The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-06-14
GAIN the question Of the unsuitable

~
u ship. Can disaster like the foun,
/ \ dering Of the Empress OF Ireland
he made highly improbable II not
impossible? There was this same query
after the loss Of the Titanic. /
Judged by increasing size. speed ana
elements of comfort and attraction, the
present day transatlantic liner Is an enor-
NOUS advance upon the pioneers in the
steamship business And yet with all
these fruits of the skill OF the naval archi-
tect and the marine engineer the world II
reminded Of the lack Of corresponding
measures of safety.
These great ocean greyhounds are veri-
table floating hotels and rivals OF the rail-
road train in some OF their performances
The traveller upon the sea to-day Is com
monty an impatient mortal. He wants TO
reach the other shore in the shortest pos
sible time. and to make his few days upon
the water bearabe he demands all sorts
of luxures that put tax upon the designer
of oceangoing craft The layman does
not begin TO grasp the Juggling that must
be done by the naval architect in order To
effect a compromise between the demands
of the passenger and the pocketbooks OF
the owners.
The Titanic sank because she was more
than half century behind the best
science could produce. The Empress Of
Ireland went to- the bottom because she
was pretty nearly as much behind the
highest standard as the i'll fated White
Star liner. 1t is an indisputable fact that
In the last five decades shipbuilders gener-
ally have not progressed in the matter OF
making safe against collision and ground
ing the run of passenger steamers,
although they have developed enormously
their spectacular characteristics. In maxi
ing this statement ii must be remembered
that reference is not made to ships of war,
In which every effort has been bent to safe
guard them against accidental injury and
the consequence of an enemy's attack.
In 1863 the Great Eastern was built,
and Brunei and Scott, the men responsible
for her, produced Il craft that stands TO
this day as a striking example OF what
can be done within commercial limits to
make a ship well nigh unsuitable and
proof against collision. During one Of
her runs To New York. the Great Eastern
hit some hidden rocks when near Mon
tauk Point, Long Island. and ripped two
great holes in her outer skin; remember
that the ship had not only numerous
watertight bulkheads but also an inner
or double bottom. The combined area
OF the two injuries aggregated single
hole 10 feet long ana 10 feet wide. And
yet, in spite of those wounds, the Great
Eastern kept on 70 port and reached this
city under her own steam.
This performance. more than half a
century ago. has u present bearing in the
case OF the Empress of Ireland, because
the Great Eastern's construction was such
that she could have withstood Just such
an injury as doomed the Canadian Pacific
liner.
J. Bernard Walker, in his book "An
Unsuitable Titanic" has this to say OF the
Great Eastern: "In the technical de-
scriptions Of the ship il was stated that
the inner skin was carried forward right
up to the bow, rs a protection against
collision with an iceberg, and 1t Is further
stated that the combination OF Longitudinal
and transverse bulkheads afforded such
complete subdivision that several COM
partments might be opened to the sea
without endangering the ship" This
system OF construction gave to the Great
Eastern a peculiar measure OF genera
rightly and incidentally made IL certain
that damage would be localized within
moderate areas.
II may not be commonly known hu
the requirements OF the British regula
tons until now have specified that shiI