Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1912-05-08
R0UsED TO ACTION
Government Is Stirred by the
Titanic Disaster.
SAFEGUARDS NOT ADEQUATE
Conformity to American Regulations
Probably VIII Be Insisted on Here
after-All Washington Mourns
Death of Major Butt.
BY GEORGE CLINTON.

Washington.-The disaster TO the
great Titanic has stirred the officials
in Washington TO action along a doz-
en- different lines. It is expected that
supervising inspectors of steamships
hereafter win pay less attention to
regulations of safety laid down by for
eign governments and will more rigid
ly enforce the American regulations.
Moreover, while the Titanic struck an
iceberg. it is probable that there will
be still more careful search made of
the seas to find derelict vessels which
are a menace to navigation.
AS things stand now. the United
States government allows foreign yes
sells to come into the ports of this
country provided their safeguards,
such as lifeboats and other things. ap-
proach in numbers those demanded by
the laws of this country. 1t is always
taken for granted that the English
government. for instance, has the well
fare of its marine service at heart and
that therefore its regulations can be
regarded by this country as safe. Gov
ernment officials here believe that the
English board of trade which regu-
lates such matters thought that in the
Titanic it had a boat which was I'M
sinKable and that therefore it would
be All right not to insist that there
should be enough life boats to provide
for all the passengers.
Congress has been very much stir
red up over the matter of lifeboats
and other appliances by the disaster
to the great steamship. The admins
tration has felt a personal sense of
loss because Of the death of Major
Archibald W. Butt, the White House
aid. and this has added to its desire
naturally that in the future lives
should be better safeguarded. The
secretary OF commerce and labor. Mr..
Nagel. also has taken the matter up
with his subordinates, and unquestion-
ably representations will be made to
the foreign officials who govern such
matters that hereafter the regulations
of the United States must be lived up
to in every port
Many DereIiets Afloat.
So far as the matter of derelicts is
concerned, it is known that nearly 400
Of them are floating about the seas in
various parts of the world, each one
being menace to navigation. Boats
are out all the time seking derelicts
for the purpose of destroying them,
but 1t seems that as fast as one is de-
oil ff1 e.
vessels are always being deserted at
sea by their crews when 1t seems
that sinking is imminent 1t is said
that there never is much of an in.
crease in the number of derelicts, but
1t stays about the same year in and
year out
The derelict is still as much OF a
menace to navigation as the iceberg,
and more of one because 1t is apt to
get in the way Of ships at every seq
son OF the year. while the icebergs are
a danger ordinarily only for about
six weeks. The usual time of the
icebergs' menace is in June, but this
year they broke loose from their
"moorings" much earlier than usual
and appeared southeast of Cape Race
utterly Unexpectedly.
Yhy lcebergs Appeared Early.
It would seem that in these DAYS of
highly developed meteorological knowl.
edge the presence of floating ice In
the path of ocean steamships at an
earlier date than usual ought to have
been forecast. The reason for their
appearance early perhaps by some I'M
thinking persons was taken In advance
as reason why they should appear
late. The winter which has lust
passed was an extraordinary severe
one and 1t lasted a long time. The
mere fact that there was a cold win
ter would make it appear that ice
bergs would stay fast until later in
the season than usual, and so they did
in the far north where they are us
ually formed.
The trouble lay in the fact that the
severity of the winter caused the
bergs to form much further south
than usual and so it was that when
the first warm days of spring came
the southern icebergs broke loose and
f1oated out into the open long before
those which had formed in the usual
place were melted from their fasten-
ings.
Major Butt Sincerely Mourned.
No one not resident of the capital
robably can appreciate the deep
.ense of sorrow felt here when
.ews came that Maj. Archibald
W. Butt, the presidents personal asd.
was among the passengers lost on the
Titanic. President Taft had just seat
ed himself in a box at the theater