The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-22
LrFEBoATs "ABsURDv


 Mechanics Magazin9.
 Iifeboats are mot necessary, not wise.t and absurd" or at least a suffi-
 cient number of them to provide for every
 passenger-entirey overlooking the crew Is so considered in the judgment Of liar old Sanderson, a director of the Whlte
 Star line. And this astounding statement was not made before the Titanic" went
 down. but less than 60 days after that dls- aster If there have been any doubts as
 to the necessity of stringent governmental control they must now fade away before
 such a policy as this. And the remark was not an accidental word, carelessly dropped in casual conversation as the pri- vate opinion of an individual It was part of the sworn statement of man testifying before the British investsat- ing board as director of the White Star
 line. But this is not the worst The
 same witness went on to relate how, to
 appease public clamor. the olympic on l her first westbound trip after the great l disaster did carry sufficient boatage to
 provide room for every soul on board,
 women, children, men and crew. We | Stafteu, IfSIllltu OlltClOl CulluSA SoAi, "
 have a number on board equal to the
 number of souls the vessel carried, but we saw that was absurd, so we reduced them"
 1 As long as there are boats sufficient to save managing directors while the less | fortunate passengers are getting drowned, what matters?
 With such a policy as that now, while tears are yet flowing for the dead, can
 there he any surprise that the Titanic
 was so miserably equipped. Being ques-
 toned a second time whether in the in-
 terest of public safety there should be llfeboat accommodation for every pas
 senger and every member of the crew,
 MT Sanderson replied: ''In the same in- | terest my answer is that 1t Is not neces- sary, and Is not wlse."
 1 This announcement cannot but cause a decided shock to American travellers, how ever complacent our British cousins may be. If there be any "absurdity' in so serious a matter, is it not rather that British freight steamers must carry llfe- boats for double the number of men on board; while a passenger ship intrusted NlIl a nunuIet tllIes dS laiS i'NSS ID allowed to leave port equipped to save
 but fourth or a third!
 It was offered in excuse that there are cert ain risks in connection with going to sea, which it is impossible to eliminate,
 Just as there are risks in travelling on
 land;" and Lord Mersey, president of
 the commission, seconded MT. Sanderson
 with Quite right, every person who goes
 to sea- or for that matter walks on land,
 must accept some risks"
 | The man in the street has some choice,
 he can take the other side or use another
 street or wait until joy rider has passed; l but once on the high seas he is without
 alternative. He cannot control the dispo-
 sition of his own dead body or even that of his wife. The captain, whose word Is | law, can sew him in @ sack and dump | him overheard. Of course there is risk
 in going to sea, which is precisely the
 reason why steamship companies which | have so little regard for the safety of l their passengers should be compelled to | reduce that risk to a minimum. That goy-
 einment has and can exercise such regu-
 lation is unquestioned. If for instance, | an AneIlcan Snlp atteliipleu to iahu itS passengers stricken with some terrible plague at a British port, would there be
 any hesitation in using cannon to prevent
 such landing, if necessary?
 "Lifeboats absurd!" That the Titanic
 could sink was also "absurd''-once. It
 is the fancied absurdities of life that have
 made most of it's greatest tragedies. As | the hundreds of brave victims slowly sank | into the icy waters of the north Atlantic
 we can imagine their last words
 1 ''Lifeboats? How absurdt'