Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-07-27
SHIPPING INTERESTS
HERE CONCERNED AS
TO SEAMEN'S LAW
New Regulations Going
Into Effect November /
Will Cause Little Hard
ship to Passenger Boat
Owners.

Shipping interests IN Philadelphia are
concerned rs to the probable effect OF the
seamens law particularly with respect to
additional lfeboats and equipment In
terest was manifested in the newspaper
dispatches containing an account Of the
correspondence between Secretary Red
field, Of the Department of Commerce.
and General Manager w. II. Hall. OF the
st. Joseph Chicago Steamship COMPANY.
whose steamship, the Eastland. capslzed
at its pier in Chicago Saturday with a
great loss Of life.
Hull objected to the bill on the ground
that 1t would decrease the carrying ca
pacity of the Eastland 40 per cent. II the
present equipment were maintained. while
the lfeboats and life RATS would be in
creased &C 2-3 per cent. IL the company
attempted to comply with the law and
still maintain its passenger-carryin ca
pacity under the present law
Shipping men here admitted that any
attempt to maintain the present carrying
capacity of converted boats, that is, boats
used for passenger traffic which formerly
were built for carrying freight would
naturally make the boats difficult to
handle because of the increased weight
due to the added lifeboats or would cause
corresponding reduction in the number
of passengers IL the present equipment
were maintained Most Of the boats ply
ing between Philadelphia and coastwise
ports are fully equipped.
CARRYING REQUIRED EQUIPMENT.
I'VE are now carrying 100 per cent. OF
lifeboat equipment" declared Harry b.
Van Solver, superintendent OF the Mer-
chants and Miners Transportation Com
pany, "and none of our passengers need
feel worried over their safety We have
g..
carried in addition to life preservers for
ALL"
At the offices OF the Clyde Line all
queries as to the lifeboat equipment sec
tion OF the seamen's law were referred to
the New York office.
BOATS BUILT FOR PASSENGERS
So far as the excursion boats between
wilmington and Philadelphia and Tren-
ton and Philadelphia are concerned, 1t Is
pointed out that these boats were built
primarily for passenger traffic and hence
have n greater degree Of stability than
boats built for freight trade and later
converted into passenger crafts, such as
the Eastland.
The prevailing opinion Is that the sea-
mems bill will affect this class of boats
only in that 1t will reduce the passenger
space because of added lifeboats and
| RATS. The stability of the boats how
ever. will not be affected by the adddl-
| tional weight.
Speaking of the Chicago disaster, ex-
State Senator Mitchell B. Perkins, of New
Jersey, president of the Delaware River
Transportation Company, said:
"The Eastland disaster may have been
caused by an overcrowding OF the hurri-
! cane deck of the boat, all the weight be-
| ing above, instead of in the hold, and n
| sudden surging of the crowd to the rails
caused the boat to capsize. The Eastland
was built for freight primarily and then
converted to a passenger boat, thus af-
fecting it's stability. An excursion boat
built for passenger traffic would have been
able to Withstand this surging."