The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-05-28

low hard upon the day of reckoning. Obsolete and antiquated shipping laws should no longer cucumber the par hamentary records of any Govern boards should be pruned of dead branches and less sterile precepts taught and applied.
 Regulation of steamship transporta- ton is as necessary as regulation of railroad transportation, and less diff fcuit to obtain. Transportation by rail is conducted through settled To- entities. where many residents would quickly discover and immediately re-
 port any irregularities or disregard of safety requirements, while by water il
 Is conducted beyond the criticism of
 any except the actual passengers on
 the ship, making it all the more nec-
 essary for definite regulations.
 Lanes of travel must be more care-
 fully defined. strength of bow more
 positive and watertight subdivision to
 limit submergence, life-saving equip-
 ment better and numerous enough for
 all discipline and practice rudimen-
 tary exaction, eye more keen and ear
 alert to catch the warning cry, as on British battleships as we'll as on our own. powerful lights should be
 provided for merchant vessels to search out the partially submerged
 derelict; buoys should be carried by every ship to mark temporarily the place of the ships burial in case of accident; and men of strength and
 spirit there must be, won back to a
 calling already demoralized and de- cadent. But 10 per cent of the men
 before the mast in our merchant ma r1ne are natives or natura1ized Amer jeans: even England, that 20 years ago had barely 1000 Orientals on her mer- chant ships, now, carries over 10000 of that alien race Americans must re-enlist in, this service, they must
 become the soldiers of the sea, and,
 whether on lookout, on deck, or at the wheel, whether able or common seamen. they should be better paid for their labor and more highly honored in their calling: their rights must be respected, and their work carefully performed; harsh and severe restrain ing statutes must be repealed, and a new dignity given this important field of labor
 In our imagination we can see again the proud ship instinct with life and energy, with active figures again swarming upon it's decks; musicians, teachers, artists, and authors; sol- diers and sailors and men of. large affairs: brave men and noble women of every land. We can see the unpre- tentious and the lowly, progenitors of the great and strong, turning their back upon the Old World where en- durance is to them no longer a vir- tue, and looking hopefully to the new At the very moment of their greatest joy the ship suddenly reels, mutilated and groaning. With splendid courage the musicians fill the last moments with sympathetic melody The ship wearily gives up the unequal battle. Only 8 vestige remains of the men and women that but a moment before quickened her spacious apartments with human hopes and passions, sor- rows, and joys. sUpon that broken hull new VOWS were taken, new fealty expressed, old love renewed, and those who had been devoted in friendship and companions in life went proudly and defiantly on the last life pilgrim age together In such a heritage we must feel ourselves more intimatVyI related to the sea than ever before, and henceforth it will send back to 1 us on it's rising tide the cheering salu- tations from those we have lost.