The Washington herald., 1913-10-13

vantage of the powerful wireless on
board the Kaiser Wilhelm II to at least
transmit a list OF those rescued ana
additional details of the disaster.
The message sent byfCapt Inch, of the
Volturno, was sent from the krooniand
TO the Carmania, and the latter Vessei
was in brief communication with the
powerful French station on the Island OF
Ushant
Capt. Barr's Radiogram.
TIE following wireless from Capt. Barr,
OF the. Carmania, was received by the
Cunard Line this morning:
'Carn:ania due Queenstown a. m
Monday (Greenwich time). Volturno
floating, ablaze forward end. mast and
funnel standing. Weather had been
northwest; gale moderating. Records are
not complete; only one survivor here.
Supposed 136 lost who attempted to get
away in ships boats previous to our
arrival. Barr ''-.
In terse wireless phraseology this brief
message tells the whole story OF the
catastrophe, and also indicates the pres
ent menace to navigation the. abandoned
vessel exerts. The VOlturno. according
to Capt. Bars message, is still floating
ablaZe where she was abandoned, with
out a single means of making her pres
ence known should fog descend and en-
shroul her blazing hulk. Unless either
ne American or British governments
dispatch a warship Immediately to de-
stroy the wreck. the. Nolturno may be
the cause of another disaster.
DihcuIty with Lifeboats.
She is at present floating at the mercy
of wind and ocean current in the direct
path Of ocean liners, on a track over
which an average Of six ships pass every
day. Her position Is also one Of the fog
belts of the North Atlantic, where fog
is experienced on an average of five
days out of every hundred.
There is very little chance of the ves-
sci laundering because the water in
which she floats keeps her hull from
becoming overheated, while the gases
caused by the combustion of infiammable
material on board exerts sufficient pres
sure to counteract the pressure of the
water outside.
Captain Barr's message also states that
the loss of life occurred in an attempt
to put of the Volturnos boats before
his own ship arrived. II also states that
a northwest gale was blowing at the
same time.
Great difficulty has always been ex-
perienced in launching lifeboats from
the side of ship at sea. The VuIturno
These are long, curved steel poles that
revolve on their base. The boats are
attached to them by means of block
and tackle.
when lowering a lifeboat il is neces-
sary to push one END of the boat out
first by pushing one of the davits OUT
ward and then completing the opera
tion on the other davit. This gives the
boat an awkward swing from the out !
set.
Davits Cause Trouble.
The boat is then lowered by letting |
the ropes slide through the blocks. |
This causes it TO drop with short, jerky |
which cause the boats TO !
strike the water heavily. Once in the |
water, it is an almost superhuman task
TO release the hook holding the boat
to the tackle, even in calm water.
1t was undoubtedly these conditions,
coupled with the heavy sea caused by
the northwesterTy gale, that capsized
the VolturnQ's boats and caused the
death Of so many passengers and crew.
Most modern ships are fitted with
tangent davits. These are steel arms
which move, across cogged tangent.
They allow the boat to be launched, de-
spite the angle at which the ship is list
ing. Most ships have also an accom-
modation ladder which can be lowered
down the ships side, thus doing away
with the necessity of loading the boats
with passengers before launching them.
A great deal of speculation took place
In the local steamship Offices today as
10 whether. in view OF the disaster of the
the government would not step
in and pass laws compelling every ship
10 be fitted with better form of 6avits
and accommodation ladders.