Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-30
GROWTH OF OCEAN LINERS PLACE
GREAT STRAIN ON MASTERS
Many Captains Have Been Fatally
Stricken at Wheel, While Health of
Others Has Broken.

Many of the large companies. such
as the Cunard. now recognize the abso-
lutte necessity of conserving, as much as
possible, the health and nerve force Of
their commanders. Captains are re-
lieved every three voyages in order that
they may, in measure, recuperate and
be prepared to face the vast rSponsi-
bilities devolving upon them.
It is next to impossible to convey to
the landSman the unending sense of
positive responsibility always present in
the mind of the ships master. He lives
not for the moment, but constantly pro-
jects himself ahead of his course into
the situations that he knows may at
any moment arise.
Not only is the ships master con-
fronted with the problem Of the safe
navigation Of his vessel from the stand
point of her proper position and course,
but he knows that at any moment, day
or night some sudden catastrophe may
overtake his charge, either from with
out or from within.
A huge ship such as the Europa,
speeding at close to 30 knots, moves
through the water with q force almost
impossible of realization. Floating about
in the sea, even at this moment. are
half Sunken derelictS. many Of them
loaded with lumber or other heavy cargo
weighing thousands of tons. To strike
such an object square on at full speed
in the dead of night is an ever-present
possibility, even in the clearest weather
at sea. And, Of course. We always re-
call the disaster of the Titanic-the
menace of ice and fog.
FIOundering Of Vestris Example.
In the recent fioundering of the Yes
iris, we have an instance of gradual
elimination of disaster, growing out Of
so complicated a combination of causes
that courts of inquiry have sat for
weeks on end and have finally left the
problem largely still unsolved.
What the next disaster will be Is an
always present thought in the mind OF
the ships master. That there shall be
no disaster is his constant care.
Formerly, commanders Of great ships,
because of their genial personalities,
were subjected to an additional social
burden that finally became so great
these men were fairly exhausted by the
pressure Now great ships carry what
is known as a staff captain, whose du-
ties are largely those of host to the
thousands of travellers across the sea.
At sea, the age of retirement Is in
the early Co.'S Capt. Johansen OF the
Europa is 81. Long before his ship IS
worn out, the master viii be transferred
ashore. Capt. Sir James Charles, who
dropped dead on the Aquitania, was 81.
1t seems as if the great machines Of the
sea, the vast liners shutting across the
ocean, are more than mortal flesh and
nerve can stand insofar as the response
bility for their conduct and their safety
is placed upon the shoulders OF man.
Nothing can be done about 1t, but
the realization Of the importance Of
the commander is driven home to us
when dispatches tell of these heroes lit
orally falling dead under strain Of duty
on the bridges of their ships.
Ashore, the great executive can shield
himself from many Of life's severest
contacts. At sea, the commander, at
least. must bear the full brunt. No
machine has yet been devised TO take
over the command.
Copyright, l930.l