New-York tribune., 1908-03-01
BABeFs MENACE NAVIGATION

~o- on1y- IL the barge traffc dangerous % tA''
1rbo engag. in II but II IS also menace 20 o'aH
forms OF navigation The strings OF Oarses
sor,et,res more than mile long NE u ; n
often that 50 long tow under'aA@s d lo1l.l7L
-o-e +b4, three or four hundred miles, and taH
,,s,a11,, NOT outside the sounds and larger 0a7'
aior9 tbA coast still tows three Of the to1r oaIs7
= thousand feet apart often go all the nay Ton
Portland 70 Savannah. and they nave even gee
known 20 round Florida for Gulf por-S
When the barge traffic takes such form Z aTouS''
~. ire not only Of the coasJing slippers olt ai''
Of the can7afns Of transatlantic vessels rugooar
rounding Point Judith instance, with SIX oass'
AZ her tail Is as likely as not when STUCK o
storm 20 switch off the htuduos- OF these IDS aa
end t- vbfrIfne out into u . Gulf stream 20 "ofE
-rA transatlantic shippers. Then rco "nen a tl'#
sand OF more feet Of cable stretches Del"77A 'N'
r,.-ese the skipper of the approaching vessel -
TfkeTv to think that he has passed the "ho-e S1ns
vhsr he has passed only half OF IT. iie ca'--sS %
.ov-Ii,e on his prov. and the barEes 90 'rashiRS
against his sides with results that do not need r.
counting
II i cairS+ such evils as this that pending ieElS-
Iation is aimed Then. TOO barges. especially ''a
smaller ones are often without steering apparatus
OF any kind The larger ones Of course ''Alch az
often disnant1ed ships or steamboats,, Taist naT'
some sort Of steering apparatus but aoolt 1s Hrst
thing that happens TO a barge in trouble az se7s
the loss OF her steering gear This. seaHe1 say "
sufficient Indication Of how much attention IS sTea
10 this detail
Smaller tubs which are jerked out = n" lsIk
ITarbor through LonS Island Sound 70 NeT Ans-
land ports. are fat bottomed affairs. and are. n
fact little more than caaai50ats- The ridder ~
order 10 steer al all % almost as big as tae
barge itself. One slap from q good sized wave WI
strip barge Of all power 10 steer itself II = from
these helpless huIks that the shippers lock Laf
trouble. AMI usually get what they look for.
Much Of the commerce which VS. forI''9'F
carried on by sailing vessels has now gone "a
bargeS The last year has seen more sailing veS-
sels converted into 5arges than any other wear IN
the history of shipping the Atlantic Coast Nol
3 winter has passed n the last twenty wears oa-
some terrible tale OF suffering and death on tas
part OF bargemen has been recorded IN Tie n-a-las
annals but the last winter and fall while noi
specially severe in the matter OF storms on tls
coast have seer more Of those disasters. involving
both fearful loss oG lie and serious menace %
navigation than any other ii recent years
This is pointed TO by PROOF Of the asssl-
ton that there has been larger number q vessss
added this class Of trade this year than ever
before.
The shipping men. Who are preparing 20 protest
and have protested against this form oS trae, ar.
not actuated by humane motives. although. Of
course they have not overlooked that phase o. tis
matter. Their chief consideration is the danger 70
passenger and freight vessels which Ply the coas
under their power The dragging Of osrSes up
and down the coast as though they were calalooa's
they say, IS practice that should Re Iegislat5d OF
OF existence Dyed in the wool seaune7 iosG upon
them in much the same spirit the navigator o.
the modern airship IN 1870 vii, look upon the bal
loon Of the present day They say thev srs ~ -
removed from ths spirit Of modern ocean trsus
portaton as could be imagined