The Semi-weekly leader., 1912-01-24

TO their fell0w-men has been agi-
tated for some years past Congress at its last
session was on the point of passing the neces-
sary law thus to give recognition to the life-sav-
ers and It is believed that these faithful servants
of the people will not have to wait much longer
now to be accorded their rights-foF, be II known
the Ilfe-savers only seek such relief from the
conditions Of physical disability and old age AS ia
freely accorded men in our military and naval
service
Nor is ii merely that such plan OF retirement
and pensions will do justice to the surfmen who
It Is claimed. run greater risks and endure more
hardships for the wages paid them than do the
men in any other branch of the government
service. Quite aside from this is the influence
that will be exerted upon prospective recruits
for the service Indeed, the officials of the Life
Saving Service assert that with a satisfactory
retirement and pension plan in operation supe-
rioE class of men will be attracted to this voca-
tion where so much must needs depend upon
the Individual And. by the way, probably very
few, of our readers know that. the United States
Life-Saving Service is the largest as well as the
most efficient in the world. Like the iremen
In our cities. they are on duty all the time and
they risk their lives every time they 60 to q
wreck But, for that matetr II the surfmen did
no more than discharge the duties of their might
patrol" on the lonely storm-swept beaches they
would have to their credit more hazardous and
more arduous work than almost any other class
In the community.
Iu0 scope Oh the TSll6I WDrk OF Lne American
Life-Saving Service is expanding all the while
During the past year the life-sayers rendered aid
in the case Of nearly 1900 wrecks and thanks
largely to the aid OF these brave and experienced
men only seventyrfour out Or this large number
proved to be total loss. Measured in dollars
and cents the service rendered by these fear
less men was even greater. In the wrecks OF
the: past year there was involved property, in
ciudings vessels and cargoes, to the total value
Of 11SSO.O00 and Of this amount the surprising
proportion OF $fO.06T.00O was saved. This in it,
self makes the two million dollars year which
Uncle Sam spends on his Life-Saying Service
seem like pretty good investment and that is
without taking into consideration the lives i'm
periled on the shipwrecked vessels. There were
6.661 persons on board the craft that met dis
aster last year and the total loss OF life which
was hfty-hve. would have been many times that
number but for the succ0r afforded by Uncle
Sans heroes OF the beaches
FORMER Governor William Al Newell OF New
Jersey Is generally recognized as the founder Of
the Life-Saving Service and he took the initia-
tive as the result of marine disaster which he
happened to witness during the summer OF 1889
when the Australian bark Count PeraRto'' was
wrecked on Long Beach, New jersey The thir
drowned might readily have been saved had
there been at hand apparatus such as now con
stitutes the regulation equipment OF the United
States life-saving crews
The need thus pointed out made sss forceful an
impression upon the mind Of Mr. Newell that he
soon after entered upon experiments with bows
and arrows. rockets and shortened blunderbuss
as means of throwing lines TO ships stranded In
positions inaccessible by small boats. Eventually
his experiments illuminated In complete success
BY the use ofsa mortar or carronade with ball and