The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-01-04
DANGER AT SEA.

The seas toll of death through ship
wreck and fire is a heavy one, and an
nually life and property are offered up
as tribute to old Neptune. which, when
considered in the aggregate, seems al
most beyond conception. Yet we have
abundant statistics to show that the
risk at sea has steadily declined in the
past quarter of century, and safe
guards are provided by science which
all but eliminate the danger except in
few particular localities and under
circumstances which cannot be helped.
Our modern ocean steamers are not
only floating palaces of delight, but
eminently safe homes for those who
circumnavigate the globe, and casual
ties on them are growing extremely
rare.
Disaster at sea-" remarked a marine
insurance underwater, glancing bitter
~ over long list of losses, '.is so I'M
necessary today that it seems almost
criminal to permit 1t. Every steamer
| that leaves port could be equipped with
safeguards which would protect the
crew and passengers from death and
make property almost as safe as on
land. 1t is only the laxity of ship own
efs and commanders that keeps up the
| great annual losses. Millions of dollars
are paid out every year in marine in
and suppose they will continue to be
paid until laws are made and enforced
requiring the adoption of all practical
safety appliances. -
This comprehensive accusation
places the blame upon the shipping in
| terests, rather than upon science Like
| the railroad which refuses to adopt the
| best safety appliances to guard against
accidents, the steamship company
| which for economy's sake fails to use
every possible preeaution invites risks
| to life and property which are nothing
| but criminal. We cannot control the
| storms and blast the rocks from the
seas, nor dissipate the fogs which hang
SO menacingly over shifting sandbanks
| but we can chart the oceans, issue
weather information, fly danger sig
mails and even rob the fogs of their
terror. We cannot totally eliminate
| the danger of fire or drive back the
| tidal wave, but we can surround the
! ship with fire alarms and safeguards
| so that the risk of extensive conf1ag-
ration is reduced to a minimum, and we
can even render the huge tidal waves
of the ocean ineffective in operation.
The two specters at sea which sci
ence has sought to rob of all danger
are fire and collision, and how well
these have been overcome may be
judged from a study of the equipments
Of q first-clasS ocean steamer which
sails from any Of our ports. In former
days a fire at sea meant the Inevitable
loss of life and property. The irlsur-
| ance underwriters regard certain car
goes as great fire risks, such, for in
stance, as Jute, cotton, hemp and 9TH
er hbres. and coal A fire in the coal
bunkers is the most difficult to control
It is the result of spontaneous combus-
| ton, but the proximity of the fuel to
| the boilers and furnaces first produce
| the condition essential to the starting
| Of such a fire. Bunker fires in war yes
sells must always be followed by flood
| ing of the magazines to prevent an ex-
| plosion, but in a merchant vessel the
| first step is to control and smother the
| fire, or at least localize it. A great
many of the chemicals used for extin-
| gushing fires on land would prove dam
gerous at sea In coal bunkers, for the
| explosive gases Of the coal, uniting
| with the chemicals, might send the ship
| to the bottom, as though struck by q
torpedo.-Van Norden's Magazine. ~