Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-10-17

crOwding and the himSy and highly lnf1am-
mable character ofathe superstructures.
:THEoDoRE ROOSEVELT.
-i'5 Secretary Commerce and Labor:.'' aa
Description Of the Slocum.
The owner of the General Slocum was the
Knickerbocker Steamboat Company, a cor
poration CT the state of New York. which
also owned the steamer Grand Republic.
another vessel designed to carry excur-
sionfsts. The Slocum was inspected last on
May 5, 1904, forty days prior to the catas-
trophe. by Henry Lundberg and John w.
Fleming, and the current certificate of in
spection a. the time of the disaster was is
sued on May 6, by James A Dumont, in
spector Of hulls, and Thomas H. Barrett,
inspector of boilers, the board Of local in
Spectors at the port of New York. An elab-
crate description of the Slocum is given, in
the course of which 1t is stated: "All the
upper works of this vessel were constructed
OF light wood and had been painted and
FURNISHED many times, and were, therefore,
in a highly inflammable condition. In the
construction of the vessel there were no
safeguards against fire other than COM
Iliance with the regulations as regards the
proximity of wood work to boilers. The ves-
sci had nc fire-proof matches or bulk heads
ana was built entirely of wood.
1.-THE General Slocum was a vessel built to
carry large number of excursionists $500
=,
apparently no consideration whatever given
to the question of inf1ammability. In such
vessel a fire. once having obtained fair
Roadway, could not be controlled and the
vessel would be quickly consumed. as
exempIifed in the case of the General Slo-
cum. There are many similar vessels doing
service IN the waters of the United States,
tie construction of which is quite as dan
eerous as that of the Slocum, and unless
this kind of construction shall be prohibit
cd or modified by law, the safety OF large
number of passengers carried by excursion
steamers and steamers plying on the inland
waters OF the United States cannot be as
sE-ed."
Story of the Disaster.
In the narrative of the disaster long con-
sideration is given of the origin of the fire
and OF the probable place of its first dis
covery. On board the vessel. at the time of
the accident, exclusive of officers and crew,
were 1853 passengers. not over 10 per cent
of whom were men. The rest were women
and children, more children than women.
1.-THE fire started in the forward cabin.
so-called. being the third compartment
under the main deck from the bow. and
probably originated in a barrel containing
packing hay, which was in that compart-
ment, one of the barrels used for bar
glasses, and brought on board by the
charterers. Fire was probably commune
ness of some unknown person.
1t was learned by the commission that this
cabin was filled with material of a highly
inflammable character mitch Kerosene oil
being stored there for filling of the lamps of
the vessel, and that the crew frequently
lighted matches there. A. pointed instance
of this carelessnesstwas&f found In testimony
which showed that9fon lthe morning of the
disaster, Waiter Payne,eaa colored porter,
entered this compartment, to fill the lamps,
that he lighted aomateh and threw the
smoldering stick on a bench. Soon after
that an oiler fromithe engine room entered
These facts the commission hold to be one
Of the essential pointsoof negligence con-
tributing to the disaster.
Fire-Fighting Apparatus.
AS to the fire-fghtihe apparatus with
which the vessel was eduipped. the report
says that the forward valve OF the stand
pipe, which was nearest to the place of
origin CT the fire, was about thirty feet
from the entrance to the forward cabin. and
was supplied with 1Oo-foot length OF
cheap uniined linen hose. costing probably
less than twenty cents foot, age unknown,
but probably several years old. The rest
of the fire apparatus on the main deck con-
sisted or the after valve of the said stand
pipe, two hand fire pumps, located respec-
lively In the bow and in the stern, and
some twenty fire buckets in the forward
gangway. None of this remaining appara-
tus was used, and the fire buckets were
empty.
When the fire was discovered the alarm
was given and water turned into the hose
which was kinked and twisted as 1t had
fallen to the deck. As soon as 1t was sub
jected to the pressure of the water 1t burst
In TWO or three places, and simultaneously
the hose itself was blown off from It's own
coupling Where 1t was connected with the
standpipe, and the water poured out of the
stano-pipe upon several witnesses In that