The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1911-01-07
BETTER CONDITIONS FOR
The LIFE SAVING CORPS

Local sentiment Is strongly i'm favor
of the movement which has been start
ed towards affording better treatment
IA, the government OF the members OF
the United States Life Saving stations,
with the duties and services of whom
people of Portage Lake are familiar
through the proximity of the Life Saw
ING station at the ship canal, visited
annually by hundreds of people from
all over the copper country. The efforts
of the surfmen In saving property i'm
periled by storms and i'm giving aid 10
ships i'm distress are matters of gem
"A bill now pending in Congress is
strongly advocated here.
The bill i'm question has been passed
nv the senate and is now before the
house. II contains two distinct prop
ositions: first, TO create IA retired list
for superintendents of life-saving dis
ricts. keepers of life-saving stations
and members of life saving crews,
constituting the field force of the serv-
ice: and, second to provide a gradu-
ated scale of increase in compensation
for the same officers and men, based
on length of service.
"The annual report of the service
for 1909 showed that a total of $751;
$1,000 I'm property was saved during
the year." said Capt. f. f. Chapman
of Buffalo. superintendent of the
Tenth district, in discussing the bill.
"Of this amount, $5,712,1s5 was recov-
cred on the Atlantic and gulf coast;
$4,000 along the Pacific coast. and
S7.245,515 along the coasts of the
Great Lakes. 1t will be observed that
the lake districts are credited with
saving over so per cent of the total
amount Of property.
The Lake Service.
AS a matter of fact the actual
number of lake stations is proportion
otely small to be accredited with more
Than half of the total saving. Where
the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts
total ten districts, the lake coasts have
only three, and where the first named
have an aggregate of 22O stations the
latter have only 81.
"'rhe Tenth district, In which Buffa-
10 is included, covers the coasts of Erie
and Ontario, and includes eleven sta
tons in commission. The same figures
show that the property saved by each
of these stations averaged $71,S72.72
during the year. Ii is interesting and
instructive to observe that the total
amount of disbursements by payroll
for the period mentioned in the en-
tire district was only $G7,7S1.04.
"In other words, the average amount
saved by any one of the stations of our
division amounted to more than the
total disbursements for salaries and
compensation of the crews for all elev-
en- stations.
Grouping the figures of the lake
districts. we find some equally inter-
esting results. The total amount of
property saved in the lake districts ag-
gregated $7,245,515; the total disburse-
ments as shown by payrolls for the pc
riod mentioned were only $SS9,S531
This makes net saving of $780,
9S1.S1. The saving aggregated more
than twenty times the expense"
again. the average amount OF
one stations of the three lake districts
was $11s.7SS.9S and the average dis
bursements $5.56693. This leaves q
balance of $11S,212 per station for Un-
Gle sam.
1.-THE actual number of lives saved
forms the basis of an interesting
study. The local tenth district is cred
tied with the saving of 595 lives, while
the total number of persons lost wal
eleven. 1t will be seen, therefore tina
the number of lives saved per station
in the district was an average of Owe
ffty-three. Grouping the figures o
the lake stations, we. find that 2,15
persons were involved in disasters ant
only sixteen lost The number of live
saved per station thus averaged owe
forty-five.
at should be understood that tn
entire amount represented by thes
figures was saved by the station crew
unaided. A considerable portion wa
saved with the assistance of salvag
companies. wrecking tugs, etc, work
ing with the surfmen. II is mdnfestl
impossible to apportion the results q
to give an exact estimate of the live
saved by the crews. The number
disasters the property involved, IN
amount saved and lost. the number
persons on board and the number los
are known. and these facts are all thi
can be expressed accurately"
During the time mentioned thei
,,.oro 70e NyraclxS on the Atlantic an
Gulf coast. las along the Pacific an
525 on the coasts of the Great Lakes