they are given
and it is thought that changes might be
misleading even to our own pilots
n. Y. Sun