The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-08-24

offshore to disabled boats, rerigged them
and taken them to places of safety. They
also cooperate with wrecking companies,
and the number of vessels saved numbers
thousands, while the property rescued
amounts to many millions of dollars.
So carefully is the coast patroled and
SO efficient is the service that the loss
of life is reduced to minimum. While
the statistics of the season of 1866 are
not yet completed, those of the preceding
years prove that the 81, $780, 900 that is
annually expended upon the service is
, good investment, as the following SUM-
| mary of the work of the department since
its Inauguration shows:
Since November 1, 1871, to the close of
the fiscal year, June 80, 1905. the results
were:
Number of disasters. ......... 1861
Persons involved Ill o58
Lives lost. zoos
Persons succored at stations. 1890
Days Succor afforded. 54,S2S
Value of vessels and cargoes. 1927 60. 800
Value of property saved. $119, 75S, 512
Value OF property lost. -.-.... SAT, SS4, 047
OF course, one will understand that
much of the loss of life and property &C.
Cured in the days when the service was
small. For instance, So persons were lost
on the wreck of the steamer Metropolis
in 1ST7-1S, when the service was inpeded
by distance. it being conceded that had
the crew been the scene sooner every
soul would have been saved. Fourteen
other lives were lost during the same
period for similar reason.
The general summary of the season
19o45 shows that the efficiency of the
service is now at a high standard, the
report being:
Number of disasters. ..... 7s5
Persons involved. 5,o44
Persons lost. 81
Persons succored .......... s24
Days succor afforded. .... 1910
Value of vessels and cargo. SO, SIS. $50
Value of property saved. S. 1920
Not included In the above, 10T persons
were rescued from divers situations In
which their lives were Imperfect; q had
fallen from wharfs, PIERS etc; were
in bathing, % were cut off from land
by water, were In burning buildings,
had attempted suicide by drowning,
were lying on railroad tracks intoxicated,
l was frostbitten and unconscious on the
beach, were lost on the ice In a thick
fog. were in runaway accidents. / was
suffering from a severe hemorrhage, l
was bitten by a rattlesnake, and were
on a locomotive that had plunged through
an open draw at night.
The fully equipped lfe-savIng stations,
may be seen by the Illustrations, are
commodious frame structures, and upon
their location depends their equipment
Those situated on the Atlantic Coast,
where there are long stretches of sandy
beach, are provided with light surfboats,
which may be either launched from skids
in front OF the houses or else transported
to the scene of the wreck on wide tired
carts Horses are used TO a limited ex-
tent to haul the beach apparatus-usually
one horse at q station, and in some cases
two. On bold shores, where the iifeboats
may be launched directly into deep
water. the seif-righting. self-bailing boat
is used This craft is modifca ton of
the English type OF Hfeboat, in the way
of stability, and in@other respects has
advantages over the lighter boats.
The adoption of mechanical power for
the larger boats of the service is q new
feature, which has not as yet become
general. but It is proposed TO place power
boats at all stations where conditions will
permit of their being launched with IA
cility. They are considerably heavier
than any boats now generally used
weighing FIVE or six tonst ana at many
stations. where the beach is shelving, or