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146 tective Association, the statistics and. salutary lessons of which have done much to convince the few men who still adhered to the old methods of loading too close to the bottom, and crowding too near the limit of safety, either in speed or otherwise, that nothing is to be gained, in the long run, by such a policy. "I feel convinced that there is not a man among you masters who will say that he has ever received or ex- pected reward or commendation from this company for making time at the expense of safety, or that he has ever been penalized or reproached, by word or act, for exercising the discretion committed to him as a master on the side of caution, whether in the mat- ter of speed in fog or any other de- tail of practical navigation. Bygone . Practice "IT cannot but conclude, therefore, that the learned judge who uttered the censure upon vessel owners which I have quoted, either received his im- pression from some one who may have been familiar with the practices on the great lakes 10 or 15 years ago, but who is not aware of the enor- mous change for the better that has taken place, or from some _ isolated instances or old practices which may still subsist as exceptions to the gen- eral rule now prevailing which un- questionably is "safety first". - In fact, an examination of the rec- ords of the past five years shows that collision cases have been from 125 to 50 and accidents of all characters from an average of 428 to 150; in other words, practically elim- inating two-thirds of them. Mr. Kelley then discussed the rule governing the navigation of a_ ship in fog. This rule reads: Every vessel shall, in thick weather by reason: of fog, mist, falling snow, heavy rain storms, or other causes, go at moderate speed. A steam ves-. sel hearing, apparently not more than four points from right ahead, the fog signal of another vessel shall at once reduce her speed to bare steerage way, and navigate with caution until the vessels shall have passed each other." Moderate Speed Mr. Kelley said that he could not attempt, nor could any court attempt, to define what moderate speed might be. A speed that under certain condi- tions might be extreme caution might in other instances be extreme care- lessness. As almost all the courses on the lakes, however, are highways of reduced THE MARINE REVIEW commerce, he did not consider a slight steam reduction to be sufficient. He held that if the latter part of the rule was invariably observed, that of re- ducing to bare steerage way upon hear- ing another vessel] not more than four points from right ahead, that prac- tically nine-tenths of all the fog col- lisions would be eliminated. He ad- vocated a prompt reversal of en- gines if- necessary, in order to get down to bare steerage way at once. Question of Suction Mr. Kelley then discussed the ques- tion of suction which has not latterly had a part in these meetings, being a force now well recognized by the courts. However, one or two inter- esting points have crept in lately, es- pecially the Princeton-Glidden case, in which it was held that the bow of the Princeton in overtaking the Glid- den had exercised a pushing force which caused the Glidden to take a sheer. No case of that character had ever come before a court before. The Princeton was condemned by _ the Safety First Never since I have been in charge of ship operation, the promotion of men, the distribution of prizes, have I ever taken into consideration: the time the men made in the ship and there will never be any change in that particular. In making up my mind I am governed wholly by the question of safety and the freedom of the ships from accidents, and on that alone. I want this game played just as safe as it can be played. lower court, the court holding that such a force did exist. The case was reversed upon appeal, however, on the ground that many other reasons. might have caused the Glidden to take a sheer. Quite a number of captains testified that no such force emanated from the bow. Mr. Kelley held that it would not be wise to conclude that when the bow of a larger vessel comes abreast a smaller vessel there may not be some theoretical influ- encé. He urged them never to under- take to pass another vessel in re- stricted channels when there was any likelihood of meeting a third vessel. Speaking of the subject of lookouts, he said out of 14 cases which he had tried during the winter, eight of them had hinged on the absence of a look- out at the proper place.. Most of these cases concerned maneuvering about docks where, if lookouts had been established on the fantail or at April, 1914 -- other places from which good com-. mand of possible danger might be had, the accidents could have been avoided. Several of the captains appeared de- sirous of reverting to the subject of running in fog and wanted some defini- tion of moderate speed, but Mr. Kel- ley stated that the Supreme Court had frequently said that it could not lay down a rule of moderate speed and that no government inspector would take the responsibility of doing so. He then repeated what he had previously said, that if the vessels checked to bare steerage way upon hearing a vessel apparently not more than four points from right ahead that nine-tenths of all the collisions in fog would be eliminated. Stop the Engines "The court," 'said' Mr. \ Coulby "seems to have laid down a rule in determining moderate speed by the amount of damage done. What mod- erate speed may be is an open ques- tion. It is impossible to lay down a~ hard and fast rule and I am not going to attempt to do so. You masters have passed an examination on rules and all know what they are. I will say that the collision cases that I am most afraid of are the ones in which it is shown that the engines. were working ahead. If the engines are stopped that condition cannot possibly arise. Now, never since I have had charge of ship operation, the promotion of men, the distribu- tion of prizes, have I ever taken into consideration the time the men made in the ship, and there will never be any change in that particular. I have never asked the auditing department for a record of mileage or the earn- ings of any vessel. In making up my mind I am governed wholly by the question of safety and the freedom of the ships from accidents and on that alone. I want this game played just as safe as it can be played. I appreciate all the conditions that collision cases that occur, either both collisions that occur, either both ships have heard each other or one has heard the other. You ought to be able to tell from the weather condi- tions whether there is not a strong probability that the ship was blowing to you before you heard her. If the weather conditions are such that you cannot hear or there is a strong prob-. ability that you are not hearing, it is a dangerous condition and you should govern yourself by it. Weather con- ditions must always have a_ bearing in determining this point. I don't believe a danger signal should ever be blown in a fog without the engine