The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-02-14
From the Boston Globe.

~ ESCRIPTIONS of the dangers at 0 tending navigation are always ways
 0 fascinating to landsmen. Thls
 winter the gales on the Atlantic ocean
 have been unusually severe. and the pub
 lie has been furnished with thrilling ac-
 counts of the terrific struggles vessels nave
 made to weather them Although, as
 usual, there have been some deplorable
 accidents to small craft, the qnlcK yoy-
 ages of mammoth ships which ply pe-
 tween the eastern and western worlds
 denote that the dangers of navigation are
 overcome now with far greater success
 than formerly. The total accidents to
 sea-golng craft annually are actually very small compared with the number or as
 asters to travelling conveyances on iahd.
 The managers of steamship lines shouio feel highly gratified with the remarKapie
 success their skillful navigators have in
 guiding gigantic ships across the Atianac
 in spite of hurpicanes and other obstacles. The safety of passengers being paramount
 to all other considerations, 1t is now
 common practice if a terrific gale prevails
 when a steamer hears port for it to put
 out to sea again to avoid being driven
 ashore. Many accidents are unquestion-
 ably avoided by this custom. whereas m
 the days before steam power It was not
 so easy for the ocean craft to keep away
 from dangerous reefs on the coast.
 If cannot be denied that the ocean IS
 full of perils, yet these are overcome
 or avoided as rule, by most mariners
 who are now equipped with variety of
 safeguards not possessed by the sailors
 of a generation ago. An electrical storm
 may still put the compasses on shippoard
 out of commission for time, but II the
 vessel is on the ocean the trouble IS only
 temporary. And If the ship IS nearing the land with poor compasses and there
 is a fog the submarine bell system saves
 her from disaster by indicating her true
 position. The speed of steamers and the
 exact number of miles they have made
 for many hours are also indicated now
 definitely by the number of revolutions and movements of certain parts of the
 machinery. There are all sorts of devices to keep the officers of a ship informed as to the exact whereabouts of their craft on the high seas.
 Our navigators are still bothered. as were their predecessors. by the baffling currents of the deep. They must, there fore, be extremely vigilant in watching variations in currents so that their ves- sels will not be carried out of their true course. Ocean currents are given unusual
 directions by gales and by Assures in the sea bed caused by shocks of earthquake. Sudden changes in temperature also ma- terially affect the direction of currents. It seems almost marvellous, therefore, that officers of ocean craft can guide them so successfully, week after week and month after month, over thousands of miles of turbulent seas.
 At present a formidable fleet of the United States navy is on the way to the the officers and crews that they are fully as safe as they would be in railroad trains on land, and probably safer. Their modern ships are full of comforts, and the accommodations therein are vastly differ ent from those in the ships once sailed in those waters by Ferdinand Magellan. They are also in touch with the whole world through wireless telegraphy and the cables. Formerly when a fleet put to sea 1t would be many months perhaps before any authentic information con cerning its doings could be obtained.
 While travel on the seas in steamers l is now looked on as safe and pleasant, there are still many hardships endured by mariners on sailing craft. The hardy | fishermen of the Atlantic coast still earn their living at considerable hazard, yet even this class are better of than for merly in the matter of larger and stronger