TOPICS OF THE DAY.
THE LOSS OF THE 'EMPRESS OF IRELAND.'
MHE prevailing feelings of all thinking persons, after the J. first shock of intense horror and pity excited by the loss of the ' Empress of Ireland,' will surely be disappointment and humiliation that human science has advanced so short a way towards achieving safety at sea. We look back, and we recall within a comparatively brief time the wrecks of the ' Waratah' and the ' Titanic' and the burning of the ' Volturno.' We talk of unsinkable ships, but how far from us is the quality of unsinkability I Every wreck, like every battle, brings its peculiar "lesson." It is right that public attention should fasten on what seems to be the most immediate need disclosed by a calamity, since a con- centrated demand may bring about a particular reform which would have been passed over but for the emphasis of circumstances. In the course of time the gradual accretion of particular " lessons " well learned will bring us to a point at which safety at sea will be guaranteed as nearly as it ever can be. Even then complete immunity from disaster will be beyond our reach. The chief impression we get from the sinking of the ' Empress of Ireland' is the simple fact that she sank in a few minutes, although virtually all the preventives of disaster upon which the scientific world has so far agreed were embodied in her. It may be said that a perfect system of bulkheads would have kept her afloat, but there is as yet no undivided voice of authority to tell us what the perfect system of bulkheads is.
The particular lesson of the ' Titanic ' was "boats for all." We are not sure that that was really the most important thing to be learned, but no doubt by far the most vivid picture left on the mind was that of hundreds of people drowning in a flat calm because there were not enough boats to carry them. The lesson was learned. "Boats for all" became the law. Of course such a law has to admit some reservations. It is out of the question, for instance, to carry boats for all under davits. If that were done it would be impossible to launch them. The more boats to be launched, the greater is the danger of their being crushed or sinking one another. In a huge modern liner the boat deck is as far above the water as the top windows of a high London house are above the street. Imagine heavily laden boats swinging from such a height against the sides of the ship with a raging sea below ! A proportion of the " boats for all" have necessarily to be collapsible boats and rafts. But so quickly did the 'Empress of Ireland' list over that it was impossible to launch the majority of even those boats that were carried under davits. So far as the provision of boats is called in question by this latest calamity, we should say that the only lesson to be learned is that when a large ship sinks within a few minutes the one form of boat that can be relied upon is a self-launching craft—in other words, a raft that will float off as the vessel goes under. We mentioned this subject at the time of the ' Titanic ' disaster, and we have never been able to understand why more attention has not been given to some such device as forming the whole of the highest deck of rafts that would be left floating when the ship had disappeared. It may be said that they would have to be bolted on to the deck, as no " play " in the rafts could be allowed, and that directly you have bolts to attend to a form of launching in effect becomes necessary. We should think that rafts of saucer shape let into the deck would hold themselves rigidly in position without any kind of fastening ; but however that may be, it is probably not beyond the wit of man to perfect the device. In former days it used to be said that rafts were not of much use, as people would be washed off them, or at all events could not exist long on them. In answer to that we might urge two facts: one is that a number of large rafts, detaching themselves as the ships plunged, would have saved a great number of lives in both the' Titanic' and the ' Empress of Ireland' disasters ; and the other is that wireless telegraphy has changed all the conditions—it is an exceptional case indeed in which a wireless call does not bring help quickly on any of the great passenger routes. When all the expedients for saving life are added together, we might say, they do not equal the one safeguard of wireless telegraphy.
The question of bulkheads is far too technical for non- professional minds to deal with, but it seems fairly plain that, if such things as longitudinal bulkheads had been introduced in the building of the ' Titanic' and the ' Empress of Ireland,' both ships would have remained afloat. In both cases the ships were torn along a great length of their sides, so that several of their transverse bulkheads were opened up. Both ships had the misfortune to receive glancing blows, the one from an iceberg, the other from another vessel. If either ship had suffered a blow at right angles—even a very much harder blow—she would probably have remained afloat, for then only one compartment would have been opened up, or at the most two, if by bad luck the blow had fallen on a bulkhead itself and had thus opened up two compartments simultaneously. Two flooded compart- ments would not have sunk, such ships as the Titanic' and the ' Empress of Ireland.' But it is evident that we must provide against such glancing blows as rip away the sides of several compartments. So far as we can see, we shall never be rendered safe except by longitudinal bulk- heads—not a mere " double skin," but a large number of longitudinal compartments. We shall be told, we suppose, that a ship built in such a way would be impossibly inconvenient for all the purposes of carrying passengers or cargo. On the assumption, however, that such a ship were possible, the whole of the side might be torn away, and there would still be half the ship longitudinally intact. Of course, palliatives of the shock of collisions are well worth consideration, but this is quite another question. We notice two letters in the Times which seem to contain sound sense. One suggests that the bows of steamers—far above the water-line, of course—should be furnished with heavy fenders. Those who have seen tugs, which carry massive rope fenders on their bows, bumping harmlessly against the steamers they serve in the Pool of London will not doubt that the sharpness of the blow in a great collision would be reduced by this means. The other letter—by far the more important of the two—suggests that steamers, instead of having "straight up-and-down" bows, should be built with a considerable overhang. The first point of a steamer that would strike another would then be the overhang, and, however much damage might be done, it would be damage chiefly above the water-line. As it is, the blow falls below the water-line as well as above it. The vessel struck is, in fact, rammed.
As Lord Mersey is to take part in the inquiry in Canada we may be sure that every point brought out in the ' Titanic' inquiry will be given its proper value. The Canadian Government have acted with great good sense in asking for his help. We trust that he will repeat a suggestion which appeared in his admirable Report on the ' Titanic,' to the effect that there should be some system of what may be called " policing " disaster. We ventured to insist on the extreme importance of this when the ' Oceania' was lost. A large modem liner is a small town. The passengers do not know their way about ; much less do they know what they are expected to do to ensure their own safety and that of others. It is most desirable that certain officers—say quartermasters under a superior officer—should place the passengers under strict orders, and if necessary use force in the general interest. There is an analogy in the custom of battleships, for in an emergency the Marines stand to quarters and are served with ammunition. It may be said that there was no time for bringing any kind of disciplinarian organization to bear in the sinking of the 'Empress of Ireland,' even if it bad existed in the most perfect form. But we must not act on the assumption that all wrecks will be like that of the Empress of Ireland.' Even as it is, we cannot call to mind many wrecks that more aptly illustrate the point we would make. Here was a floating town only a few hours out of port. The passengers bad not settled down, and if after the collision the vessel had remained afloat for only half an hour there would have been a most urgent need for the policing of the bewildered people, even though there had been no trace whatever of panic. At least one company, we believe, has already taken the very wise course of appoint- ing what are called staff captains for_the purpose.. ,
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