The Hawaiian gazette., 1911-01-17
MAKES OFFICIAL
INVESTIGATION
Advertisers Story Of Transport
Sherman Found Correct
Chart Wrong.
tFrom satarday's Advertiscr.) }


Lieut.. Leo sahm, u s. n, inspector
of the local lighthouse district, takes
exception to the statement Of Captain
Lyman Of the transport Sherman that
the light on Molokai, which Captain
Lyman mistook for the Makapuu light
on this Island, is a fixed light.
Lieutenant Sahm visited the troop.
ship yesterday morning, and found that
the chart in the Sherman's chartroom
had not been corrected since the new
Molokai light was established by the
federal government, and Lyman was
guiding his vessel according to the fixed
light on the chart, which was main
tained by the Territory.
The federal light was established in
September, 1909, as a flashing light, re-
placing the old fixed light, and flashed
every twenty seconds. On January /,
1911, thirteen days ago, the fash was
changed from twenty to ten seconds,
making it quicker than before.
The Makapuu light is flash of seven
and half seconds, with an eclipse of
one and half minutes, and according
to Lieutenant Sahm can not be mis-.
taken for the Molokai light. Both lights
fash white.
The Advertisers story of the mis-
taking of the lights by Captain Lyman
came entirely from the master of the
transport, whose chart showed fixed
white light on Molokai, ana his state.
ment of the peculiar course of the trans
port in approaching the Islands was
based on what he believed to be the
correctness of his chart.
Captain Convicts Himself"
''The captain of the Sherman hangs
himself by his own statement" said
Lieutenant Sahm yesterday. "The
whole incident shows that he has not
corrected his charts according to the
list of lights and changes issued by the
lighthouse bureau"
Lieutenant Sahm stated that the
story of the Sherman's erratic course
while approaching the Islands, as it
appeared in The Advertiser, agrees
with the chart of the Sherman and the
logbook, but that the captain IS state
ment is necessarily incorrect because
the chart was incorrect, and while the
captain based his belief that sufficient
notification should be given to mariners
of change in the style and flash of
| lights, he based it on his own lack of
care in not having observed the direc-
tions of the lighthouse bureau.
| Lieutenant Sahm can not understand
how the captain failed to correct his
charts for over year. The informa-
tion is obtainable from the published
records The captain s statement was
to some extent criticism of the light
house bureau, and Lieutenant Sahm will
forward copy of The Advertiser I'd
Washington, together with his owl
statement. He will also give the con.
dition of the Sherman Is chart and all
matters connected with the wrong
course taken and the mistaking of the
lighthouses, as the story appears in the
Sherman's logbook.
Lieutenant Sahm stated he had no
criticism to make of The Advertiser,
inasmuch as all statements concerning
the lights were accredited to the cap
tain, and these statements were checked
up by reference to the charts and log
book of the Sherman. AS to the lights
themselves and the time of fash of
each, no information could be obtained
of them Thursday afternoon after the
captains statement was received, as
the lighthouse bureau had closed fol
the day.
Danger Was Great.
Aside from the differences between
Captain Lyman of the Sherman and
Lieutenant Sahm of the lighthouse bu.
reau, the fact stands out very promi-
nently that the thousand people on
board the troopship were in great dan
ger while the vessel nosed around in
waters which were unsafe The Sher-
man was headed directly for Molokai,
which is guarded by the ragged teeth
of outlying coral reefs, and was rush
ing onward to destruction because of
the mistake about the lights.
Passengers state that an order was
sent quietly to officers of the ship and
the steward IS department to be in Teadi-
ness to call all passengers to the deck
in ease the Sherman was in actual dan
ger. This, happily, did not need to be
carried out, as there might have been