The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-10-17

You will also make such changes in
the regulations as are recommended
by the commission, and you will,
therefore, call a special meeting of the
Board of Supervising inspectors for
this purpose. You will also lay be-
fore the Congress a request that the
law be changed in the various partic-
ulars recommended by the commits
sion.
Law Must He Passed.
II wish particular emphasis laid upon
the proposal of the commission that
there be created by law special body
thoroughly to investigate the laws
which are supposed to provide for the
| safety of passengers on steamboats,, es-
pecially on excursion boats, where the
prime causes of danger are the over
crowding and the flimsy and highly in
flammable character of the superstruc-
lures. Very truly yours,
Theodore Roosevelt.
Hon. V. p. Metcalf, Secretary of
Commerce and Labor"
The report states that the General
Slocum was owned by the Knicker-
booker Steamboat Company, a New
York corporation; that the Slocum was
last inspected by Henry Lundberg and
John w. Fleming. May 5, 1904, and
that the current certificate of inspec-
issued May by James A. Dumont, in
spector of hulls and Thomas II. Bar
| rett, inspector of boilers, the board of
local inspectors at the port of New
| York.
SIOcum FIimsy Vessel.
In describing the Slocum, the report
says it is constructed entirely of wood,
| that the upper works were in highly
inflammable condition, and that there
we're no fireproof matches or bulkheads.
The commission states that there are
| many similar vessels doing service in
the United States, the construction of
which is quite as dangerous. Regard
ing the origin of the fire, the report
| says:
THE fire started in the forward cab
in, so-called, being the third compart-
ment under the main deck from the
bow and probably originated in bar
rel containing packing hay, which was
| in that compartment, one OF the barrels
used for bar glasses and brought on
| board by the charterers. Fire was
| probably communicated to this barrel
| through the carelessness of some un-
known person.
Was Rank Negligence.
The report also states that this cab
in was filled with inflammable mate
rial, including a large amount of oil;
| that members of the crew frequently
lighted matches in the compartment
and that on the morning of the dis
aster a porter filled the lamps in the
cabin. lighted a lamp, blew out the
match, and threw it on the bench"
THE condition of this cabin, with the
| purposes for which it was used" the
report recites, constitutes one of the
essential facts of negligence contribut-
ing to the disaster"
Speaking of the fire-fighting appa-
ratus, the report says: This forward
valve and stand-pipe were supplied
with a 100-foot length of cheap, I'M
lined, linen hose, costing probably less
than 20 cents a foot, age unknown, but
probably several years old"
Poor Fire Equipment.
The rest of the fire apparatus on the
main deck is said to have consisted
| of the after valve of the said stand
pipe, two hand fire pumps and some
/ twenty buckets. "None of the remain
ing apparatus was used and the buck
cts were empty"
1t is stated further that the linen fire
hose attached to the forward stand
pipe burst in two or three places and
was blown off from it's own coupling
with the stand-pipe. Efforts then were
made to attach rubber hose to the
stand-pipe.
Upon the failure to couple, the rub
Der hose TO the forward stand-pipe, "
the report says, the crew gave up all
further attempts to fight the fire and
went aft, some of them overheard. -
Tribute is paid to Assistant Engineer
BRANDON and Chief Engineer Conklin
who remained at their posts.
No Aid for Passengers.
Continuing the report says: 9TH,
evidence before the commission
| establishes the fact. that the masteI
the fire, to examine it's condition, or t
control. assure, direct or aid the pas
| sengers in any way whatever. 1t is al
| legged that he was unable to reach the
place where the passengers were, by
reason of the fire, but this is contradict
ed by the evidence Of many witnesses
and is obviously not true"
"An essential fact of negligence |.
the utter failure of the master TO tigh
the fire or aid the passengers. In a les:
| degree the pilots in the same manner
| after Bleaching the boat, and while
there were still many passengers OF
board, failed in their duty to assis
and rescue the remaining passengers.
pilots Referred 10 Also.
The commission expresses the opinion
that the men in the pilot house hac
| knowledge of the fire in time to have
beached the vessel either in Little Hell
| Gate, to the westward of the Sunker
| Meadows or in the Bronx Hills, to the
eastward of the Sunken Meadows in
| stead, as the commission states, oil
pursuing a course which drove the
flames aft and delayed bleaching longer
| than necessary
The commission sharply criticises the
fire-fighting apparatus, saying:
There is a strong probability thai
the fire would have been controlled haC
the fire hose been of required statutory
strength" Many of the life pre-
servers It is stated, were bad, and fur
Their, that only a small percentage Of
the passengers used them. THE in
efficiency and poor quality OF the decl
crew of the vessel, doubtless typical o
the majority of the crews of the excur'
sion steamers" says the report, lis one
of the essential facts that caused the
loss of so many lives.
Owners Must share Blame.
while il is true that it is the bus.
mess of the steamboat inspection
service to see that proper safety ap-
planes as required by law are pro-
Vided. this by no means relieves the
owners from a similar legal and mora
obligation, nor from the liability foi
the maintenance of proper crew disci-
pllne.
The commission Is Of the opinion
that the owners of the General Slo-
cum are censurable in q high degree
for the inadequate and improper con-
dltions prevailing on board this YES