The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1912-04-18

a chain Of branch hydrograpfhoApffices
at the principal seapor,s.
Practically all the captains In the trans
atlantic trade cooperate in this work by
handing IN their information on arrival
In port to the branch hvdroyraphic offices
In recent years the collection OF marine
data has been immensely accelerated by
the use Of radIotelegraphy. ra and the Hydro
graphic ONCE il thereby enabled to publish
In a so-called daily memorandum what
ever important reports Of dangers have
been received. This sheet IL prepared
every afternoon and mailed to the branch
photographic ofiices aud there given pub
licity to all concerned Bv this means
Boston. New York. Philadelphia. Balti-
more. Norfolk. &c. are daily put in pos
session OF the accumulated reports Of
da ngerous derelicts and icebcres. which
have been edited by experts in this line Of
work.
Thus Ia the case Of the recent loss Of the
Titanic tho shipping companies and ship
masters had been put In possession Of the
experience and judgment of a trained stan
In the hydrographc office IA summarized
in pamphlet printed In April. 1909. entitled
North Atlantic Movements giving a study
OF the entire question with diagrams to
show the usual limits of ice for period of
ten years More specifically the shipping
community had been provided from month
70 month with the pilot chart showing the
conditions of ice up to the time of printing
and with the weekly Hvdroorc pho bulletin
giving all pertinent details in regard TO ice
and derelic's and also the daily mcmoran-
dunn summarizing the collected report s. /of
each day
In New York the officer in charge Of the
branch photographic office has on OK hibition
on the floor of the Maritime Exchange, as
weei IA in his own ofilcc. u large chart of the
north Atlantic Ocean in which is shown the
location OF the derelicts, ice and other
reported dangers. These charts he keeps
posted TO date lie also informs AZ once
by telephone the various steamship com
penies of all reported dangers TO naviga-
tion. The officers of said companies and
masters Of their vessels. particularly those
OF outgoing vessels. have always been urged
TO call at the branch hydrographic Office
10 obtain the latest information. Steamship
companies have also always been urged
To keep their ships afoat constantly in
formed of these dangers by means of wire
less telegraphy.
Similar action To that above outlined
has been takea hy the officers in charge Of
the branch hvdrographc Offices st the
other ports men, ioned above
trained seaman can and docs estimate
the probable speed and direct ion of drii'
OF any dangerous obs,ruc, ion SO that ir he
has knowledge Of tho existence Of an ice
berg or dcreict in a certain loca,io at
given date he reckon. it, futur. position
for n interval OF a few DAYS
The April pilot chart which was issued
March ~ showed TINT in March ice had
come ~ far south as latitude - north
The daily memorandum prior to the 18th
instant showed TINT the trend Of ico was to
the southwark. icebergs being sighted
below the for,y-third parallel on April :.
=. aand II. on the 9th and nth II had reached
the forty second parallel. aud on the nth
some OF II was seen south OF latitude -
degrees. The daily memorandum Of Arrn
IL contains u mess1r" from the steamship
America via s,eamshi? rtauic and Cane
Race. y. r.. April -. 1917. - the hydro
graphic O11ce Washington. ID. G
"Amerika has passed two larce iccbergs
In %l-25 y sos W. on tha 18th of tp-il
As the Titani,s position IL reported to
have been latitude ii-i6. longitude aD-it al,
the time OF her disaster II il thus .or- ,ha,
the message which she transmitted for the
Amerika doubtless relates - the very ice
upon which she was wrecked
The Hydrographic Office 81 tho Navy
Department has reports showing in detail
the vast extent Of the ice field in the steam
ship lane. The daily memorandum of
the Hydrographic Offic" for April Is con =.
tanned the following information con
s,rning icebergs in that field:
The German steamer Pisa reported
encountering a field OF ice in, uding seven
icehercs OF considerable si,. Ia iati.uG,
- degrees minutes. longitude a. DEGREES
81 minutes On April i3.
The German steamer Chelsea. in rpnor,
10 she passed large ic. t.ld u few hundred
feet vi ide and lt'en miles long, e\,c,,,iinr
north {" northeast a. Latitude Il degrees
~ miuu'es lonsit,dr ~ degrees - ininf,es.
on April 10
The following ice r.ports were an
nounced in tn" daily memorandum for
April 10:
The British Steamship Carolina ra-se,l
about thirty large irebergS and extensive q
field ice on April u ~ lsiitude ii degrees
80 minutes. longitude ~ degrees - minutes
Some Of the berss were nc-iupr,h Ia one
half mile long and IN ieel above water.
Th" b'tish steamer Victoria reuor,ed
sighting u Zoe OF pach and field ic. extend.
inE north a. far IA ,ouid b" seen ON Anil
from la'itude ~ degrees ~ minutes, ionsi.
tuda - degrees ~ ninyt-s Thr shin barely
cleared the west end Of the foe
The British ship Lord Crom.r repor,.d
that on March - she sa~ heavy pack irc
with large bergs. latl,ude A. degrees I'd
minutes. longitude ~ degrees: on March
| ~ eight large iceh-rGs at latitude g. degrees
| II minutes. longitude a. degrees Is lnjnut..
| April l. heavy pack Ice and ic cebergS. lati.
tude ~ degrees - minutes. longi,tde =,
degrees 80 minutes.
ri q