Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-03-24
BLACK YEAR At SEA
Ocean Calamities During Year
1907 Most Disastrous in
Shipping History
AN APPALLING Lvss OF LIFE

Stoutest Ocean Vessels Fared Just as
Badly as the Wornout and Poorly
Manned-Many Ocean Liners Lost.
Serious Naval Accidents.
In the recollection of veteran ma
rine statistician there never has been
so disastrous a year to shipping as
that just closed. The number OF
wrecks, fatal In the number Of lives
lost as well as in the enormous amount
of property destroyed, far exceeded
even a year when sailing vessels out
numbered steamships five to one, a
period in which wind dependent craft
were at greater disadvantage and more
liable to shpwreck because of the dis
parity between steam and SAIL
The year 1907 will 60 down in ma
rine history as one in which the stron
gest type Of ocean going vessel Jared
as badly as did some that were aged,
worn out and probably poorly manned.
The statistics that follow were COM
piled for Shipping Illustrated:
The loss on the Japanese coast in
March OF the Great Northern Steam
ship company's Dakota, involving more
than $3.5OO.O00 worth of property; the
stranding Of the fine new Prinz Waldo
mar of the Hamburg American line at
Jamaica, West Indies. in January; the
wreck Of the Elder-Dempster liner Jeb-
ba in the English channel; also In
March the enormous cost Of floating
the Suevic; the burning Of the Thorn
hill; the destruction of the Silverslip
by explosion in the bay Of Biscay; the
wrecking Of the Santiago of the Pa
cific Mail Navigation company: the
cargo worth $225O00: the disappear.
ance Of the Nicaraguan' in the Allan
tic; the sinking Of another Hamburg
American liner the Borussia, at Lis.
bon, and the loss of the Helvetia, Luci-
fer, Mount Temple. Hazel Branch, VIII
liam E. Reiss City of Birmingham and
the Tampico the latter with 100000
worth Of copper among her cargo, are
among those that stand out prominent
" in the list Of steam disasters. With
the exception Of the Santiago, none OF
these wrecks was attended with great
loss Of life.
Several of the disasters occurred I'M
der conditions which, in the judgment
Of the proper authorities. warranted
dealing with the certificates of the mas
tiers of the lost vessels. The COM
mander Of the Dakota had his license
revoked. The master of the Joy liner
Larchmont. which vessel was sunk in
Long Island sound. with a loss Of 134
lives. was severely censured.
Some Of the other wrecks which were
attended by an appalling loss Of life
were the Berlin in February at the
Hook Of Holland, In which disaster
only fifteen were saved and 12S drown
ed; the laundering Of the Sultan in
the Black sea, with 60; the explosion
of the lena. killing 12O; the laundering
of the Santiago. with 80; the sinking
of the Columbia after collision, with
the loss of 40, and the laundering OF
the Kaplan, q Turkish steamship. with
another 40 souls.
The five masted schooner I. Charlton
Henry, which was sent to the bottom
in collision with the British steam
ship Chelston of Fire island, was
worth 100000. When the John Cur
rier was wrecked in August in Alaska
she carried down with her $250,000
worth of salmon cargo. The City of
Cleveland, building at Detroit, Mich,
was burned in August, with a loss OF
100000. The Fortunatus also was
burned, with loss Of 1925, 600.
Warships played considerable part
in the destruction of valuable marine
property The British cruiser Assist
ance sank the German steamship Ma
RE by collision in the Tyne. The
French cruiser Kleber ran into and
sank the steamship Hugoma in the
Mississippi, drowning seven of the lat
ter's crew. The Jean Bart was wreck
ed on the northwest coast of Africa.
The lena blew up, costing 120 lives.
Some of the vessels stranded in
course Of the year, worth hundreds Of
thousands, were sold for the proverbial
SOlS. ~ NC NOTWcSlau SlcdLuSAlP GACyS
dale, ashore on the Maine coast, was
sold to Boston junk dealer for $3.50.
Another Norwegian steamship, the
Tellus, stranded at Gays harbor, in the
Pacific, brought the extravagant sum
of $21O when sold at auction. The
American steamship Carthagena. which
struck Salvage rock, North Carolina,
in July, did not have much Of the
salving merits about her resting place
and appealed to a generous purchaser.
who gave $500 for the vessel.
The Marie Gilbert. fine schooner
when she ran on the Florida coast in
April. was sold to the highest bidder
for 1886. The bark Charles e. Le-
fuegry, wrecked in the gulf of Mexico.
brought $475. The John j. Ward,
stranded in the Delaware breakwater
in March, sold for $3.50. The John /.
Snow, stranded in July, sold for $10s.
Bees AZ Highway Robbers.
Secretary Of Agriculture Wilson
when no went to tho cabinet meeting