The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1915-07-27

ly curious. The captain and the mate
we're among those pitched overheard,
and when they were brought to shore
feeling ran so high against them that
they were mobbed and the police had
the utmost difficulty 81 protecting
them, Both were placed under arrest
and will be held for the results of the
grand jury investigation now under
way. -
From the first the work of rescue
was peculiarly difficult. In other
great maritime disasters the passengers
have had time to prepare themselves
for death. The Titanic was nine hours
in sinking. The General Slocum, when
she caught fire in the East River, and
was run aground on the mud fats Of
brothers Island, was short of life boats
and the life prrservers were rotten,
but there was some chance for the
stronger clements of the human char
acter to organize the situation and
make the most Of what chaiiees for life
there were. The Eastlandga sank in
five minutes.
Ltfesaving Devices Useless
Lifeboats and life preservers were
of no avail. There was not time to
launch the one or tear loose the others
Those that were to be saved were saved
quickly. with the exception of the
two women and the baby rescued from
the mb-ship, those that were carried
under were doomed from the outset.
There was no way of getting help to
them.
Firemen on barges with drills, chi
sells, and saws began cutting holes in
the steel plates of the hull, as soon as
those afIoat or elinging to the fringe
Of superstructure had heen rescued by
the mosquito fleet, but it was heart,
,, breaking, slow work. Doubtless most
Of those inside were drowned before
the first hole big enough to let man
through had been cut out.
Faulty Design Responsible
Lacking definite data as yet, all the
superficial evidence points to faulty de
| sign as the responsible cause of the ac-
"ident. Roughly speaking, the weight
of the passengers was only l75 tons,
distributed on three decks. BY no
means all of them rushed to the outer
rail when the movie man called to
them. Many did not hear or see him,
being between decks, and many were
otherwise occupied.
Even allowing for the extra leve~aE"
Of the weight of those on the upl er
decks, marine architects are unable TO
see how any properly designed vessel
could have been capsized by the later,
al thrust estimated to have been eX-
erted.
1t has been conjectured that, with
/ the ballast tanks emptied, the vessel
may have settled until her keel rested
On the bottom, in which case she would
have been robbed of much of her sta,
hility. Her V-shaped hull and over,
hanging decks would have made of her
a tall wedge, poised on the keel, and
liable to upset at the list shift of bal
ance. The theory has not been veri
/ fed. w.. .,.a. ..
Honolulu can serure the best impress,
sion of what occurred In the Chicago
tragedy through knowing that the East
l"nd WIS much the same size rs the
IntcrIsland steamer Mauna Kea, and
nv imagining $500 passengers aboa I'd
/ the ship, many of them erowding the up.
rer deck. There is,Iittle occasion for
surprise here THAT theishiR eapsiAed, es
! nr"inlly since 'itr"lwonla appear that
much or all of her water ballast hal
been pumped out. and that sne may
h""" had peculiarities of construction
making her unsafe for so many