The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-18
ID BE NO DELAY IN INVESTIGATION IF TITANIC DISASTER Congress Acts Swiftly and Considers Many
 Bills
PASSES RESOLUTION
 UNANIMOUSLY
House Committee on Merchant Marine Will Speedily Take Up Bills In House = Suggest Inter-
 national Commission

1vasbineton. April 17.-Congress acted swiftly today on the Titanic catastrophe.
 Bills and resolutions designed to pre- vent repetition of the awful disaster off the New Foundland bank poured into both houses.
 Agrees to Resolution
 The Senate agreed to a resolution directing thorough investigation by the commerce commission into the causes leading to the wreck with par tfcular reference to the inadequacy of life boats. This resolution, the first introduced in the Senate, presented by Senator Smith of Michigan, who ranks next to the chairman of the commerce commission, was passed by unanimous consent in one hour and 20 minutes.
 Provides for Equipment
 Senators Maritime of New Jersey and Perkins of California, the latter chalr- man of the naval affairs committee, also introduced bills.
 Senator Maritime proposed that the President be advised that the senate would flavor treaties with maritime na- alO ocean craft and their passengers and crew.
 Senator Perkins resolution provided for the equipment of steamers with adeuuate life saving apparatus. It would require that every steamer shall have a sufficient number of seaworthy life boats to carry "at one time every passenger and every member or the crew; that it shall not clear any port the federal supervising inspectors, who would de- termine the character of such equlp- ment, but would have no discretion whatever as to the number or lire boats. which would be determined sole ly by the actual capacity to carry all aboard The Perkins resolution even prescribed that the life boats should have not less than three cubic Feet oi displacement for each person.
 The Maritime. resolution was referred to the foreign relations committee, and the Perkins resolution went to the commerce committee.
 House Committee to Act
 The House conmmittee on merchant marine will speedily take up the many lills and resolutions which have been ln- troduced bearing on the Titanic disaster Representative Alexander of Missouri, chairman of the committee, introduced VI the President to invite the. maritime na- tions of the world to appoint members of aa international commission to define ship laws and routes and to minimize the dan ger of collisions at sea. The other would extend smilap invitation to nations in- terested in north Atlantic steamship travel to form commission to arrange for pa trol of north Atlantic waters to warn ships.
 Representative Sulzer of New York. chairman of the foreign relations com nittee, offered joint resolution identical with the Senate resolution introduced by Mir. Perkins
 One Preserver Per Passenger
 The Perxins-Sulzer provisions would re- ouire one life preserver for each person aboard They would also make it fel- ony for any captain, executive officer or resident general agent of corporation actually charged with control, manage ment, operation, equipment or navigation of ocean vessels to knowingly permit a vessel to sail from any port of the United States Without full life saving equipment. The penalty would be Imprisonment at hard labor for not more than 10 years.
 Gen. George Uhler, supervising in- spector general of the steamboat inspec- tion service, expressed the view today that much good could be accomplished by an international congress to consider life saving appliances. He said that there was no action that his department could take in the Titanic case in view of the fact that the vessel was foreign craft complying with the British navigation laws.