Evening star., 1934-09-10
Inquiry Follows Tragedy.

With the steamship MORO Castle
beached off Asbury Park, still smolder-
ing, the machinery Of investigation
into the cause and the circumstances
Of the horror that destroyed a still
unreckoned number of lives is being
set in motion. A Federal inquiry starts
today. Probably others will be insti-
tuted. 1t Is always thus, after the
tragic fact, and there is ever hope
that the findings of the investigators
will lead to the correction Of faults
and the assurance OF greater safety
on board ship. That hope has been
frequently disappointed.
Numerous questions await answer
ing with regard to the catastrophe.
First is that of the cause or origin of
the fire. Was the ship struck by light
ming, as was stated in the earliest re-
ports? That theory has seemingly
been abandoned. The blaze seems to
have originated from an interior cause.
Where and how?
Then comes the question Of why the
gravity of the fire, which events proved
was too fierce to be quenched, was not
appreciated in time to permit the evac-
uation of the vessel without loss Of
life. There was long lapse Of time
minutes are as hours in such circum-
stances-in the sounding Of an alarm.
Was there, indeed, such an alarm2
Tales told by survivors and members
Of the ships company leave this point
In doubt.
Was there q delay In sending out q
radio signal of distress? Again there
is evidence to that effect. Whether q
more prompt dispatch of the signal
would have lessened the catastrophe
is a question to be determined. The
ship was within easy reach from shore
and from other ships, but aid was not
summoned until the vessel was o
blazing cauldron.
When hope Of extinguishing the
blaze was abandoned order on the
ship was at an end. There was no
disciplined procedure of assembling
the passengers and putting them in
boats and sending them off safely.
Utter confusion reigned on board
Was it the fault of those in command
or the consequence of an overwhelm-
ing panic?
This disaster differs in one tragic
respect from others. The master Of
the vessel, veteran in service, died of
natural causes shortly before the out
break of the flames, and the ships
command was taken over by the first
officer, an experienced man but faced
with a terrible responsibility. Was he
equal to it?
Photographs taken on board the
ship yesterday as she lay within o
few rods of shore, with the fire still
raging in the hold, show the over
whelming character of the holocaust.
Such blaze could not conceivably
have been generated so spontaneously
as to sweep through the ship at o
pace beyond the possibility of organiz-
ing rescue, unless there was very bad
judgment in respect to the degree of
danger or some act of crime, which
overwhelmed all the forces of de-
fense. If the fire started hours be-
fore, and was not observed until 1t
burst forth into uncomfortable pro-
portions there was fault somewhere in
the measures of precaution. So far as
known the ship carried no persuasive
cargo. Her fuel oil was not highly
volatile.
All these questions must be an
swered, and they probably will be an
swered, in the course Of the inquiries.
They may be answered by the teS-
timony Of the acting commander,
given at the first session of the in
quiry this morning, to the effect that
in his belief the fire was of incen-
diary origin. This, Of course, opens
up another line of investigation, with
wide possibilities of disclosure.