Evening star., 1914-07-12

I
in good faith. it would seem that there
was no particular reason for the United
| States to have participated at all in the
convention.
Value Of Safety Certificate.
It has been further suggested that arti-
cles 81, 60 and 81 of the convention pro-
hibit any Of the contracting states from
going behind the certificate of safety is
sued by other contracting states unless
the vessel has been shipwrecked or its
unseaworthiness is so palpable that the
| owners readily acknowledge it's defective
condition
Section 400 Of the Revised Statutes
provides that:
When such foreign passenger steam
| ers belong to countries having inspection
laws approximating those of the United
| States. and have uneNpired certificates
| OF inspection issued by the proper au-
| thoritieS in the respective countries to
which they belong. they shall be subject
to no other inspection than necessary to
satisfy the local inspectors that the con-
dition of the vessel, her boilers. and life
saving equipments are as stated in the
current certificate of inspection"
| Article 81 of the convention provides
that every vessel holding a safety GER
! tihcate issued by one contracting state
is subject. in the ports of the other con-
tracing states;
To control by officers duly authorized
| by their governments in SO far as this
| control Is directed toward verifying that
there Is on board a valid safety certifi-
cate 80
| This provision of article 81 is practi-
| cally identical with the provision of the
| United States law, above noted. and If
this were all that article 61 contained it
| would undoubtedly operate to prevent
the United States going behind the safety
I nrfIf If1oot
But article 81 further provides that the
government official may ascertain:
IF necessary, that the conditions Of
the vessels seaworthiness correspond
substantially with the particulars of that
certifcate-that is to say. so that the
vessel can proceed to sea without danger
to the passengers and crew"
| This. of course, gives the United States
| the right to inspect a foreign vessel hav-
ing a safety certificate whenever the
deems. in his Judgment. it is necessary
/ to do so. An official under the terms of
this article Is not only permitted to in
spect vessel and see that her condition
| and her equipment are as stated in the
| safety certificate, but he also has the
| right to ascertain whether, in his judg-
ment. the vessel can proceed to sea with
| out danger to passengers and crew. This
requirement is the very acme of safety
| at sea.
Wireless Protection Constantly.
The act Of Congress of July Q. 1912.
provides that vessels of the United States
and vessels of foreign countries leaving
United States ports must be provided
with wireless equipment If they are IL
censed to carry fifty or more persons, in
cluding passengers and crew. The law
| also provides that the radio equipment
must be in charge of two or more per-
sons skilled in the use Of such appara-
tus, one or other of whom shall be on
duty at all times while the vessel is
| being navigated.''
| 1t is possible under this law. for the
United States to insist that all foreign
vessels carrying fifty persons or more.
leaving United States ports. shall be
equipped with proper radio apparatus. Ii
| is also possible for the United States
to insist that there shall be on every
such vessel two or more skilled radio
operators, but it is not possible, under
that law. for the United States to insist
that constant radio watch shall be
maintained in that vessel after she has
left the jurisdiction of the United States
and Is at sea.
While the United States can require
that radio equipment be on board a for
eign vessel. and that the men to operate
that equipment are also on board. II
cannot, by it's own law. insure that those
radio men will maintain a proper watch
| 4
of the United States, therefore while the
! United States law provides means for q
| constant wireless watch, 1t cannot en-.
force such constant watch at sea.
Without going into detail as to the
| classes of ships and the requirements fol
various ships in the matter of wireless
equipment and wireless watches, as lait
| down by the convention. 1t is sufficien
to say that under the rules of this con
vention regarding wireless equipment ant
Itx-iva "a
transpacific vessels carrying twelve pas
sengers and belonging to nations which
sign this treaty must be provided VIII
wireless equipment and maintain a con
stant watch. and each Of the contracting
states agrees. in this convention, to enac
appropriate legislation to enforce thes
provisions.
This convention will result in a con
stant wireless watch being maintained a
sea on all transatlantic and tranSpacih
vessels carrying twelve passengers o
more. That is something the Unitet
States laws cannot accomplish.
New Rules of the Road.
Rules Of the road. as now enforced b,
all maritime nations. require that durinl
fog, mist or falling snow vessel shal
proceed at moderate speed. This, o
course, is for the purpose of attempting
to prevent collision at sea- The difficult.
of the law is that it does not define wha
constitutes moderate speed, and TIL
courts have always decided that "moder
ate speed depends upon circumstance
in each individual case, and, of course
cannot be decided until after a collision
has taken place and lives have been lost
| 1t Is believed that if the term "moder
ate speed We're defined by statute
would be an important addition to safe
guards for ocean travel The reason tn
law requires vessels to go at moderat
speed during fog is that the ship shoul
he under more or less control. so tina
when another vessel suddenly looms u
ahead the vessels could be stopped i
time to prevent collision.
The term moderate speed" is too gen
eral. In defining moderate speed 1t mus
be borne IN mind that it cannot be salts
factorily defined in terms of distance
| since. tLo hsa 9rea he