Omaha daily bee., 1912-05-19
Saving Life at Sea
Problem for Nations
NY A, H. puNNING.

ny A. II. DUNNING.
Surely the terrible disaster OF the IT,
tanic viii at least focus public atten-
ton upon the question Of boat accom-
mediation on passenger ships to an ex-
tent that will compel some drastic
amendment Of the present criminal state
OF affairs.
1t is quite true-thst very few liners
carry enough boats to take off all on
board. even should none Of the boats
be damaged in launching.
But that Is by no means all the story.
] have made long voyages. and state
without fear OF contradiction that half
the boats on most ships that have been.
say. five years afloat-particularly those
including tropical routes-are not only not
seaworthy. but they could not be put out
In anything like reasonable time.
Everyone who has travelled much is
familiar with the boat drill" and
knows II to be an absolute farce. But
I want to give you actual observed facts.
Boat drill usually only consists OF sta
tons being sounded. and the roll call
being taken Of the crew Of each boat.
Sometimes one boat will be swung out,
and often the falls are not touched be-
fore she Is swung inboard again!
What Is the good Of that! Who is to
know whether the gear is sound and In
running order. Only once at drill have
/ seen life" boat actually lowered to
the water In mid-oceap-and the job was
revelation to many besides myself.
Here are the parttculars:
We were stopped about an hoarkAn
q calm SEQ. for an engine oysrnkii-duits
an ordinary thinE-and boat dtili was
undertaken. The order to lower away"
was given quite Unexpectedly and then
the fun-or tragedy-besan.
First the ropes were so klnked and
dry that they had to be forcibiy straight
ened after being laid out on deck. They
were also full for the blocks. Then the
sheaves were found to be stuck, and an
A. b. was sent to the engine room for
grease. After a liberal application OF
that. the boat made jerky start down
wards.
Half way the forward blocks jammed.
the rope kinking badly. The after pair
went away with a run. and the boat
hung by the bow with the two men who
were in It ciingins to the seats-a position
that would have Inevitably thrown any
passengers out Of IL into the sea.
Finally II was got afloat, Just thirty
six minutes from the time the order was
given-and then II was found that Its
plug was not in. One man kept his foot
over the hole while the other hunted for
the plug among the gear which had got
shot in heap astern while the II hung
by the bow. Even when the plug was In
It's place. Il took water through several
seams. Probably II had not been In the
water for years.
All this happened on, ''well-found''
iiner-ln broad daylight. the sea dead
calm. and everything In favor of the
crew.
Imagine such a scene In an accident
at night. Feeble. Pickering. lamplight.
high sea running. drenehing sprays and
driving rain; the swinging boat full of
terrified passengers. the ship unmanage-
able, settling down and every moment
precious.
Again, on some ships the falls are so
skimped that they would only put
boat down properly when the ship was
on an even keel Suppose. for Instance.
a vessel damaged and with heavy list
to port. What becomes Of the starboard
boats!
They would absolutely have to be
dropped into the water to take their
chances.
II Is far more than time that the whole
question was thoroughly taken in hand.
/ should like to see at least the following
rules made infiexibie.
/. That no ship should be allowed to 60
to sea without ample boat accommodation
for every one aboard IT,
:. That no ship should be allowed to
clear for sea unless its boats had been
periodically examined by qualified in
spector and certificate given BY him to |
that effect.
O. That each certificate should be re-
newed hy. the. owners at periods not ex-
ceeding twelve months. The owners to |
carry out all requirements of such In
spector to his absolute satisfaction-shouid |
anything be found defective-before the |
ship be allowed to clear. The certificate to |
state inter AHA. that the inspector had |
personally seen. fa) Each boat lowered |
into the water. and cast off: Cb), that |
each boat was seavorthy: (c). contained
an Its proper gear; td). that all falls were
amply long enough to serve at any list at 4
which the vessel could float; te). that ali
fixed and running gear was in perfect
order.
This may sound . drastic list Of pro-
posals. but Il is the least the British
Board Of Trade ought to impose upon
ship owners. into whose ssfe-keeping 30
many Thousands Of people Temporarily
given their lives each year.
The Persistent and Judicious Use Of
Newspaper Adverttsng 10 the Road to
Eus1u<zs S---eexx