The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1912-05-17
CAUTIOUS SINCE
TITANIC'S LOSS
Nothing Is Overlooked by the
Steamship Lines.
SOUTHERaMOST ROUTE TAKEN
More Lifeboats on Vessels and Better
Manned Wireless-Most of the Com
panies Are Exerting Themselves Far
Beyond the Laws Demand.

The world knows now that marine
construction has not yet designed and
built an unsuitable ship any more than
architects have discovered the abso-
lutely fireproof building. Something
can happen which can send to the bot
tom of the ocean the strongest steel
and the most perfect joining that man
has yet done. but today it is safe to
say that never before in the history
of mercantile marine of any nation
have life saving appliances aboard
ship been brought TO their maximum
efficiency so quickly as has been done
by all nations since the Titanic disas
ter taught its tragic lesson.
The ships that are now going out of
the port of New York or from any 9th
er port. for that matter. are as safe MS
man can make them. and the chances
of life are so near 100 per cent as TO
call for infinitesimal fractions to eX-
press the difference.
Change Of Course.
Passenger liners going from New
York to ports of northern Europe and
the entire British isles are taking
route many miles to the south of the
iceberg zone, at least according to the
best data of the photographers. They
are going out equipped with more life
boats than ever before. and these boats
are ready for service. There has been
a sharper assigning of crews for all
boats, with necessary drills in the har-
Dor. Life belts have been overhauled.
inspected and made ready; lookOuts
forward have been REINFORCED, and,
supplementing this. the efficiency of
the wireless equipment has been raised.
not so much by the improvement of
the apparatus as by additions to the
human force. The trend is toward the
entire elimination of the dead hours"
when the IS O S" or &c O n" might
sound vainly in the unused receiver of
ship only few miles from a great
vessel in distress
The change Of course from the dan
gerOus northern route to one south of
the iceberg belt came almost simulta-
neously with the first definite report of
the disaster. Ship owner and agent
got into communication with each 9th
el and with the United States hydro
graphic office, as a result of which it
was agreed to instruct all captains to
proceed west by great circle to lati-
tude 80 degrees north and longitude Al
degrees west, then to 80 degrees north
latitude and longitude 80 west Going
east captains are to steer to 3S degrees
and 20 minutes north and 80 degrees
west longitude and thence along IS de-
Grees and 90 minutes north latitude TO
As degrees west longitude; thence by
great circle to destination.
Out of Iceberg Region.
The original routes called for the
crossing of westbound liners at the
danger point of the banks at a much
higher latitude and in longitude that
is now the very heart of the iceberg re
gion-that is, at latitude AZ degrees,
longitude AZ degrees. The original
eastbOund course called for the cross
ing of longitude Al degrees at latitude
Al degrees. These routes have been
fixtures for many years, and, although
there have been several collisions and
narrow escapes on the part of some of
the crack ships, there never has been a
serious effort to shift the courses be-
low the fog and ice limit.
The final and what are regarded as
the absolutely safe lanes, eastbound
and westbound, are far out of the re-
gion where icebergs have been seen
even in the record years for soft and
comparatively harmless bergs and far
from the region Of frequent fog. The
weStbound point in the danger zone
under the new regulation is 100 miles
10 the south Of the old course and
about 40 miles to west of il. This
means the adding of more than 300
miles to the long sOutherly course in
use in the season of ice and fog, from
Jan. - to Aug. %.
Every boat builder along the Atlantic
coast within reach Of the port of New
York has been working overtime since
the Titanic went down.
Maritime Congress Likely.
When it comes to the wireless serv.
ice of the ships the larger liners which
go out of New York were unable to add
any lIiIuB W INC lJlNNdutlOAo
taken. Every big boat going out OF
New York either across the Atlantic OF
down its coast carries a double shift OF
operators. One man is supposed tc
have the telephone to his ears all the
time, while his apparatus has not only
a main power furnished by the dyna
mos, but storage batteries for emer
seE:ies as well.
Bat one obstacle TO uniform life saw
ing appliances on all ships remains, and
that is the maritime laws. Every coun
try has a different law, and by con
vention the United States is required
20 recognize and pass without inspec
tion a vessel of country which has
laws approaching those of the United
States. Doubtless out OF this confllc
will come a maritime congress Of thu
powers or a convention at The Hague
which will make regulations uniform
and anracfIva