The Omaha guide., 1934-10-06

EII-LIGHT'S

600
Happenings That Affect the Dinner
Pals, Dividend Checks and Tax Bills
of Every Individual. National and
international Problems Inseperable
from Local Welfare.
900
A great sea disaster is drama in
the grand manner Nothing present
ed on the stage or through the print
ed word, can approach it in tragedy,
~vividness, power. Good newsmen, re-
porting one of these rare events,
seldom use fowery or over-dramatized
writing-they present the simple
facts, and that is enough.
in time the general public forgets
q disaster. But the law doesn't Many
Important regulations covering con-
struction and operation of modern
ships stem from disasters which
taught lessons that could not be learn
ed in any other way. According to
the New York Times, which recently
traced the influence of marne tralge-
Sdes on marine law, every great mari
time disaster of recent times has re-
suited in new protective legislation.
The first of the wrecks that start
ed his trend was that of La Bour-
gogne, on July a, 1896. Bound from
New York to France with 725 pas
sengers and crew, she collided with a
sailing ship n al fog and sank in Az
minutes. Only 1913 were saved-and
of these but one was a woman, tho
800 were aboard. 1t was proven that
the crew had failed its responsibility
had saved themselves at the expense
of the passengers. The result was a
tightening up Of hip discipline though
out the world.
Then in 1909, the Republic, carry
ing 461 passengers was rammed of
Nantucket. Though both holds filed,
she kept afoat long enough to bring
a rescue ship in response to an 5. U.
S. Every passenger was saved, n
the necessity Of radio was instantly
realized - comparatively few ships
were so equipped at the time The re
suit was laws making radio equipment
mandatory, first on liners, then on
freighters as we'll.
TIL next great disaster, April IA,
1912-one of the worst in mrne hs-
tory-was the Titanic, marvel Of the
seas" Her bottom almost sliced off
by a submerged iceberg, she went
down in three hours, and 1517 of the
2340 persons aboard yer lost Out
Of that tragedy came the North At
lantic ice Patrol, which checks on the
movement of ice and warns all ships
when danger appears. There has not
been sinkig due to ice since.
The sinking of the Lusitania by a U
boat resulted in an agreement between
the five great naval powers not to
attack merchantmen in time OF war;
In 1929 came the Festris disaster.
Beset by storm, the ship Used until
it sank with loss Of ITO people. The
inquiry developed that it had been
overloaded, that its life-boats were In
poor condition, and that there e
innumerable other faults. st was
said that the S. o. S. had been pur-
posedly delayed, because the Captain
did not wish to force his company to
pay salvage costs, and preferred to
take a chance on making port. Con-
sequences were a revised salvage law,
and more stringent rules for inspect
ing ships in Strengthening maritime
law. The inquiry on her sinking has
no We been complied, blu already here
are dark rumors of ~inefficiency, cow
ardice on he par of officers, callous
disregard for dying passengers on the
part Of the rev, sabotage. However,
the main points so far developed
have to do with the liners fire hazards
apparently she o cred little resis-
tence once a blaze was well started.
Legislation will unquestionably fol-
low-effective marine law must be in
ternational in scope. 1t is safe to
say that on the ships OF the future,
less wood and cloth will be used, and
more metal and glass.
Thousands of lives have been need
lessly in sea disasters-but t can be
aid that they have not been lost en-
tirely in vain. Every catastrophe
makes the operation of ships safer;
every one lessons the chance of an
other disaster occurring.
-oOo-
Recent reports indicate that the
long anticipated NRA reorganization
will be effeced in the ear futur. AS