The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1914-05-07
PER|LOUS CARCOES
e.;lors Dread Ships That Garry
Sugar, Coffee or Cotton.
ACIDS ALSO ARE DANGEROUS.
,;.. and Other Explosives Are
~. in Comparison With Chemicals
rh., Are a Constant Menace to the
v....l. In Which They Are Stored.

.n6oa or cotton. Is tue prayer tnat
NV sailors send up when they are In
sarnt as to what fate will bring them
ss,t IN the cargo line. They welcome.
.,most gladly. a cargo Of dynamite or
other explosive. but they dislike the
oos,tiye discomfort and danger that
some TO them with the cargo of sugar.
coffee or cotton.
Az first sight it seems that dynamite
vould be a cargo to be carefully side
stepped but from sailors point of
view more things than the mere dan
cor involved are to be considered. A
ssrro of sugar is bad. Put hundreds
AZ TONS of cane sugar in casks in the
hold Of a vessel and let the ship steam
through a belt of hot weather. The
| odor is sickening. The sailors cannot
rot the sweet taste out Of their mouths.
They crave vinegar or lemon Juice
ANYTHING sour. They lose their appe-
tites and are always glad when a voy-
age on which the cargo was sugar is
over.
Coffee Is as disagreeable as sugar. in
addition to being really dangerous. A
cargo of green coffee is not at all I'M
pleasant at first. but the odor rapidly
pals on the olfactOry nerves. In damp
weather 1t becomes dreadful 1t seems
to impregnate everything in the ship
and eventually the crew lose all appe-
lite and sometimes become seriously
Ill
Cotton is really dangerous cargo.
II a little oil happens to touch raw cot
ton the result is what is called spon-
taneous combustion. A single bale of
cotton saturated with such an oil as
boiled linseed. aud lying at the bottom
Of hold. can be compared only to a
slow match attached to bomb. In
fact. it is even more dangerous. be
cause while there might be ninety nine
chances out of a hundred that some
thing might happen to prevent the ex-
plosion Of the bomb. there are about
900 chances In 1000 that the cotton
will burn.
Onions also cause sailors much dis
comfort. The French steamer Yarra
with cargo of onions from Alexan-
dria to England. lost one man and had
three others rendered insensible by
fumes rising from the tons of onions In
her hold
Acids and other chemicals form dan
serous cargOes. Carbide of calcium
Tor instance. is more dangerous than
dynamite. Acetyline gas is made from
this chemical and the gas is constant
y given off If the product is exposed
% air. Some time ago the Hamburg
bark Hebe was lowed into Plymouth
SOUND, England. in a disabled condi-
uon. Her cargo was 200 tons Of cal
cum carbide. When the commander
In chief at Davenport learned the ma
lure OF the disabled bark's cargo he
ordered all the war vessels In the
sound to take refuge at Hamaze and
forbade the Hebe to stand in for re-
pairs until all her perilous cargo had
Deen removed by barge of the war
department.
Inc Volturno. which burned at sea.
na1 cargo which included rags. peat
moss. barrels of spirits. tar and oils.
together with drums Of various chemi-
Gals. Water could have little effect on
tne flames from such q combination
Wnen 1t had caught fire.
Nitric and sulphuric acids are dan
serous cargoes and add to the dangers
VI the sea when carried aboard ships.
some years ago the Phoenix liner Mich.
.san was caught in a gale while COM
.ng 10 this country. She had deck.
'oad OF sulphuric and muriatic acid in
metal drums. A huge sea washed over
ne forward deck and broke a number
u the acid drums from their lashings.
sending them crashing around the
eeck. Volunteers were called for to
neaVe the drums overheard The crash
.s OF the sea and the rolling on the
.eck mad split some of the containers
anu the acid burned the flesh of the
sailors who responded to the call for
.o'unteers The battle with the dead
acid drums waged for an hour. Man
a.ter man was forced to fall out from
Tue line Of battle and go below to
nave his wounds dressed. When the
situation was becoming critical the
aahger was eliminated the way it had
eome-by another wave washing over
Tue vessel and carrying away the un.
'astened drums and part of the lee rail
onlpmasters dislike carrying drums
VI acid where they cannot be reached
readily. A Chilean ship put in at the
oakland Islands leaking badly. Her
cargo was made up of drums Of acid
ana chalk. The acid had leaked from
Tue drums and mixed with the chalk
turning carbOnic acid gas in the hold
1his gas is deadly and the crew could
not make repairs. Meantime the acid
uau gathered at the bottom of the hold
ana eaten away the iron frames Of the
snip.-New York Press.
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