The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1913-10-19

sistance burns for nearly five hours.
Is this gentle hint to man that lie
should not press too far in his folly ?
VIII he take the hint?
| Suppose that fire had occurred at
sea during heavy gale with no shore
engines or harbor boats to assist. How
| long might the fire have lasted? How
many of the 5000 people on board
might have been lost in a panic, even
without the destruction of the ship
We are assured. as in the case of the
Titanic, that such a fire could not have
occurred a sea. Possibly not 1t is like
ly that full provision will be made to
tprevent this identical accident But
| now about all the other possibilities
| 1t is the unexpected, the unlocked for,
the unthought of that happens.
| The next time it may be battery
| OF boilers that let's go. Doubtless the
| marine architects will assure us that
even should the bottom be blown out
| or that section the ship would be borne
| up by the remaining water tight COM
partments. Still, it would be Just like
the boilers to wreck the bu1kheads on
each side. Then what? We should have
| another demonstration of the fact that
war is not necessary to bring out the
heroic In human nature.
Is 1t not clear that since the risk
of disaster cannot be eliminated we
should take reasonable precautions to
meet it? To begin with, why should
we persist in crowding so many peo-
pie into one ship? The old adage about
putting all ones eggs in one baske
might well apply. 1t was suggested at
the time the worlds attention was on
the Titanic disaster that ships should
run In pairs, so that one could aid the
other in case of need. Possibly that is
a good idea. 1t might be applied in
| building two medium sized ships in
a a. nj INN tor II
be run quite cheaply perhaps, nor
would there be so much room for deck
| golf and other land recreations. But a
dollar or two added to the fare would
meet the extra cost or the elimination
of some of the frills would equalize
the expense.
Crew Not Sailors
Then, as to manning. The term
crew" does not mean sailors as it once
did. OF the 1880 members on the Inn
perator very few are accustomed to
handling lines or small boats Indeed,
the crew of a modern ship and the SER
wants of hotel might be interchanged
with little perceptible difference in their
efficiency Aside from the cabin crew.
whose duties are the same ahoat or
ashore, the men are mechanics and
laobrers rather than seamen The
Titanic lifeboats could not be properly
manned because there Were not enough
men in the crew who could handle an
oar.
There Is curious thing about nature.
Though she insists upon having her
own way in the end, she let's man taxi
his time in coming to that end 1t is
true in building great ships and In man
ming them. The rights and comforts of
the sailors may be disregarded without
any seeming harm. But there will come
time when the accumulated wrongs
Will be poured out on the heads of un-
foreseeing society. A quick demand for
nfeboat Will find no one capable of
manning 1t. Why? The why's" will be
passed on from one Investigating COM
mittee to another. until mans foolish
ness Is laid bare in a long trail of neg
lect, something like this: Lifeboat could
not be manned because crew could not
row; men could not row because lands
men had run ont the sailors, sailors
had disappeared because they would not
accept the meager pay and put up with
the d1scomforts of sea life There are
thousands of Chinese on ships Differed
by Americans and Europeans An emer-
gency Will arise. orders will be min
understood-and the survivors will re-
fleet that nature has given another hint
The seamen's bill now slumbering in
Congress seems of small moment to u.s.
but the day may not be distant when
we would give all we have to know
that it's, provisions had been carried
out. Man can make machinery that will
almost run itself Under favorable con-
ditions, but when nature asserts her.
self We need the best men on deck