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September, 1914 fine. There is no doubt whatever that if this provi- sion were enforced for proved violation, there would be no such thing as running at full speed in fog on the Great Lakes. The master's income is not such that he can stand many assessments of $200 each in a season. Whatever may have been the state of things in the past, there is no question whatever that the owners desire that the pilot rules shall be strictly observed and that their vessels shall proceed under check during fog. If any master navigates a ship otherwise, he is doing it wholly on his own responsibility, and if he is proved to be guilty he deserves to be punished. Rule 15 as it stands on the statutes today reads as follows: "Every steam vessel shall, in thick weather, by reason of fog, mist, falling snow, heavy rainstorms . or other causes, go at moderate speed. A _ steam vessel, hearing, apparently not more than four points from right ahead, the fog 'signal of another vessel, shall at once reduce her speed to bare steerageway and navigate with caution until the vessels shall have passed each other." It would be an extremely unwise proceeding to change or modify in any particular this rule, because it is a wise and workable rule, whereas, as has been shown, the Alexander amendment is an unworkable one. Justice Brown, in rendering decision in the Umbria case in 1896, said: "The general consensus of opinion in this country is to the effect that a steamer is bound to use only such precautions as will enable her to stop in time to avoid a collision, after the approaching vessel comes in sight, provided such approaching vessel is herself going at the moderate speed required by law. In a dense fog this might require both vessels to come to a standstill until the course of each was definitely ascertained. In a lighter fog it might authorize them to keep their engines in sufficient motion to preserve their steerageway."' : Note how closely his opinion follows the language of Rule 15. We repeat that if Rule 15 is strictly observed, such a thing as a collision in fog would be practically unknown. The wise thing, therefore, to do is to enforce the present rules. In fact, the penalties imposed for violation of the present rules are very severe, because in addition to a fine, if any loss of life occurs, the person responsible for the accident is guilty of manslaughter and the Circuit Court has held that to establish that fact intent does not have to be shown. This provision reads as follows: "Every captain, engineer, pilot or other person employed on any steamboat or vessel by whose mis- conduct, negligence or inattention to his duties on such vessel the life of any. person is destroyed, and every owner, charterer, inspector, or other public officer through whose fraud, neglect, connivance, mis- conduct or violation of the law the life of any person is destroyed, shall be fined not more than $10,000 'is just about ready to abandon hope. THE MARINE REVIEW 347 and imprisoned not more than ten years or both. Provided, that when the owner or charterer of any steamboat or vessel shall be a corporation, any execu- tive officer of such corporation, for the time being actually charged with the control and management of the operation, equipment or navigation of such steam- boat or vessel, who has knowingly and willfully caused or allowed such fraud, neglect, connivance, miscon- duct, or violation of law, by which the life of any person is destroyed, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than ten years or both." Lake Trade Life, they say, is just one damn thing after another, and the phrase very aptly describes lake trade during the present season. The business has had _ its ups and downs in past years, but it has never before received such a variegated assortment of rebuffs. The line which Milton inscribed over the gates of hell, "Abandon hope all ye who enter here', about expresses the mental point of the vessel owner. He The season started out lamely enough, but hope burned brightly. Everybody believed that things would get brighter in about a month and when the month went by and they did not get any better, vessel owners did not lose hope, but merely postponed their expectations for 'another month, arguing that the furnacemen could not stay out of the market forever. When the months went by and the furnace interests continued to stay out, they pinned their faith in grain. The crop was heavy and would have to move briskly in August. Rates were low, of course, but they would mend as time went on. But now comes a staggering conflict of armed forces abroad and the export trade goes glimmering. Vessel charters are cancelled; grain is loaded into vessels and then unloaded at the loading port; other vessels leave and are recalled, and still others that deliver their cargoes cannot get their freight money. Meanwhile the elevators fill up and there is stagnation and delay all around. Time is being eaten up and the ships are not earning any- thing, and altogether a state of demoralization pre- vails, of which no one can see the end. Vessels are going to dock by scores, because there is nothing for them to do. The year 1914 will be long remembered on the lakes as the worst on record. What a great pity it is that we haven't our own ships to do the world's business in. Here is South America, clamoring for our products, and we simply have not the ships to carry them there. Here is the Panama canal opening during the present month and no one displays the slightest interest in it, because we have scarcely any ships to go through it. The European conflict has literally thrown the world's markets open to us and we cannot take advantage or it.