New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-07-25
Waterfront Men Feared
for Her Safety on
Each Sailing,
N5YEARS LOSSES
REACHED 100000
p,omoter Defends Seaworthi-
ness. but Others Call Her
TOpheaVy.

Cleveland, July 24.-Cleveland steam
,o,. inspectors who had inspected the
v.s.,.rd each Of the several seasons
=. ,Ied from here to Cedar Point,
l.. announced her safe. But the
,,,,sI had hoodoo from the time
-. WAS launched. The popular i'm
...;on was that. sooner or later, she
I'D turn turtle. She was topheavy,
,,,,,ially so when her water ballast
tanks were empty.
~. E,stland was built in Port HUI
-, in 1903 for a group Of Manistee
t,pitans,s and placed on an excur-
-, run between South Haven, Mich
,,s Chicago. After two poor seasons
!, which rumors Of her unseaworthi-
-. PLAYED . large part, she changed
IDS and in 1906 was taken over oy
=. Eas,lard Navigation Company, OF
~, eitv. financed by City Hall en-
,Io7,s The DepositOrs' Savings and
T-r,. Company, Tom L. Johnson :
l,,k had about $4,000 Of Eastland
h,,ss when IT failed. Traction Com
missioner Witt then :ook active
charge Of the boat.
In her first season, while carrying
1000 passengers on a picnic she ran
,g-oppd near Cedar Point Passen-
e.r, in their panic. rushed to one
"a. The Eastland listed heavily but
showed no sign Of turning over.
0ssnite statements Of men assocl-
,,s5 vl+b her history that the East
- vas safe boat, Cleveland YES
.s'r,.r worried about her every time
e.. cleared the breakwater. On one
-, with A crowded passenger liS1;,
,ts van on the East BreakwaI ana
IA not arrive at her pier until
rc'ock the following morning. Oh
,vo different trips TO Cedar Point she
-, on the beach. Each time she was
i,ts and fears were expressed for 'he
safety Of her passengers. A..
There wasn't a safer boat on the
Get Lakes than the Eastland,' witt
said to-day. maybe she looked up
lsavv. but she wasn't. The stoIleS'
however practically killed her as a
proposition mere 49,,
According TO Witt, the EastIa anu
I~cpped between $4,000 ana S-OV'VVV
n the five years she was on the Cle'e-
lard-Cedar Point run.
A, the end Of her daily runs 20 the
beach the steamer was used as
moonlight excursion boat ana soon
became famous as spoonlng place
for lovers. A large steam ca!llope'
Which could be heard throughout the
e;,v was one of the boats features.
When the Fastland was 20 dock IN
shallow water she was forced to dls,
charge her water ballast to avold
striking bottom.
ttruc. When sold to the Cleveland
torpary the price was between SOU
C00 and S2f6.o00 Between Sl75,OOO
and $4,000 changed hands when the
Chicago & ST. Joseph Transportation
Comparv purchased her from the witt
company. Y.
An increase in the number Of life
boats. rebuilding Of staterooms ana
absence Of ballast may have been re-
sponsible for the Eastland's loss. &C
eording 10 Captain y. B. Nelson, Fed
Usl Inspector Of Steamships here.
"The last inspection here said Mel
son. was m the spring Of 1913: At
that time she was in perfect condition
and capable o. carrying two thousand
passengers so long as she kept WITHIN
five miles OF shore. This restriction
was because she carried only eight life
boats. a number insufficient to care Tor
all passengers should she sink at a
point where She would be entirely sub
merged Beyond the fve-mile limit her