The Washington times., 1915-07-26
SIX INQUIRIES START
INTO RIVER DISASTER
Steamboat inspection Service
Held Responsible for East.
land by Union Men.
Continued from First Page.)

Continued from First Page)
Secretary Olander is authority for the
statement that this Is the culmina ton
of a series of a score of lake disasters
for which the inspection service Is to
blame.
ternational Seamen's Union of America.
mo passenger boat Is safe that will
not stand up without water ballast st, and no
one side Water ballast is not used AS
safety device at all, or should not be,
II the lake boats are properly In
spected.
Water ballast is used only and
merely for trimming purposes-for help
ing to keep an even keel. so as to re-
duce friction, make speed and reduce
cost of frel.
Eastland Known As "Cranky" Ship.
"All scamen knew that the Eastland
was a cranky ship. That was her
reputation. That meant that she was
not carrying the proper solid ballast.
If she had been properly weighted. then
all the passengers on her could have
stood on one side Of the ship and 1t
would not have turned her over. The
Federal Inspection Service is again at
fault for this disaster. Investigate it
from top to bottom
Victor A. Olander. secretary of the
Lake Scamens Union. who has been
vainly trying for years to have the
Government clean out and clean up its
inspection service on the Great Lakes.
makes the direct charge that boats
have been sunk by the score on the
Great Lakes. with loss Of many lives.
because the Federal Inspection Service
was ''rotten."
THE United States Inspection Serv-
ice is directly responsible for this dis
ia
here or are on their way here for
what? TO investigate their own service
and their own officials"
Chicago Should Be Warned.
''Chicago should be warned against
this. The public should demand as one
person that instead Of these inspectors
who ought to have inspected the East
land and refused permit-com ng here
to inspect themselves. they and their
entire organization. from the highest
man in Washington to the lowest man
on the lakes. should be put under the
searchiight.
year the Grand Haven inspectors--the
same men who said the East,and 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.
Service a Scandal.
THE inspection service of the United
States Government has been an open
scandal with seamen for years. Now Is
the time to inspect the inspectors. Chi
cago and every public official here
should demand that and nothing less.
Here are the men in the Federal in
spection service who should be investi-
gated:
George Uhler. Washington. supervis-
ing inspector general.
THE ten supervising inspectors who.
with the inspector general. constitute
the board of supervising inspectors
Il charge this and no more: That the
responsible parties-the officials at
whose doors lies the blame for the East
land disaster--arG the men who failed to
do their duty and the men who are now
fiocking to Chicago to investigate them
selves and their service.
The Eastland capsized because the
United States steamboat inspection serv-
ice permitted too many persons to so
on board"
Questions To Be Solved.
THE chief questions these officials
hoped to have answered were:
Did the Eastland have on board
more passengers than We're permitted
by the Federal license?
pacity so great that. even when it was
not exceeded. rush of only a part Of
the passengers to one side caused it to
topple?
Was the Eastland's water ballast
out of adjustment? If so. who was the
Federal inspector who knew OF it. or
who permitted the boat to take on a
capacity load in the face Of such
knowledge? 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"
Stability Not Considered.
Both Olander and Furuseth declared
that the 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 number
of square feet Of surface on each deck
and then allow one square yard to
person-making the inspection a mat
ter OF multiplication and division as
to surface feet and not as to whether
a boat is properly ballasted or will
capsize il top heavy.
Was Capacity Over-ratcd?
Was the capacity of the Eastland
orerrated by Federal inspectors?
Was 1t done deliberately? Did any
one gain thereby?
One of the first matters District At
torney Hoyne went into today was to
inquire into the issuance by Robert
Reid. Federal inspector of huls. of per-
mission to the Eastland owners to en-
gage in passenger traffic on Lake
Michigan. Reid's son-in-law, J. NJ.
Erickson, it was learned today, was
chief engineer. a high salaried posi-
ton, on the boat that gradually dip
ped and toppled over. carrying so
many to their deaths in the shadow Of
great office buildings and within the
rattle and roar of the city. AS chief
engineer. Erickson was in charge Of
the ships water ballast machinery
Called Sea-wOrthy.
The license that gave owners of the
Eastland Federal permission to carry
$500 passengers was signed by Reid at
st. Joseph, Mich. on May T. 1915. Tha,
license reads that the Eastland was q
seaworthy craft.
States Attorney Hoyne today declared
he had much evidence to show that the
Eastland was anything but a seaworthy
boat.