Evening star., 1915-06-10
URGES NUMBERING
OF MOTOR BOATS
Secretary RedfieId Insists
Some Form of Registration
Is Necessary.

Motorboats should be numbered and
| registered. as means OF Identified
tion. somewhat after the fashion of
] automobiles This was the consensus
OF opinion expressed today at con-
ference between Secretary Redheld,
Assistant Secretary Sweet and officials
of the teamboat inspection service ana
the bureau OF navigation of the Depart
ment of Commerce. The conference
was called by Secretary Redfeld to get
the views of the various motor boat
interests on proposed legislation pro-
| viding for this registration of motor
propelled craft.
! However, those present, including rep
| resentatives of motor boat associations
and motor boat and engine manufac-
| turers. were unable to agree upon the
i limitations of motor boats to be in
! cluded in the legislation. Some wanted
limit of from sixteen to twenty feet,
under which vessels would not be re-
quired to have numbers, others wanted
! the boats with so-called detachable
motors excluded from the provisions.
while others proposed q horsepower
! limit.
Discussion of Limitations.
| Having reached the determine tion
that craft should have such numbers,
| the question of limitations was taken
up. when the conference reconvened.
following a luncheon recess. which was
taken at ! o'clock.
Secretary Redfield made >, 5lain to
those present that in proposing the
Legislation there was no disposition on
the part of the government to become
antagonistic to the industry. On the
other hand. he said, he wanted to help
it. but he was unwilling to let present
conditions in motor boating continue.
He spoke of the troubles of inspectors
in identifying craft which had violated
the law. and declared some people time
and again gave fictitious names, and it
was impossible to bring the culprits to
justice.
Unless you men present can agree
on some form of moderate legislation
whereby we can enforce the law you
will be forced to more stringent legis-
lation by some disaster. l, for one,
do not want it on my conscience that
have been responsible for some dis
the evils corrected l do not want to
go to Congress asking for such legls-
lation with lives resting on my shoul-
ders Unless some legislation is pro
vided there is going to be some big
disaster in which the lives of women
and children will be sacrificed. Then
YOU will have to have more stringent
legislation.
Difficulties With Owners.
George Ehler supervising inspector
general of the steamboat inspection
service, and Arthur ]. Tyrer. assistant
chief of the bureau of navigation, de-
tailed the difficulties of these two serv-
ices in making motor boat owners COM
ply with the law.
Representatives of the motor boat in
dustry attempted to point out that the
expense of registering these small craft
would be SO great to be prohibitiVe
but the government officials explained
that much more time than would be
needed in registering is now taken up
BY the clerical force in attempting to
locate craft whose owners had given
fictitious names. Much of the clerical
work. too. it was pointed out. would be
done by the motor boat owners. They
would be required to fill out the GER
tificates in applying for their numbers.
leaving only the matter Of designating
the number for the government en-
Moves TO put in.