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March, 1914 a tirely different thing from refrigeration as so frequently now fitted in modern ships. Tainted drinking vessels are avoidable by frequent boiling or dis- carding, and the use of water buckets in fire holds should be discouraged as far as possible, but even these can be easily sterilized by boiling out with the steam hose found in every stoke- hold. If the crew once become im- pressed with the need of caution for their own sake they will, I am sure, not be obstructionists. The unsafe areas designated below have, of. course, reference. to 'the courses and ports used by ships of our fleet. Manager. ee To Masters and Chief Engineers The report of the International Joint Commission on pollution of the wa- ters of the great lakes discloses a de- gree of pollution totally unsuspected and, over extensive areas, highly dan- gerous. These areas are largely af- fected by concentration of floating trafic and by winds distributing sew- age off shore. The health and welfare of the of- ficers and crews is a matter of deep concern to the management and. with a view to guarding against contaminat- ed supplies the following areas are to be considered as prohibited. The health of the crew is fully as important as the safety of the ship and her cargo and the supervision of the water sup- ply will be the care of the master exclusively and cannot be delegated to anyone. Isolated sources of sup- ply and distribution have been or will be provided and under no circum- stances will the tanks be filled from or through any other. Natural ice is 'not to be taken aboard under any circumstances unless arti- ficial is unobtainable, and then only when its source is known and satis- factory and in quantity only sufficient for immediate needs. No ice is pref- erable to a supply of doubtful quality. Ice boxes should be thoroughly scrubbed out after any such supply. Drinking vessels used in common should be thoroughly boiled at fre- quent intervals or discarded, and the use of water buckets as containers for drinking water should be discouraged as far as possible. When used in fire- holds they should be boiled out fre- quently with the steam hose. Water tanks are to be thoroughly scrubbed out with a strong Caustic solution at least once a month, and the solution drained and flushed away through the distribution service. Ex- cept in case of fire, buckets or other THE MARINE REVIEW vessels are not to be dipped into tanks, and every effort is to be made to keep them free from contamination. In taking water, masters will exer- cise due caution with regard to ships ahead and haul courses if necessary to clear their wake. The question of pure water is of vital importance and the report re- ferred to provides an authoritative ex- planation of the numerous outbreaks of typhoid and other diseases afloat as well as ashore in the affected areas. Neglect' of these precautions, of which the entire crew should be kept advised, may have serious. conse- quences, and, for their own interest, all should, and it is to be hoped will, co-operate as far as possible. The following areas will be strictly avoided as sources of supply: Lake Superior Duluth to abreast Two Harbors and with or after S.-W. to N: W. winds Duluth to abreast Sand Island. Soo River and Approaches Whitefish Point, Lake Superior, to abreast Spectacle Reef, Lake Huron. Lake Huron Fifteen miles outside Ft. Gratiot light. With or after strong W. to N. W. winds Pt. Aux Barques to St. Clair river unless at least 10 miles off shore. 'Lake Michigan and Straits West or south of a point at least 12 miles off Milwaukee on Pt. Betsey course. With S. to N. W. winds, 25 miles off Milwaukee. Beaver Island to Spectacle Reef. If following west shore at least 10 miles off shore. With fresh S. E. to N. E. winds water may be taken under necessity only between Milwaukee and Chicago not less than 10 miles off shore. River and Lake St. Clair and Detroit River and Approaches _ Fifteen miles above Ft. Gratiot light to 12 miles east of Southeast Shoal lightship. With or after brisk S. W. to N. W.. winds, to 25 miles east of S. .E.-Shoal, Lake Erie Entire westerly end of Lake Erie to east of S: Ex Shoal; as above. ft. Abino to Buffalo. At least 6 miles off south shore and with or after S. to S. W. winds at least 12 miles. Area south of a line drawn from Kelley's Island to 12 miles off Erie is unsafe at any time. The foregoing areas are designated with reference to existing or probable courses used by the ships of this fleet. 89 * Running in Fog Judge Tuttle, of. the United States district court of Detroit, in rendering a decision in the colision between the steamer W. A. Rogers, owned by the Niagara Transit Co., and the tug Se- curity and oil barge No. 86, owned by the Standard Oil Co., in which he divided the damages, devoted consid- - erable attention to the practice of run- ning vessels in a fog. On this point Judge Tuttle said: "There ish't any question of fact for a court to determine which is any more difficult to determine than a question of speed on the water. In the first place, with reference to the speed of either of these boats the court is limited almost entirely to the interested parties aboard that par- ticular hoat.: We have that, and we have the manner in which the boats -- came together to assist the court, and I do not know as the court would be in error.if it took something else into consideration; courts do take into con- sideration the fact they know the wit- 'nesses on certain ships have for years taken an interest in their particular ship, and they always swear together. "In every case: it is 'profit first, and the captain who can make a quick trip through a fog and not strike a boat gets an advance for the next year; but the fellow who tries it and strikes a boat is not a good captain. But it is well known--whether the court ought to know it or not--by every vessel owner, and by every cap- tain and by every court, and these ves- sels are expected to and do run these fogs at a faster rate than the law and rules permit. It is well known. We all know it, and the captain of the Rogers was frank enough to state it in his testimony that that is what is expected of him. There isn't any one other violation of any other rule that in the years that are normal and ay- erage on the lakes that causes more loss of property and loss of life than the violation of that rule about run- ning too fast in a fog. And there is no other rule more uniformly violated on the lakes than that rule. It is done with the knowledge of the owners, be- cause they want it done and they ex- pect it to be done. But it is against the law, it is against the rules, and if they want to take the chance and run the risk of a lawsuit, they must suffer the consequences. The Rogers for an hour coming through that fog was violating the law and the rules every minute, and knew it, and the owners would approve of it, and if the captain had not done that he would not have been considered a good captain. Some- one has got to suffer for that."