Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-03-27
on the ctttteY"ManhattaM"

that lawbreakers may scorn the rules
promulgated by isolated members of
various governmental units, no such
disrespect is accorded the vessels of
| the Coast Guard, whose guns back up
any wanton heterogeneous of the
United States laws.
/ One interesting phase of the work
carried out by the service is the in
spection of the life preservers, fire
extinguishers and lifeboats on vari-
| Gus ships, thus securing the safety
of travellers so far as possible. Forty
seven thousand vessels were examined
last year in this respect, and since
/ it IS the official duty of the Coast
Guard TO aid in any rescues that may
come up, the force leaves no stone
unturned to see that these aids to
safe navigation are not lacking. on
| the general principle of a stitch in
/ time.
/ Awards of gold or silver medals for
| notable cases of brave rescues or at
| tempted reseues are made by the
| Secretary of the Treasury, as recon-
mended by the United States Coast
| Guard.
/ In 1925 there occurred a tragic
| marine disaster off Point Honda,
| Calf, near place where there is but
| one radio compass station, though
| two are required for safety and dur
! ing a heavy sea seven vessels in
| formation piled up on the rocks, one
after the other, in hopeless confusion.
| To the landsman this seems an i'm
| possible feat, but it is a matter of
| record. and out of the welter arises
| only the shining memory of the
bravery and heroism of the partici-
pants, whose deeds of rescue will
glorify that night for all time to come.
Twenty-Six cases were awarded gold
and silver medals, though doubtless
dozens of other instances of courage
went unnoted in the general confusion,
and the brief citations afford little or
no conception of the anguish of the
men who struggled in the darkness
to save their comrades.
One such account is typical of the
rest, and states that Arthur Peterson,
chief boatswain's mate. u. s. N.
swan through $50 yards of oil-covered
water at great personal risk, from
| the u. S. S. Young to the u. S. S.
| Chauncey. But he carried with him Il
stout rope. and as a result every one
1 of the remaining survivors of his ship
was enabled to reach the Chauncey in
safety.
1t would seem as though there must
be something about life on the oceans
for utter disregard of self in times of
stress and danger. There are rare ex-
ceptions to this rule, of course, but
they are so rare that they are at once
remarked. and while it seems in
credible that the sea can breed a race
of men whose bravery surpasses that
possessed by other men, yet history
through the ages seems to say that
this is 81.
Men must be brave or they cannot
exist at sea. The elements are so
stark. and SO full of potential danger
there, that man is less able to cope
with disaster than on land. 1t is a
strict survival of the tittest, and only
with the invention of the radio and
it's possibilities for aid to a crippled
ship has there been communication
between shore and sea that was of
any great value in marine emergen-
cies.
X \ x X
WITHOUT the radio, the patrol of
the cutters guarding the steamer
lanes near the ice zones would lose
half it's value. as the broadcasting of
information twice a day on the Local
Continued on Fourth Pagal