The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-07-26


boats have been sunk by the score on
the great lakes, with a loss of many
lives, because the federal inspection
service was rotten"
"The United States inspection SER
vice is directly responsible for this
disaster" he said. Now they are
either here or are on their way here
for what? To investigate their own
service and their own officials"
Chicago should be warned against
this. The public should demand as
one person that instead of these in
spectors, who ought to have inspectdl
the Eastland and refused permit,
coming here to inspect themselves,
they and their entire organization
from the highest man in Washin.S,n
to the lowest man on the lakes, be
put under the searchlisht.
"When the Pere Marquette sank
last year the Grand Haven inspectors
the same men who said the East
land was safe-also passed favorably
on that boat. Later they reported
that they could find no reason for the
boat sinking. That is what they will
do in the Eastland case--if the public
doesn't stop them.
"The inspection service of the Unit
ed States government has been an
open scandal with seamen for years.
Now is the time to inspect the inspec-
tors. Chicago and every public Off
cial here should demand that and
nothing less. e'
Here are the men in the federal
inspection service that should be in
vestigated: .r.
George Uhlir, Washington, D. c.,
supervising inspector general.
"The ten supervising inspectors,
who with th.s inspector general con-
stitute the board Of supervising in
spectors.
81 charge this and no more:a That
the RESPONSIBLE parties-the officials
at whose doors lies the blame for the
Eastland disaster-are the men who
failed to do their duty and the men
who now are flocking to Chicago to
investigate themselves and their SER
vice.
"The Fastland capsized because
the United States steamboat inspec-
tion service permitted too many peo-
ple to go on board. That and nothing
else was the immediate cause of the
loss of life. That was the last act In
a long record of improper inspection
service"
Roth Olander and Furuseth declar-
ed that th9 inspection service takes
no account of stability-that boats are
not inspected as to their equilibrium
In determining the maximum num-
Der of passengers to be carried, they
said they compute merely the num-
her of sunare feet of surface on each
dock and then allow one square yard
tn a person-making the lnspectlon
matter of multiplication and division
as to surface feet and not as 10 "netn,
or a boat Is properly ballasted or Will
capsize If top heavy.
Six separate Investigations Desan
TODAY They were headed respectively
by States Attorney Maclay Hoyne'
Coroner Hoffman. Federal District AT
tornev Charles C. Clvne, officials OF
the mayors Office. federal steamboat
INSPECTORS and Chief Of Police Heaiey.
The chief questions these otlclals
hoped to have answered were:
enid the Eastland have on boaro
more passengers than were permitted
by the federal license?
"Nhv was the Eastland granted
capacitv so great that even When II
was not exceeded rush OF only
mart of the passengers to one sids
caused it to topple? u..
"Was the Eastland's water ballast
out NJ adjustment If so. who was
the federal inspector who did not
know m OF it or who criminally permit
tod the boat to take on capacity
,ooa In the face of such knowledea?
was the capacity of the EastIanc
oyorrated bv federal inspectors? was
II done deliberately? Did anyone gain
thereby? o., ,,,I,
"Is Il true that the lines OF the nun
.ra drawn for speed, with little